2023 NATIONAL NURSES WEEK WILL TAKE PLACE MAY 6 – 12, 2023
Our critical medical professionals have experienced yet another year of stress and uncertainty after several waves of COVID-19 variants have passed through our world. It’s important now more than ever to recognize the physical, mental and emotional workloads they have endured and thank them for their invaluable role in healthcare.
Nurses are the largest FTE component of a healthcare institution’s salaried budget. They are on the front line of providing direct patient care in every type of healthcare setting. Nurses have had to take extra shifts, work in specialty settings that they had never experienced before, had to be away from their families, and in many cases, had to put their own lives at risk to care for others. Since the pandemic began, nurses have provided not just excellent clinical care but emotional care and support when family visitation in a healthcare setting were restricted. The stress of these cumulative challenges has lead to burnout for many nurses and clinicians.
Foundations can take the opportunity of National Nurses Week to celebrate and appreciate the nursing staff throughout their healthcare system.
Here are a few ideas to engage with the clinical staff during this special week:
1. Meet with the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) and discuss ideas that they may have regarding how best philanthropy can partner in celebrating nursing during National Nurses Week 2023, May 6-12.
2. Reach out to a local elementary school principal to ask teachers to implement a nurse-themed writing/drawing activity with their students. The school could then share the students finished work with the organization CNO to disseminate in a virtual venue or display in a central location for all to see.
3. Partner with local businesses that would be interested in offering a special discount, shopping hours, or donation to a specified charity to support nursing.
Partner with Human Resources and Marketing for the following suggestions:
4. Set up a gratitude station where individuals can write thank-you notes to nurses on a poster, which can be on display throughout the week.
5. Plan and schedule a social media campaign to bring awareness to National Nurses Week and thank the nursing staff. Use your own ideas or download our sample social media kit here.
6. Invite grateful patients and donors to make a short video about the fantastic care they received from your nursing staff, and share their stories with the staff and on social media.
7. Ask a local florist to donate flowers that could be given to each nurse as they leave the hospital after their shift.
8. Provide self-care opportunities such as professionally-led meditation or yoga instruction, spa services, or onsite massages throughout the week or month.
9. Sponsor a speaker that is highly knowledgeable on “coping with caregiver stress.” This may be provided virtually or in person on rotation days and shifts (depending on the environment of care restrictions).
10. Ask the local TV station to host a special “Honor a Nurse” Week, where they invite the public to upload photos, videos, letters, posters.
11. Invite local musicians to provide short concerts at various times during shifts in locations throughout the hospital.
12. Display pictures or videos of nurses on websites, posters, or breakrooms. Utilize our video or create your own. These videos can be streamed on In-Room TV’s, hospital TV stations, and hospital or foundation websites.
Specifically for Development:
12. Plan and prepare a Direct Mail Campaign around Nurses Week or Nurses Month. Have the CNO participate by contributing compelling copy focused on a critical nursing priority.
All the above recognition ideas will have a positive effect on nurses. Expressions of gratitude are an excellent stress reliever and provide meaningful recognition for the profession of nursing.
Reach out to us at info@gobelgroup.com if you would like to discuss any of these ideas or to connect with one of our nurse trainers to discuss our accredited Nurse Training Program, “Nursing’s Impact on Patient Gratitude, Healing, and Philanthropy.
2023 National Nurses Week
Sample Social Media Toolkit
National Nurses Week 2023 Sample Social Media Toolkit
Social media is a powerful tool for spreading awareness and showing gratitude.
Below are a few posts you could customize for your organization to use throughout National Nurse’s Week 2023. You could also supplement these posts with photos of your own nursing staff or photos from activities you planned for them throughout the week.
Sample social media posts
The graphics accompanying the following posts are available in square or 4 x 5 to fit different social media platforms in the Dropbox folder, “Visual Assets.” There is space on each one for you to add your own logo. They can be shared in any order!
Hashtags: #NursesWeek2023 #ThankYouNurses #Nursing #NursesWeek
Post 1:
Visual Asset: NursesWeek2023_Post 1
Text:
Our nurses are vital to (name of organization). They are here 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing empathetic and excellent care for those in our community who need us most. We want to express our gratitude and recognize the work of our staff during National Nurses Week 2023!
Post 2:
Visual Asset: NursesWeek2023_Post 2
Text:
(Name of organization) treats (# patients) every year. But without our nursing staff, we would be unable to care for those who depend on us to help them heal. Thank you for everything you do, (your organization name) nursing team!
Post 3:
Visual Asset: NursesWeek2023_Post 3
Text:
It may be National Nurses Week, but we are thankful for our nurses every single day. Let our nursing staff know you appreciate and support them, too: drop a thank you note in the comments!
Video Post:
Visual Asset: GOBEL_NursesWeek_2023-Social
Text: Thank you to everyone who reached out this week to recognize our amazing nursing staff for #NursesWeek2023. We are grateful for our nurses and the support of our community.
High Resolution Video:
The video file labeled GOBEL_NursesWeek_2023-HD is high resolution and suitable for playing on larger screens, such as waiting room TVs.
