- Advocacy
Celebrate National Nurses Week 2020 With the American Association of Nurse Practitioners®
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) joins you in celebrating the nursing profession May 6–12.
Started in 1993 by the American Nurses Association (ANA), National Nurses Week is held every year to honor nurses throughout the country and share their contributions to health care. In honor of Florence Nightingale's birthday each year, May 12 is also recognized as International Nurses Day.
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has announced the International Nurses Day theme of "Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health," which reflects nurses and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) who are on the front lines around the world, including those who are treating patients diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19.
AANP is proud to recognize all of our nursing colleagues and nurse practitioners (NPs) during the World Health Assembly's 2020 Year of the Nurse Celebration. Thank you for your devotion to delivering high-quality patient care and your commitment to going above and beyond each day in your pursuit of excellence in health care.
Join the Celebration
Enhance your knowledge and develop your skills.
As nurses are lifelong learners, AANP members have completely free access to the AANP CE Center, which offers hundreds of activities universally accepted for NP continuing education (CE) requirements by all state boards of nursing, all NP regulatory bodies and the American Dietetic Association.
From autoimmune disease to women’s health, AANP offers topic-driven guidelines, education, research and practice tools to help you stay up to date on the latest clinical information. In addition, members have complete access to AANP's practice management tools, including employment negotiation tips, information on reimbursement, quality improvement resources and technology best practices.
For nurse researchers, a number of videos from the National Institute of Nursing Research’s Director’s Lecture Series are available for free online, allowing you to hear from respected nurse scientists on topics as varied as health disparities in cancer and portrayals of nursing in the media. AANP members also have free access to valuable research about NPs, including reports on practice settings, compensation, demographics and more.
Share the contributions of the nursing community.
Get social by using the hashtag #NursesWeek on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and anywhere else you connect online. Do you need an idea of what to post?
- Advocate for nurses by sharing facts about patient care.
- Recognize NPs and nurses making a difference in state or national legislatures.
- Thank your personal nursing mentor for their invaluable guidance and dedication to health.
- Show how you and your colleagues are being recognized this special week.
Be sure to tag @AANP_News on Twitter so AANP can share your tweets!
Next, reach out to your friends, family and colleagues within the nursing profession to express your gratitude for the work they do every day to improve care for people from all walks of life around the world. If you know of an AANP member worthy of extra recognition, share their success via email to socialmedia@aanp.org — and be sure to visit the AANP News Feed to see members' exciting achievements and activities!
To honor Florence Nightingale's 200th birthday and shine a light on NP practice amid COVID-19, AANP is gathering photos of NPs in action to promote the role in a variety of exciting ways, including a new national television commercial. Please share your photo with AANP to help us accurately represent the rich diversity of people, places and practices that comprise the NP role.
AANP is also looking for submissions about humanitarian travel, educational and development programs or personal accomplishments as they relate to international nursing in honor of Year of the Nurse. At the end of the year, AANP will produce a digital, visual collection to commemorate the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.
Nursing Profession Accolades
- For the past 18 years, nursing has been ranked at the top of Gallup’s list of the most honest and ethical professions.
- In U.S. News & World Report’s 100 Best Jobs of 2020, the NP role was ranked No. 5 and the registered nurse (RN) role was ranked No. 13.
- RNs, NPs, licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) are all named to Business Insider’s list of the 30 best-paying jobs of the future.
- Medscape’s Nurse Career Satisfaction Report 2018 reports that RNs, LPNs and APRNs find that “helping people/making a difference in peoples’ lives” is the most rewarding aspect of their job, and the vast majority (more than 95%) report being glad they chose nursing as their career.
From all of us at AANP, thank you for the work you do this week and every week of the year.
As we look forward to National Nurse Practitioner Week November 8–14, 2020, start building your toolkit and planning your celebrations with the 2019 NP Week Resource Guide — and stay tuned for a revamped NP Week celebration this year!