Nurses, this one’s for you! National Nurses Week 2010 gets underway on May 6, providing an opportunity to acknowledge the hard work and selfless care of  RNs throughout the country.

This year’s nurse week theme, Caring Today for a Healthier Tomorrow, “exemplifies nurses’ caring and professionalism — be it at the bedside or in the halls of Congress,â€� said ANA President Rebecca Patton in her National Nurses Week message.

The theme seems particularly fitting in this era of sea change and unprecedented growth in the health care industry. And perhaps no one has experienced these changes more than the travel nurse, who is on the front lines of providing health care everywhere — from hospitals to schools, clinics to home settings.

“Nurses give so much to this society, and our travel nurses really step up to provide a crucial service,� notes  Deborah Bacurin, RN, clinical resource manager at American Traveler. “Nurses Week reminds us all to stop, and take some time to show our hard-working nurses their due appreciation.�

These little celebrations are part of a movement that has been almost 50 years in the making. National Nurse Week was first observed in October 1954, but did not become an officially designated event until 1974, when President Nixon proclaimed a National Nurses Week. In 1982, May 6 was officially designated by Congress and proclaimed by President Reagan as National Recognition Day for Nurses. The annual week-long observance ends on May 12 – the birthday of Florence Nightingale. (How very fitting!)

Nurses Week is a hard-earned, and much-deserved, observance for all that you do as a travel nurse. So, from May 6-12, celebrate nurse week in style. Take some time out for yourself. Pamper yourself. Reach out to your fellow nurses. Most of all: Enjoy!