“Care, listen, and support”: We celebrate International Nurses Day
What is International Nurses Day and why is it celebrated on May 12?
International Nurses Day is a global observance held every year on May 12 to recognize the essential role nurses play in healthcare systems worldwide. The date commemorates the birth of Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing, and highlights nurses’ contributions to patient care, prevention, and public health. (1)(3)
International Nurses Day is both a historical commemoration and a call to recognize nurses as the backbone of healthcare systems.
Why is Florence Nightingale central to International Nurses Day?
Florence Nightingale is considered the founder of modern nursing due to her pioneering work during the Crimean War and her role in establishing formal nursing education based on scientific principles. Her reforms drastically reduced mortality and transformed nursing into a respected profession. (1)
What did Florence Nightingale change in healthcare?
- Introduced strict hygiene standards
- Improved hospital ventilation and organization
- Reduced infection‑related mortality during the Crimean War
- Founded the Nightingale School of Nursing in London in 1860 (1)
How is her legacy honored today?
- International Nurses Day is celebrated globally on her birthday
- In the UK, an annual ceremony is held at Westminster Abbey
- Many countries integrate the day into National Nurses Week (1)
What role do nurses play in healthcare systems today?
Nurses are essential healthcare professionals who accompany patients throughout their entire care journey, from admission to recovery or end‑of‑life care. They combine clinical expertise with emotional support, ensuring care continuity, patient safety, and advocacy in all healthcare settings. (3)
How do nurses impact care quality and patient well‑being?
- Administer treatments and medications
- Monitor vital signs and clinical evolution
- Coordinate care with physicians and health teams
- Provide emotional reassurance and patient advocacy (3)
What do the data show about nurses’ presence in care?
- Nurses represent 59% of the global healthcare workforce
- In intensive care units, patients spend 86-88% of their time with nurses
- Nursing is the largest occupational group in healthcare worldwide (3)(4)
Healthcare quality and patient outcomes are inseparable from nurses’ continuous presence and expertise.
Why are empathy and human skills as important as technical expertise?
Beyond clinical competencies, nurses rely heavily on empathy, listening skills, and compassion to support patients and families during vulnerable moments. These human qualities build trust, reduce anxiety, and contribute to holistic, people‑centred care. (3)
The World Health Organization emphasizes that combining clinical excellence and relational care is essential to achieving universal health coverage and improving population health outcomes. (4)(5)
What does nursing look like in real life? Testimony from a home care nurse
Who is Elise Delaplace?
Elise Delaplace is a home care nurse with 19 years of professional experience, including pediatric oncology, hematology, and independent home practice.
How does she define her profession?
Elise defines nursing through three essential actions:
“Care, listen, and support.”
Her professional pride lies in maintaining high standards of care despite heavy workloads and mental strain:
“My greatest professional pride is being able to continue providing high‑quality care with professionalism, empathy, listening, and support, despite a heavy workload and a significant mental burden.”
She emphasizes that, even after many years of practice, the human dimension of care remains central:
“I still strive every day to give the very best of myself to the people I care for.”
She also speaks openly about the reality of burnout within the profession and her own personal experience:
“Yes, I experienced burnouts many times. I even experienced one a few years ago. I had not managed to find a balance between my professional life and my personal life.”
Why choose home care nursing?
For Elise, home care nursing allows her to practice the profession as she truly envisions it:
“I decided to work independently because I needed and wanted to take care of patients the way I had always imagined, with the time I wanted for each person.”
She contrasts home care with institutional settings, where time and staffing constraints often limit relational care:
“In healthcare facilities, the lack of time, staff shortages, pressure from hierarchy, and rigid frameworks can make caregivers work like robots, focusing on tasks and forgetting the person behind the care.”
Working at patients’ homes restores, in her view, the essence of nursing:
“At home, we have more flexibility, and we can truly take care of the human being.”
Elise’s testimony highlights nursing as both a technical profession and a deeply human vocation, where listening, presence, and individualized care are as essential as clinical expertise.
What are the main occupational risks nurses face today?
Nurses are exposed to significant professional risks, particularly needlestick injuries and transmissible diseases, which remain common and preventable hazards in healthcare environments. (10)
What are needlestick injuries and how common are they?
- 4 million healthcare workers affected globally each year
- Often involve contaminated needles
- Average cost per injury in the U.S.: USD 3,750
- Include testing, prophylaxis, and follow‑up care (10)
What infections are associated with NSIs?
- The pathogen HIV has an estimated transmission risk of 0.3%
- The pathogen Hepatitis B has an estimated transmission risk of 6-30% (without vaccination)
-
The pathogen Hepatitis C has an estimated transmission risk of 1.8%
(10)
How serious is workplace violence against nurses?
Workplace violence has become a critical issue in healthcare, affecting nurses in hospitals and home care settings alike. (11)(12)
- 82% of nurses experienced workplace violence in 2023
- 68% verbal threats
- 33-39% physical aggression
- 37% considered leaving the profession
- 20% changed jobs or left healthcare (11)(12)
Violence directly threatens nurse retention, mental health, and system stability.
Are nurses adequately recognized and compensated?
Despite their responsibilities, nurses frequently report insufficient recognition and remuneration compared to the demands of their role. (13)(14)
Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD) data
- In several OECD countries, nurses earn below the national average wage
- Salary gaps contribute to turnover and migration
- Pay dissatisfaction fuels professional disengagement (13)
What type of recognition matters most to nurses?
- Salary is the most valued form of recognition
- More impactful than awards or training opportunities
- Strongly linked to retention and job satisfaction (14)
Why is burnout a growing threat to the nursing workforce?
Nursing is among the most physically and emotionally demanding professions, contributing to widespread burnout and staffing shortages. (6)(7)(9)
Physical burden of nursing work
- 8,000–12,000 steps per 12‑hour shift
- Frequent lifting, repositioning, and emergency response
- Long periods standing in high‑pressure environments (6)
What are the burnout figures?
- 46% of healthcare workers felt burned out “often” in 2022
- Up from 32% in 2018
- Nearly 40% of nurses consider leaving within 5 years (7)(9)(15)(16)
Solutions that can improve nurse’s working conditions
Improving nurses’ safety, retention, and well‑being requires combined action across training, technology, and recognition. (10)(17)
Which initiatives are effective?
- Continuous professional training
- Safety‑engineered medical devices
- Fair remuneration policies
- Structured recognition programmes (10)
Example: safer medical devices
Safety‑engineered devices reduce NSIs by eliminating direct contact with sharp components. The PPS (Polyperf Safe) range by Vygon integrates an anti‑needlestick mechanism by fully protecting the Huber needles, helping prevent injuries during removal without contact with the sharp tip.
Why does institutional recognition make a measurable difference?
Meaningful recognition is directly linked to improved job satisfaction, mental health, and nurse retention. (18)(19)
Case study: “A Culture of Nurture” (Cedars‑Sinai, USA)
Results:
- Reduced nurse turnover
- Increased engagement scores
- Improved morale and culture recognition (18)
European perspective: “Nursing Action”
Launched by WHO/Europe and the EU, this 36‑month initiative focuses on:
- Mentorship programmes
- Workforce well‑being strategies
- Safe staffing practices
- Nurse retention and attractiveness (17)
Why supporting nurses is non-negotiable
Celebrating International Nurses Day is essential, not symbolic. Nurses are the backbone of healthcare systems, ensuring care continuity, safety, and humanity under increasing pressure. Workforce shortages and burnout make recognition and support more urgent than ever. (3)(15)
- Improving working conditions is a priority to ensure patient safety and workforce sustainability. (15)
- Ensuring fair pay: fair compensation is not only a matter of economic justice, but also a condition for stabilizing the workforce and ensuring long‑term access to quality healthcare. (15)
- Investing in safety and education: investment in safety‑engineered medical devices, continuous professional training, and lifelong learning is essential to protect nurses and enhance care quality. (3)
- Recognizing nursing expertise institutionally: recognizing nurses as key decision‑makers within health systems reinforces their professional value and contributes to more resilient, people‑centred care models (17)
Respecting, recognizing, and supporting nurses is an investment in healthcare quality, equity, and the future of our societies, every day, not only on May 12.
Bibliography
(1) Rogers, K. (2026). International Nurses Day. Encyclopaedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com
(2) National Nurses Association. (n.d.). National Nurses Week and the role of nurses.
https://www.nursingworld.org
(3) International Council of Nurses. (2021). International Nurses Day: Honouring nurses worldwide.
https://www.icn.ch
(4) World Health Organization. (2020). State of the world’s nursing 2020: Investing in education, jobs and leadership. WHO.
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(5) World Health Organization. (2020). Support nurses and midwives: World Health Day materials. WHO.
https://www.who.int
(6) Healthcare Workforce Insights. (n.d.). How many steps does a nurse take in a shift? Unveiling the truth behind healthcare’s footwork.
https://www.healthcareworkforceinsights.com
(7) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Health workers face a mental health crisis: Harassment, burnout, and poor mental health. CDC.
https://www.cdc.gov
(8) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Burnout keeps rising for nurses and other healthcare workers. CDC.
https://www.cdc.gov
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https://nursejournal.org
(10) Santos, E. (2026). Needlestick injury statistics: Risks, costs, and prevention.
https://www.needlestickinjurystatistics.com
(11) National Nurses United. (2024). Overwhelming number of nurses face workplace violence, survey shows. MedPage Today.
https://www.medpagetoday.com
(12) Modern Healthcare. (2024). Workplace violence against nurses, in three charts.
https://www.modernhealthcare.com
(13) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2023). Remuneration of nurses. OECD Health Statistics.
https://www.oecd.org/health
(14) Hehman, M. C., Fontenot, N. M., Ramos, C. D., Muyco, J. D., Hayes, A. E., Meyer, R. E., & Asirifi, K. (2025).
Registered nurses and meaningful recognition: Contemporary preferences of a diverse workforce. American Journal of Critical Care, 34(5), 335–344.
https://doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2025995
(15) World Health Organization. (2025). Nursing workforce grows, but inequities threaten global health goals. WHO News Release.
https://www.who.int
(16) National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2025). Small steps toward nursing workforce recovery: Burnout and staffing challenges persist.
https://www.ncsbn.org
(17) World Health Organization Europe. (2025). WHO/Europe launches EU‑funded “Nursing Action” project to address nursing shortages in the EU.
https://www.who.int/europe
(18) Cedars‑Sinai Medical Center. (2024). A culture of nurture: Transforming nursing through meaningful recognition.
https://www.cedars-sinai.org
(19) Alahiane, L., Zaam, Y., Abouqal, R., & Belayachi, J. (2021).
Factors associated with recognition at work among nurses and the impact on health‑related quality of life, job satisfaction and psychological health. BMJ Open, 11(e045673).
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045673
