Promoted and sponsored by the Emergency Nurses Association and having originated in Australia back in 1989, Emergency Nurses Day is now an international celebration, intended to honor the hard work and dedication of emergency nurses all around the world. Why do emergency nurses warrant special appreciation? Well, quite simply, because they make a huge difference to sick, injured, and even dying people every single day, offering vital assistance and support.
Nursing as a profession requires a special level of compassion and nurses working in hospital emergency wards face numerous difficulties during their working life, yet still, return every day to provide crucial care for those who need it the most. A special focus is placed on Emergency Nurses Day, which forms one part of a wider celebration, called Emergency Nurses Week. Various events are held around the world, in order to give thanks and show support for those who choose to work in this essential profession.
Learn about Emergency Nurses Day
As the name indicates, Emergency Nurses Day is a day to appreciate all of the hard work that is done by those working in this profession. After all, it takes a special kind of person to work in this profession. You need to be able to take decisive action, think quickly, and have a strong stomach. Emergency nurses work in critical care emergency facilities, assisting doctors, and working with other emergency medical professionals to help people that are in severe pain and experiencing trauma that is potentially life-threatening.
Emergency nurses work as part of a team with other healthcare professionals, including other nurses and physicians, in order to advise patients, perform minor medical operations, use medical equipment, administer medicine, plan long-term care needs, monitor health conditions, and provide care. They also advise a patient’s family on the illness, as well as assisting with continued care after the individual’s hospital day.
When you consider their typical day-to-day duties, it is not hard to see that we have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to the work of emergency nurses all around the world, and so it is only right that we have Emergency Nurses Day so that we can celebrate all of the work that they do and show our appreciation.
When it comes to allergic reactions, accidents, and other urgent medical care requirements, emergency rooms tend to be the first line of defense. Emergency nurses need to work quickly to make sure the patient’s needs are assessed and that their care is prioritized. Their first aim is to stabilize the patient. Once they have done this, they are able to diagnose the problem and start working on a plan to bring the patient back to health. It is a high-pressure job and there is a lot on the line. These incredible individuals are patient, calm under pressure, compassionate, and they boast exceptional critical-thinking skills.
History of Emergency Nurses Day
Emergency Nurses Day has been going strong for many years now. In fact, it first started in 1989, and it has been honored ever since. It was established by the Emergency Nurses Association, and it is part of Emergency Nurses Week. It is deemed as an opportunity for us to shine a light on and appreciate the outstanding commitment of emergency nursing professionals from around the globe.
Emergency Nurses Week came about in 2001, giving the Emergency Nurses Association the opportunity to really show the contributions that emergency nursing professionals make, and Emergency Nurses Day is arguably the most significant date from this important week.
Speaking about this important day, the president of the Emergency Nurses Association, Patti Kunz Howard, PhD, RN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, NE-BC, FAEN, FAAN, said the following:
“We give an unsurpassed level of dedication and commitment to our patients. We give countless hours to our departments with all our focus and energy to improving our patients’ outcomes. We utilize our skills and knowledge to save lives. To my colleagues across the world, thank you for your selfless work in helping those that need your help the most. Today, we recognize your contributions that make a difference in your community.”
In order to thoroughly understand Emergency Nurses Day, we should shed a little bit of light on the Emergency Nurses Association itself. This was founded in 1970 and it is known as the premier professional nursing association that is dedicated to leadership, innovation, research, education, and advocacy for the purpose of defining the future of emergency nursing.
There are more than 44,000 members of the association across the globe. The Emergency Nurses Association advocates for a number of important things, including patient safety, as well as guiding emergency healthcare public policy and developing industry-leading practice guidelines and standards. So, it is a pretty big deal!
How to celebrate Emergency Nurses Day
There are a number of different ways that you can celebrate Emergency Nurses Day. If you know someone who is an emergency nurse, you can use this day in order to make them aware of how much you appreciate all of their hard work and all of the effort that they put in. You could send them a greeting card, thanking them for their work.
Or, you could send them a small gift, such as a box of chocolates or something that you have handmade yourself? If you do not know any emergency nurses personally, you may want to consider making a trip to your local hospital and delivering some baked goods or something else that is going to put a smile on everyone’s faces, letting them know just how much you appreciate everything they do.
A lot of people also use Emergency Nurses Day as an opportunity to fundraise for their local hospitals and medical centers. There are plenty of different ways that you can fundraise. You could decide to host an event. Fun runs and bake sales are very popular here, but you can get as creative as you like. So long as you have an idea that gets everyone involved and raises awareness, you have a winning recipe.
You don’t need to host an event in order to fundraise, though. There are many other things that you can do! For example, you may decide to do a bungee jump or skydive and get people to sponsor you, or you may sell a product online and donate some of the proceeds to your local hospital? The choice is yours!
We also recommend spending a bit of time on Emergency Nurses Day learning more about the role of emergency nurses and why they are so critical. You can read up on the daily duties of emergency nurses, as well as the education and qualifications that are required to make it in this position.
You can also read up on some amazing tales of emergency nurses who have helped to save lives. Browse around on social media and you are bound to find a lot of fascinating information and heartwarming stories floating around during this week, so you can share these with your followers to raise awareness.
