How are you celebrating your nurses during National Nurses Week this year?
With all the uncertainties in healthcare today, it can be challenging to even think about celebrations, let alone pay for them. The chaos we are feeling these days makes it even MORE important that your nurses are acknowledged and appreciated for all they do. Here are my top 10 suggestions to recognize your nurses, no matter your budget:
- Hand out Starbucks cards
- Hold meet-and-greet sessions with different units to give them a voice about how things are going
- Take digital pictures of your nurses all week and turn them into a slideshow on the big screen in the meeting room
- Hand write “Thank You” notes for something each individual staff nurse excels at
- Contact your local newspaper or tv station to interview a staff nurse for Nurses Week
- Arrange for the administration staff to cook a meal and deliver to your nurses units
- Hold an essay contest about “Why I Am A Nurse” and offer a nice prize
- Have a vendor fair at the hospital with free gifts, gadgets, and treats for the nurses who attend
- Involve the nurses and have them write an appreciative note to someone they pick out of a hat on their unit
- Ask your community to donate tickets, food, gifts, or services to hand out to your nursing staff
And of course there’s one more great way to celebrate Nurses Week: hire me to share my “Chaos to CALM” or “Rekindling the Spirit of Nursing” presentation with your team! A live event with a guest speaker is a great way to appreciate and energize your nurses. Here’s what Lauren from Princeton Healthcare System had to say after my event with her nurses:
“Your message was perfect for our nurses as your high energy and enthusiasm not only kept the audience’s attention, but gave us practical strategies we could start using immediately!”
Learn more and watch a preview video here, and contact me if you’re interested in one of the three two remaining dates that are open on my schedule during Nurses Week 2012.
Did you find these ideas to be helpful? How are YOU celebrating your nurses? Share your suggestions in the comments below!
