Hyderabad: To honour and remember the contribution of nurses, International Nurses Day is observed on May 12 all over the world. The date coincides with the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, also known as 'the Lady with the Lamp', who worked as a nurse for the wounded British soldiers during the Crimean War.
The idea to observe International Nurses Day was first proposed in the year 1953 by Dorothy Sutherland, an official of the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The proposal was rejected by the then President of the US, David D, Eisenhower. Then in 1965, an International Council of Nurses (ICN) Bar decided to observe the day on May 12 every year, and in January 1974, US President David D. Eisenhower officially announced the day as International Nurses Day.
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May 12 commemorates the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, who is also considered the founder of modern nursing. Her service during the Crimean War and her habit of tending to wounded soldiers and checking on her patients in the night by walking between the beds with a lamp in her hand earned her the nickname 'The Lady with the Lamp'. Her contributions to the sector of healthcare are remembered and honoured on International Nurses Day.
In a time when we are still dealing with the aftermath of the Corona pandemic, the world cannot forget the efforts and hard work of the nurses during that tough period. Along with doctors and other healthcare workers, nurses were also constantly battling to provide proper healthcare to the patients during Covid.
