…is today, May 6th. It was designated in 1965 as a day to raise awareness of the important roles nurses play in society and it marks the beginning of National Nurses Week, which ends May 12th. I think in the past we have always respected and appreciated the role nurses play in our lives, and are so grateful that they are willing and able to do a job many of us could not do.

We grew up hearing the names Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton, but did we really know their history. As I was checking out their biographies they were both very compassionate woman. They were all about a person’s human rights and I suggest that if you have nothing to do look them up. Both are quite fascinating. Just a little tidbit.

Florence Nightingale was born in England on May 12, 1820. She was an English social reformer and statistician and founder of modern nursing. She felt health was a human right. Nightingale was put in charge of nursing British and Allied soldiers in Turkey during the Crimean War in 1853. Her experiences led her to establish the first scientifically based nursing school, opening in 1860. She was called the Lady with the Lamp by the troops. She died August 13, 1910.

Clara Barton was born in Massachusetts on December 25, 1821. She was an educator, a nurse and the founder of the American Red Cross. She was a teacher at a private school in NJ at the age of 15. she later opened a free public library in the state. In the mid 1850’s she went to Washington and worked in the US Patent Office. She did a man’s job and demanded she get paid like a man, which she did. She joined the Civil War effort delivering supplies and in 1862 became a combat nurse and was on the front lines. After the war, while visiting Europe, she worked for a relief organization known as the International Red Cross. After coming back she lobbied for an American Red Cross branch. The American Red Cross was founded in 1881 and Barton served as its’ first president. She was called The Angel of the Battlefield. She died April 12, 1912.

What was interesting to me was they were born at about the same time. Were very dedicated to rights of their fellow man, whether it was health or wages. Both got their first nursing experiences during war times. Both were given names; Lady with the Lamp, and Angel on the Battlefield. After the war, one established schooling for nurses, and the other founded an organization that is there for any and all disasters. They more than deserve to be honored, and now more than any other time in my life every nurse should be honored and put on the highest pedestal we can find. Thank you, thank you, thank you to Florence and Clara and all those dedicated people who were inspired to follow in their footsteps. There are no words that can sufficiently express our thanks to you for your courage and dedication to your profession. We have a National Nurses Day and Week, and I think a National Nurses Year should be added.