Nurses Week

2026 National Nurses Week 

May 6 – 12

 

We are excited to celebrate National Nurses Week with you here at UVA Health University Medical Center! A variety of events and opportunities are available for you to participate in. Click below for an overview of available celebration activities.   

Coming Soon!  2026 National Nurses Week Flyer

Coming Soon! Photos from Nurses Week 2026

 

UVA School of Nursing’s Preceptor Appreciation Day

Monday, May 5, 0700-1300 in Dining Conference Rooms 2 & 3

 

2026 Evidence-Based Practice Symposium

Wednesday, May 6,  0800-1200 or 1300-1400 at the Wool Factory

Registration in Workday required. 

Click here for the AM session.  Click here for the PM session.

Click here for a printable flyer

 

2026 Annual Nursing Excellence Awards 

Tuesday, May 12, 1500-1800 at the Wool Factory

Livestream link coming soon

 

Nurses Light Up the Sky

In celebration of the American Nurses Enterprise’s focus on “The Power of Nurses,” UVA Health’s South Tower will be illuminated in red each night throughout National Nurses Week. We are joining the Light Up The Sky effort to celebrate nurses across the nation. 

What is National Nurses Week?

National Nurses Week is an important opportunity for communities to recognize the contributions that nurses make in a variety of roles in both healthcare and non-healthcare settings.

The idea of Nurses Week began in the early 1950s but was not formally celebrated until the mid-1970s. In 1974, the International Council of Nurses declared May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday, to be International Nurses Day. In 1982, the American Nurses Association declared May 6 as National Nurses Day. The ANA then designated May 6-12 to be National Nurses Week in 1990.

Florence Nightingale is often referred to as the founder of modern nursing, laying the foundation of professional nursing using statistics and writing to share her work, outcomes, and new knowledge.

 

“Let us never consider ourselves finished nurses. We must be learning all of our lives.”

Florence Nightingale

Edited by: Jenny Ernest (vpr3mr) Updated: March 12, 2026