International Nurses Day 2025
11 May 2025 | Catherine Best QN
In the first of two blogs, Queen’s Nurse Catherine Best emphasises the importance of nurses celebrating International Nurse’s Day 2025 and recognising the unique contribution they make to improving national, international and global economies, whilst working towards meeting the outcomes of the United Nations (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
International Nurse’s Day (IND) is celebrated every year on May 12th – the birthday of Florence Nightingale. This momentous day was chosen by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in 1974 as a means of recognising not only the contribution she made to nursing, but also the contribution that all nurses make in ensuring the delivery of safe and effective nursing care.
However, when anecdotally (at least within the UK) many still argue ‘you don’t need to have a degree to be a good nurse’ and to argue the contrary is frequently met with scepticism, it is clear we still have a long way to go to promote the true value of nursing.
The Importance of International Nurses Day
Whilst the ICN has developed many themes associated with IND, one of the most poignant is that of Nurses a voice to lead achieving the SDGs which began in 2017 and advanced through to 2021, with variations to the theme evolving over those five years. Coincidently, 2017 was also about the time when I recognised the importance of celebrating this momentous day and promoting the true value of nursing. It was also when I decided to write about the value of IND and other important days, including International Women’s Day and Patient Safety Day, leading me to write a number of blogs with the QICN (listed below).
Since the launch of IND, there have been other themes – in 2024 it was Our nurses. Our Future. The economic power of care, which, for the first time, focused on how nurses’ practice helps not only improve the health and wellbeing of the world’s population, but in so doing, improves the economies of countries. After all, healthy adults become part of a healthy workforce.
Building on the success of the 2024 theme, the theme for 2025 is Our Nurses. Our Future. Caring for nurses strengthens economies. This year’s theme changes focus slightly from the health of global populations to the health and wellbeing of nurses, emphasising the crucial role:
“a healthy nursing workforce plays in strengthening economies, improving health systems, and ensuring better outcomes for communities worldwide.”
A Charter for Change
IND 2025 also reinforces the message of the ICN Charter for Change introduced in 2024 and the need to promote the welfare of the global nursing workforce. The nursing profession, the charter argues has been taken for granted for far too long. The time is now to invest in the workforce, ensure policies protect and invest in nursing and to recognise the value, skills and knowledge of all nurses. This charter may seem like a panacea and perhaps it is – but if we do not as nurses, act to make this charter a reality, we will surely have let ourselves down.
On May 12th the World Health Organization will launch the State of the World’s Nursing Report 2025. The second of its type. The first being published on 7th April 2020, to coincide with World Health Day, the emphasis of which is on investing in nurse education, jobs and leadership. It will be interesting to see whether this report, as with the ICN theme for 2025, focuses on the health and wellbeing of nurses and the capacity of nurses to improve the economic status of countries. If you want to learn more, don’t forget to download your copy!
Self-Care for Nurses
To ensure the nursing workforce is able to maintain their high commitment to service delivery, the emphasis must be on ensuring nurses are fit to do so. This requires a commitment from every single nurse, not only to be responsible for their own self-care, but also for supporting the needs of their colleagues. It doesn’t stop there. The role of leadership and management in helping to support the health, wellbeing and safety of nurses remains a crucial element in ensuring nurses are fit to practice and patient care remains a priority.
So, perhaps the next question to ask ourselves is – how can we do this? How can we remain strong, healthy and resilient against a backdrop of challenges including government policies, changes to nurse education, continued nurse shortages and the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic?
It can easily be argued that the health of nurses and the wellbeing of the nursing workforce as a whole, begins with nurses. The self-care of nurses has never been more important and yet we continue to make ourselves the least priority. We need to take a different stance. As nurses we are committed to ensuring our patients are our priority and no-one is likely to argue against that, however our health and wellbeing must also be our priority. The health and wellbeing of our colleagues must be our priority.
After all, if we do not make our health and those who we work with a priority, how can we be expected to safely care for others.
There has never been a greater time to promote the value of nursing. Populations rely on us. Economies rely on us. The world relies on us. Writing for publication in all its forms can help promote nursing as a global profession, along with presenting at conferences and working with organisations such as the QICN. It can help promote the significant contribution that nurses make to a global society. Who will tell the world if we don’t? Self-praise, it is argued ‘is no recommendation’ – but if we don’t do it, who will and if not now – when?
Catherine’s previous QICN blogs include:
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