International Nurses Day 2020: All you need to know about May 12

International Nurses Day 2020, is celebrated on May 12 each year. It is celebrated worldwide to appreciate the contribution of nurses across the globe. On this special day the efforts of nurses are remembered along with their service to the society. The International Nurses Day significance tells a tale about Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. On the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the International Nurses Day is celebrated each year.  Nightingale had volunteered much against her family's wishes to go and nurse the British and allied soldiers in Turkey during the Crimean War. She and her team went into the perilous terrain as they were appalled by reports of how the wounded allied soldiers were receiving substandard care. Nightingale spent many hours in the wards, and the night rounds that she pulled off with one hand holding aloft the lamp - giving personal care to the wounded - established her image as the “Lady with the Lamp.” 

The theme for 2020, Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health, demonstrates how nurses are central to addressing a wide range of health challenges. It assumes great importance in this year as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2020 as The Year of the Nurse and Midwife. Also, since Nurse's Day 12 May this year, will be the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, it assumes monumental importance. International Nurses Day got its validation back in 1974 as the international council of nurses chose this day to celebrate the Nobel profession of nursing. Though the idea to honour nurses through this day was put forward in 1953 but the president of the council did not approve it and hence it took the world 21 years to recognise nurses internationally.