Nurses Week 2024

The theme for 2024’s National Nurses Week is “Nurses Make the Difference” to honor the varying roles of nursers and their positive impact on our lives. 

Nurses Week Message from a Senior Leader

My Grandfather's Stories

This National Nurses Week, I remember my grandfather, who served as a nurse in a rural community in Nigeria in the 1920s. At that time, there were few doctors in the country and in several regions, doctors visited the rural hospitals only once a month. My grandfather and his team of nurses were the de facto healthcare system for their community.

My grandfather was a quiet, unassuming man, and a skillful storyteller. I’ll never forget the story of the man with prostate disease who jumped off his hospital bed and took off running when my grandfather explained to him that he would need to have a catheter inserted into his bladder. The logistics of the procedure terrified the man. My grandfather and his team of nurses ran after him all the way to his home and gently coaxed him to come back to hospital. It was a two-mile run!

I also remember the story of a 13-year-old girl who showed up at my grandfather’s home late one night, extremely ill with a genital abscess and too ashamed to tell her parents. But she trusted my grandfather and his team of nurses – and she wasn’t the only one. People would knock on his door at all hours of the night, asking for his help. My grandmother once asked him why he worked so hard. He said, “I cannot rest when others are in pain.”

Today, nurses are still the backbone of our healthcare system, caring for people when they are at their most vulnerable, comforting patients who are afraid and anxious, and acting as the trusted confidants for many.

The stories my grandfather shared with me fueled my passion for healthcare. It has been a long time since I’ve heard a story from him, but now I hear stories like his from the nurses I’m fortunate to call colleagues. Some stories are laced with humor, many are laced with joy, most are laced with a patient’s pain and suffering. Because nurses still do not rest when others are in pain.

This week we celebrate nurses. And we take it as a reminder to celebrate nurses every day because we simply would not have a healthcare system without them.

A Message of Gratitude from a Senior Nurse Leader 

As we honor National Nurses Week, we pause to extend our deepest gratitude to the compassionate souls who tirelessly serve our members. You embody the essence of high quality, patient centered care, delivering compassion and warmth to every individual you touch.

Your unwavering dedication to patients is nothing short of remarkable as you demonstrate the perfect blend of clinical expertise and heartfelt compassion as you make a profound impact for our patients and communities.

The theme for Nurses Week 2024 is ‘Nurses Make the Difference.’ The difference you make in health care is evident with many examples of invaluable contributions such as unwavering dedication and commitment to quality, innovation and care.

To our nurses, thank you for your selflessness, resilience and unwavering commitment to healing and caring for others. We are honored to celebrate you during National Nurses Week. 

Message from Dee Grein, CEO, Optum Infusion Pharmacy

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Nurses Week Infographic: Facts and Figures

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Nurses Week Profiles

Give Yourself a Check-up Today!

Our vision is for our clinicians to thrive in an environment where they experience joy at work while mitigating the factors contributing to burnout.  

Joy in Practice is a collaborative effort across UnitedHealth Group to bring together internal and external partners who are committed to reducing burnout and increasing professional joy for clinicians.

Clinician burnout is real suffering among people dedicated to preventing and relieving the suffering of others.  

A lack of professional joy is a significant threat to a vibrant health system, and it can adversely affect staff turnover, health care costs, and patient safety and satisfaction.  Joy is about finding connections to meaning and purpose in your work.

Explore Joy in Practice Interactive Roadmap

 

New Stress Assessment Tool for Our Nurses

We would like to introduce you to a stress self-assessment tool offered by the American Nurses Foundation. It is a component of its Stress and Burnout Prevention Program curriculum, which the United Health Foundation has made possible with financial support.  We encourage you to join the free webinar at 1:00 p.m. (Central) on Thursday, May 9 that will preview the new Stress and Burnout Prevention Program curriculum.

Access the Tool