In Celebration of National Nurses Week 2026

This year, from May 6-12, we celebrate National Nurses Week to recognize all that nurses do in care for the promotion and restoration of health and well-being of others. Among the many things that nurses are admired for, what strikes me most is the selfless altruism that is core for every nurse. It is what sparks the decision to apply to nursing school, kindles intention to take on the many roles that nurses hold in employment and volunteerism, and flames the effort needed to get through a challenging shift and, yet, return for another. It is what I believe makes, according to an annual Gallup poll, Americans continue to rate nurses as the most honest and ethical profession for yet another year and consistently for nearly the past quarter century.

While all nurses across all specializations and work settings are to be honored, this year I want to especially spotlight and praise nurse educators. Whether in academic institutions or clinical health care delivery organizations, their selfless altruism is expressed in sharing the knowledge and shaping the skills that student nurses and even experienced nurses as lifelong learners need for successful professional careers. More than that, they give of themselves to nurture the potential and promise in others so they then can then go on to fulfilling their purpose in life as nurses. The contributions that nurse educators make in classrooms, in addition to patient rooms, treatment rooms, and board rooms, reflect their care for others throughout society through their care to educate and train competent and confident nurses who will uphold the standards and stature of the nursing profession. Because of their amazing works and generous spirit of selfless altruism, nurse educators are to be lauded for their striving for the greater good of the world (what we at Seattle University as a Jesuit institution refer to as the Magis).

The reward of being a nurse educator, contributing to something bigger than one’s self, is aptly captured by a quote from the memoir of Linda Richards (1841-1930), generally viewed as the first professionally trained nurse in the United States (more here and here) and credited for pioneering the founding and superintending of nursing training schools across the nation. Reminiscing on her accomplishments as a nurse educator, she offered,…

"All I can say is that I have found life full of interest in an earnest endeavor to do faithfully my small part in the great movement which has resulted in establishing the profession of the trained nurse in America." - Linda Richards

Wishing all nurses, especially nurse educators, a very Happy Nurses Week!