Celebrating National Nurses Week with Nursing Pins and Nurse Jewelry

National Nurses Week is a special time every spring that allows us as nurses to celebrate our career with fellow nurses, and it is a time to come together to encourage one another and to share our love for the profession. This year the celebrations kick off on Saturday May 6, 2017, and concludes with Florence Nightingale’s birthday on May 12. The American Nurses Association has dubbed 2017 the “Year of the Healthy Nurse”. I really like the title this year, as it reminds nurses that we have to first be able to take care of our self in order to properly take care of others. In addition, National Student Nurses Week coincides with National Student Nurse Day which takes place on May 8, 2017. As nurses, we are excited for the students to join our profession and are even more excited to share this week together to celebrate our achievements and to look to the future to see what can be improved upon. What better way to celebrate both special weeks than with a nursing pin or beautiful nursing jewelry? Let’s explore what National Nurses Week is, and how we at nursingpin.com want to take part in your celebrations.

National Nurses Week

It’s imperative each year to be recognized in some fashion for all of your hard work as a nurse. Burnout is easy, and it happens to so many of us. You start working in the profession with all of the best motives, only to find yourself ending the days with tired feet, a sore back, and a boatload of compassion fatigue. Being burdened with the mountains of charting doesn’t help you take care of your patients, which is really the main reason you became a nurse in the first place! As you leave work, you may even wonder if you made a difference at all. My friend Julie would often go home and want to talk to her husband about her feelings, but he doesn’t ever really understand. Sometimes the only person that does truly understand is another nurse. National Nurses Week was started by the ANA with all of this in mind, and with an understanding that each nurse needs a designated week to find a community of people who recognize and appreciate their struggle, and who are willing to help you advance your career and become an even better nurse.

Throughout the country, hospitals and national nursing organizations are holding events to celebrate you. One hospital I know of brings gourmet food trucks to the front of the hospital all week and gives out lunches to all the staff nurses. Other employers give out gift cards and movie tickets. It’s wonderful to feel rewarded during this week, as many of us may end our shifts like Julie each day with a feeling that nobody appreciates our sweat, tears, and occasionally even blood, that goes into working as a nurse.

So with all of that said, you must realize now that you deserve some celebrating! Only one question remains: how do you want to do it? At nursingpin.com, our specialty is nursing pins, and with National Nurses Week quickly approaching on the hind legs of the Easter Bunny, we want you to take a look at the many different, beautiful pieces of quality nurse jewelry and nurse gifts that will be a lovely addition to your celebrations!

Nursing Jewelry and Nursing Pins

Nursing pins have been at the front and center of graduation ceremonies and pinning ceremonies for many decades. Even as you take the leap and transition from student nurse to registered nurse, your nursing pin will still be a piece of jewelry that you’re proud of and proud to wear. While there are many reasons to purchase your pin from us, this coming May 8 may be a perfect time to commemorate your achievements and celebrate Student Nurse’s Day. Our pins come in all shapes and sizes, with a variety of gem stones and metals to choose from. Do you have a son or daughter who is attending nursing school? Giving the gift of a nursing pin to encourage them in their studies and remind them how proud you are would be a memorable present. Do you have a mom who is a nurse? Mother’s Day nearly coincides with National Nurses Week, and a necklace would be the perfect gift for a nurse, especially since I assume she’s your favorite nurse in the world.

My coworker is a registered nurse who has a huge bumper sticker on the back of her Honda Civic that says “Nursing is a work of heart” with a little stethoscope that is in the shape of a heart. I find that clever, and that is her way of letting the world know how proud she is of her life’s calling, of her contribution to the world. My other coworker has a delicate sterling silver necklace that she wears every day that simply says “RN” with a blue gemstone that is her daughter’s birthstone. She says that she wears it every day to remind her why she is at work, and what her purpose in life is. Here I just thought it was a beautiful piece of nurse jewelry, but hearing her reason for wearing it brought tears to my eyes and made it that much more beautiful.

How are YOU going to Celebrate National Nurses Week?

If you’re a nurse, you have reason to celebrate. Now let’s answer the question of how you want to do it.

Food trucks and movie tickets are wonderful and appreciated, but the gift doesn’t last. If you’re like me, you don’t want to just celebrate your profession, your calling, in just one night. And while I can see why people celebrate with cute bumper stickers on their car, I want to declare my pride for my life’s work with something a little more lasting, a little prettier. A piece of nurse jewelry is just that. In addition, one of my favorite reasons for wearing my RN necklace is because it strikes up conversations with people at the store and I make a lot of new friends that way! Celebrate this National Nurses Week with a gift that will continue beyond the length of your career.