National Nurses’ Week May 6-12

The work of America’s 3.1 million licensed registered nurses positioned to assume leadership roles in health care and maintain the health of millions of individuals is the focus of this year’s National Nurses Week, celebrated annually May 6-12 throughout the U.S. The American Nurses Association has selected “Delivering Quality and Innovation in Patient Care” as the theme for 2013.

National Nurses Week begins on May 6, marked as Registered Nurses (RN) Recognition Day, and ends on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, founder of nursing as a modern profession. Several Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Nursing faculty members will celebrate by attending the Texas Nurses Association’s annual Nurse Week Banquet on Friday (May 3) and recognizing the District 18 Nurse of the Year.

According to the American Nurses Association, the nursing profession has grown by 5.3 percent since 2004, a net growth of more than 150,000 RNs. In addition, the profession continues to evolve as more and more nurses pursue advanced practice nursing degrees (APRNs).

“The demand for APRNs is related to the unique role of the nurses who are prepared to deliver primary and acute care for the population across the lifespan — from birth until death. APRNs are registered nurses with master’s or doctoral degrees who are prepared to deliver high-quality, cost-effective primary and acute health care to infants, children, adolescents, pregnant women and adults (including the older adult),” said Emily Merrill, R.N., FNP, professor and department chair for nurse practitioner and nurse midwifery studies in the TTUHSC School of Nursing, and The CH Foundation Endowed Professorship in Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Studies.

“Nurse practitioners work in a diverse and remarkably broad area for health care delivery including hospitals, ambulatory clinics, public health clinics, emergency department settings, schools, universities, the VA clinics, as well as rural clinics. Nurse midwives provide primary care for women including pregnant women. Nurse-midwifery focuses on births without unnecessary procedures or interventions.”

About 250,000, or 8 percent of all RNs, are APRNs.

The TTUHSC School of Nursing has graduated 747 nurses with advanced practice nursing degrees since 1992. The graduate program offers preparation for APRNs for four areas: nurse midwifery, family nurse practitioner, pediatric nurse practitioner, and adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner.

National Nurses’ Week is devoted to highlighting the diverse ways in which RNs, the largest health care profession, are working to improve health care. From bedside nursing in hospitals and long-term care facilities to the halls of research institutions, state legislatures and the U.S. Congress, the depth and breadth of the nursing profession is meeting the expanding health care needs of American society.

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