This year’s national nursing week will take place May 7-13. In
1971 the International Council of Nurses designated May 12,
Florence Nightingale’s birthday, as International Nurse’s Day.
Several years later, the first national nursing week was
celebrated in 1985 to highlight nurse’s contributions to the
well being of Canadian public. As many of you know, Nightingale
is best known around the world as the “lady with the lamp” who
nursed British soldiers during the Crimean war and turned
nursing into a profession. Nightingale died on August 13, 1910
at the age of90. Prior to the founding of modern nursing, nuns
and the military usually provided nursing-like care. The
religious and military roots are still evident today in many
countries, for example in the United Kingdom, senior female
nurses are known as Sisters. Although the event is celebrated
internationally, Canada chooses to hold theirs independently on
a different date. The 2012 Canadian theme is Nurses- The Health
of our Nation. It reflects the positive i