Suggested Activities for Florida Nurse Week

• Before you even start, designate a Nurse Week Planning Committee.
  
  
• Obtain a proclamation from the mayor of your town proclaiming May 6-12 National Nurses' Week. Click here for sample proclamation.
  
  
• Plan a special celebration (luncheon, dinner, or reception) to network and celebrate together. You may want to use this time to honor some of your colleagues. Write letters to local institutions asking them to nominate their outstanding nurse. You can include nurses from practice, education or any other areas. List their names in the program and recognize them with plaques and certificates. Note: Some districts announce their "Nurse of the Year" at this time.
  
  
• Promote a positive image of nursing by sponsoring a health fair, conducting preventative screenings in an underserved areas or organizing a walk-a-thon or fun run.
  You may want to co-sponsor an event with a large institution like a hospital or health club to
  share expenses and event planning details.
  
  
• Sponsor a coloring/art contest or poetry contest for school children using the "Caring Today For A Healthier Tomorrow" theme or creating one of your own. The drawings could be displayed in local hospitals, malls, schools, nursing homes, etc.
  
  
• Contact local hospitals, schools and libraries to set up displays for National Nurses Week. Have nurses bring in their caps, student uniforms and photographs to make a very interesting display.
  
  
• Be proactive and volunteer to go out to schools to speak to students about the many roles of nurses today. Take along promotional materials about careers in nursing.
  
  
• Write articles or letters to the editor about "hot" nursing or healthcare topics.
  
  
• Call radio stations and ask them to make announcements during National Nurses Week. Ask to be a guest on local radio talk or TV shows. (Create your own personal "media database" so that you can easily access the addresses/phone numbers and/or print labels anytime you want to get something out to the press.). This is excellent free PR for nursing!
  
  
• Utilize TV, radio, newspapers and community bulletin boards to announce your activities.
  
  
• Host a fundraiser and donate the money to a local charity (e.g., a walk-a-thon).
  
  
• Organize a candlelight vigil to recognize the hard work of 2.2 million registered nurses in the United States today.
  
  
• Write and distribute a press release regarding National Nurses Day. Click here for sample press release.
  
  
• Order and distribute the Nurse Week Products available from ANA. For more information see your American Nurse, call 1-800-4ANA, or go to www.nursingworld.org.
  
  
• To build collegiality and collaborative relationships, recognize colleagues from other health related disciplines, such as P.T, R.T., with a "we appreciate you" reception, for example.