Every year, the American Nurses Association (ANA) celebrates National Nurses Week, May 6-12, to promote, support, and honor the varying roles of nurses and the positive impacts they make in our communities every day. This year, ANA expanded National Nurses Week to National Nurses Month in May to show gratitude for the invaluable contributions of nurses all month long.

The 2022 National Nurses theme is “Nurses Make a Difference.” The month will be divided into four weekly focus areas: Self-Care, Recognition, Professional Development, and Community Engagement.

Week 1: Self-Care (May 1–7)

This week is focused on cultivating and maintaining the optimal mental and physical well-being of nurses. In a profession where you are focusing on the care of others, it can be challenging to find the time and energy to focus on yourself. See below for some ideas on how to get involved this week.

• Create an environment where everyone doesn’t just survive – but can thrive. Visit the Self Care for Safe Care site to find easy-to-use resources and activities to help retrain our minds to focus on the positive and increase our sense of happiness and well-being.
• Promote and inform your employees of your organization's well-being resources, tools, employee assistance programs, and other benefits they have.
• Encourage your staff and yourself to spend some time outside to increase your vitamin D levels to boost your immunity, decrease anxiety, and improve sleep.
• Challenge yourself, your colleagues, family, and friends to engage in healthier activities throughout the week!

Looking Ahead

Week 2: Recognition (May 8–14) Honor the work of nurses whose impacts are vital to the health of our communities and the future of health care.

Week 3: Professional Development (May 15–21) Promote the professional

development of nurses to help inspire and lead others in their nursing career journey.

Week 4: Community Engagement (May 22–31) Educate your communities on the vital role nurses play and how they can get involved to support our current and future nurses.

For more resources and to learn more about how you can participate in National Nurses Week and Month, visit the National Nurses Month webpage.