What Does It Mean for Your Nursing Career?
The founder of modern medicine, Florence Nightingale would be turning 193 this month.
Her birthday is celebrated in nursing throughout the United States, as R.N.s are honored and recognized during National Nurses Week, beginning on May 6 and running through May 12. The American Nurses Association (ANA) has announced this year’s theme as “Delivering Quality and Innovation in Patient Care”, a feat registered nurses have always done and will continue to do—only with noted improvements as healthcare reform gets underway and more Americans than ever before seek medical treatment.
By spring of 2020, when the bicentennial of Ms. Nightingale’s birth comes around, the BLS predicts that nursing careers will be the top occupation in terms of job growth. BLS also predicts a massive nursing shortage, but being aware of that now, primes R.N.s both aspiring and practicing, to take the necessary steps in their education, training and professional choices.
ANA is a good place to start in promoting awareness for who your peers are and what they do. In addition to a media kit that provides template letters to send to your legislators and community organizers, and other ideas in promoting nursing, there is the Florence Nightingale pledge, written when she was living. The pledge resonates today.
It reminds us that, more than likely, a peer you encountered on the nursing career path was an amazing teacher, one who taught you not just the basic and technical skills you needed to know, but how to bring these skills to patients on a humanitarian level, in a highly organized way that let you comfort and educate patients of any age or background. National Nurses Week is an opportunity to be cognizant of that person or moment that taught you how to see patients as individuals, and get to the root of their real problems and find the right solutions.
While every nurse knows that Florence Nightingale said “The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm,” there are still more quotes worth reminding nurses about during this special week for healthcare professionals. She also said, “I attribute my success to this. I never gave or took any excuse.” The projected nursing shortage, changes to Medicare and the aging baby boomer population outpacing R.N.s on hand, are no excuse to stop now.
50 States Staffing Is a Leader in Forwarding Nursing Careers. No excuses.
Nurses want many of the same things: a job that can be done in any state, in a part-time or full-time capacity—or maybe with overtime. R.N.s want flexibility, leading to exciting travel nurse jobs or more permanent ones, and they can find that kind of lifestyle at an experienced healthcare staffing agency. If you are looking for a career that lets you establish yourself as a role model, not just for a moment but for a lifetime, call 1-800-996-2206 or apply online.
When Nightingale added “How very little can be done in the spirit of fear” she was talking about R.N.s who make a real difference in patients’ lives because they understand that sentiment so well. Happy National Nurse’s Week to all the R.N.s out there; stay fearless and strong!
*BLS statistics and other percentages in nursing job growth came from a media relations fact sheet at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing
50 States Staffing is dedicated to finding exceptional nurses and placing them in rewarding 
You are encouraged to celebrate National Nurses Week in a multitude of ways, whether it’s by hosting a small reception for R.N.s in your community, or submitting a story about nurse pride to a local news source. ANA has published ideas that help us get in full celebration mode on the 
Registered nurses like you, travel around the country sharing your skills and expertise with an appreciative public; now you can join them in the walk to find a cure. Breast Cancer Awareness month is going on all October long, in every U.S. state. To find a local event, visit the American Cancer Society’s website at 
Travel nurses and therapists in Washington DC this weekend have an abundance of patriotic entertainment options to choose from. Check out the July 4th Constitution Avenue Parade between and 7th and 17th Streets — or the special events and demonstrations at the 
