Queen Silvia of Sweden recorded a video message in honour of International Nurses Day, celebrated every year on the 12th of May.
In her message, Her Majesty said: “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your very own day,” as the role of nurses has gained increasing focus over the past two years.
The Queen too highlighted this point, praising nurses’ “empathy and commitment” towards their patients, which “make a difference – both in society at large and in the lives of individuals.”
She concluded her remarks by stating that she is grateful for their relentless work in ensuring the well-being of all of their patients, from the beginning to the end of life.
International Nurses Day was instituted by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in 1965 but has been celebrated on the 12th of May since 1974. Every year on the day, the ICN prepares and distributes the International Nurses’ Day Kit all around the world.
The kit contains educational tools and materials for public information that nurses can distribute to their patients to help them understand the treatments they are undergoing or run information campaigns about specific diseases or treatments.
Each year, the ICN selects a theme for the event; in 2020, it was “nursing the world to health,” in 2021 “A vision for future healthcare” and in 2022, it was “Nurses: make a difference.”
International Nurses Day is celebrated on the 12th of May as a homage to Florence Nightingale, the person responsible for inventing modern nursing with her “compassion, commitment to patient care and diligent and thoughtful hospital administration.” The Florence-born pioneer was born on that day in 1820.
