National Nurses Week provides hospitals and the general public a much needed opportunity to show appreciation for how much nurses contribute to health care. Since the inception of the ANA’s National Nurses Week, certain health care systems have been excellent in recognizing their nurses, providing thoughtful gifts and organizing events to celebrate. Other health care systems have been much less successful, gifting cheap thoughtless trinkets, and organizing events that don’t coincide with the schedules of their nurses (during shifts or on off days) making it difficult for them to attend. Some health care systems have chosen to ignore National Nurses Week entirely.

If you work at a hospital or clinic that is choosing to ignore National Nurses Week, your first responsibility is to take the issue to your boss. It is not enough to claim that you want it celebrated and to walk away thinking you made a difference. Realistically, you have to make a pitch about why National Nurses Week is worth celebrating. Even more, you must go into that meeting with ideas of how to celebrate; you cannot request change without a plan.

So, do your research before you make your approach. The 2017 theme is “Nursing: the balance of mind body and spirit”. You can begin to research general anxiety disorders and depression statistics among the general public, and then specifically look at numbers regarding the sleep, eating, health, nutrition, exercise, and happiness of nurses. During this process, make note of what stands out to you, and begin to form your pitch around those numbers.

Chances are this won’t be a formal meeting with your boss; it will more likely be an informal, quick conversation within their office. This means your pitch should last about thirty to sixty seconds. Open your meeting by addressing your concern for the lack of celebration that has occurred. Transition smoothly to this year’s theme and how important you believe the message is when it comes to successful nursing. Next, present the few statistics that you thought really stood out and emphasize how much those numbers could improve with a behavioral change, and thus how much nursing effectiveness could improve. At this point, read the reaction on the face of your boss. If they do not look engaged, it may be best to stop talking and allow them to speak. If they seem genuinely intrigued, continue on your argument with a few of the ideas that you’ve come up with of how you could celebrate.

It is very possible that your boss will reject your idea, or admit that you had a well-structured argument and they will look into it for next year. That is not a failure on your end, and it is still worth trying. Though rejection is never a desired result, getting the conversation started on behalf of yourself and your peers is admirable. National Nurses Week has played a major role in impacting the public’s appreciation for nurses, and also in contributing to healthy changes in the lives of nurses.