Celebrate National Nurses Week 2025!
Looking for a powerful and simple way to appreciate nurses this year? Kudoboard is built for heartfelt recognition that brings people together.
Driving gratitude for Nurses at thousands of healthcare organizations
When is National Nurses Week?
May 6 – 12, 2025
is National Nurses Week
Nurses Week is the perfect time to honor the heart and soul of healthcare—our nurses. Nurses give so much, and they deserve to feel seen, valued, and appreciated. Whether you’re a hospital administrator, clinic manager, or grateful patient, Kudoboard makes it easy to celebrate Nurses Week or Nurses Day (May 6th) in a meaningful way.
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Personal & Sharable — Invite coworkers, patients, and leaders to contribute messages of gratitude.
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Unique, Authentic & Fun — Add custom branding, attach photos, videos, GIFs, and emojis for a fun, vibrant experience
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Workplace Ready — Perfect for clinics, hospitals, and healthcare organizations. Make it internal or external with a QR code feature to drive others to contribute from their phone. Turn on/off moderation.
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Boost Morale — recognition is proven to improve morale in healthcare and reduce burnout. Nurses need to be thanked.
Examples of celebrating Nurses Week with Kudoboard
Select a thumbnail to learn how other health systems celebrate National Nurses Week:
Are you shining a light on care teams?
Milestones & Moments
Replace the card that’s passed around. Celebrate nurses, doctors, and staff for important milestones like birthdays, anniversaries and more.
Engagement & Culture
Bring healthcare staff and patients together to connect and celebrate initiatives, holidays, accomplishments, and more.
Healthcare Recognition
Empower everyone to send each other back-and-forth thank you messages, shout-outs, and moments of gratitude. Spread the love.
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The Kudoboard was a wonderful and memorable surprise! I loved it as a recipient and plan to use it in the future.
Latasha T. Director of Medical Management 
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Kudoboard was easy to use and I really appreciated that we could collect funds for a gift card as well! I love the animations and interactivity.
Renee R. Nurse 
Make National Nurses Week Unforgettable
With Kudoboard, you can gather heartfelt messages, photos, GIFs, and videos from your whole team to create a beautiful, digital tribute. It’s a modern, customizable way to show appreciation during National Nurses Week 2025—no printing, no postage, just pure gratitude. Boost morale across your entire healthcare team.
How to make nurses feel special
Not sure how to make Nurses Week a success? Start here with these ideas:
- Start a Kudoboard and invite your whole department to share kind words and gratitude
- Host a lunch or breakfast and display the Kudoboard on a screen
- Share the Kudoboard on internal channels or social media to highlight your incredible team
- Schedule daily “nurse shoutouts” from leadership and patients
Whether you’re planning a full week of activities or just a meaningful moment of recognition, Kudoboard helps you celebrate nurses in a modern, personal way
The importance of recognizing nurses
Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare system. Yet too often, their hard work goes unrecognized.
Celebrating Nurses Week 2025 is about more than a thank-you card—it’s about creating connection, community, and a culture of appreciation.
With burnout on the rise, a simple gesture like a Kudoboard can significantly improve morale in healthcare settings. It’s a small act that can make a big difference in job satisfaction, team spirit, and emotional well-being.
Manage the Nurses Day Celebration
Want to control content on the Kudoboard for Nurses Week? Want to make the Kudoboard for internal employees or shareable on social media? With Kudoboard, you have the controls necessary to make sure the right users have appropriate access.
Push Nurse shout outs to Slack, MS Teams, Intranet and more.
Easily integrate Kudoboard with your healthcare team’s communication platforms to invite, tag others, or deliver recognition
Frequently Asked Questions about Nurses Week 2025
Nurses Week 2025 takes place from May 6 to May 12, 2025. It ends on Florence Nightingale’s birthday, honoring the founder of modern nursing.
One of the most meaningful and memorable ways to celebrate a nurse is by creating a Kudoboard for Nurse Week. It allows coworkers, managers, and patients to share messages of appreciation, stories, photos, and videos in one beautiful tribute.
Kudoboard is a digital appreciation tool that lets you invite others to contribute messages for a nurse during nurse week. It’s perfect for celebrating a national nurse, nephrology nurses day, national hospital day, national nurse week, and transplant nurse week. Everything that registered nurses do for patient care and health systems should be recognized.
Nurses face emotional and physical challenges daily. Taking the time to recognize their work during Nurses Week 2025 is important. It is not just a kind gesture, it’s a crucial strategy for enhancing healthcare outcomes and addressing critical challenges within the profession.
Burnout among nurses is alarmingly prevalent. A study revealed that 54% of nurses experienced moderate burnout, with significant increases in emotional exhaustion and cynicism over a year. This burnout correlates with a 12% rise in nurses leaving their positions for each unit increase in emotional exhaustion.
In 2022, 46% of health workers reported frequent burnout, up from 32% in 2018 . By actively appreciating nurses, especially during National Nurses Week, you can help mitigate these issues, fostering a supportive environment that enhances job satisfaction and mental well-being.
Data Sources:
https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/burnout/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7532952/
https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/health-worker-mental-health/
By acknowledging and appreciating nurses’ efforts, we not only boost their morale but also contribute to improved patient outcomes, as satisfied and supported nurses are more engaged and effective in their roles.
Kudoboard offers both free and premium options. For large groups or custom branding, we recommend upgrading to a milestone board or event board to make your Nurses Week celebration even more special.
The Origin of National Nurses Week
Nurses Week is a time to honor the compassion, skill, and dedication nurses bring to healthcare every day. But where did it all begin?
The idea of recognizing nurses started in 1953, when Dorothy Sutherland of the U.S. Department of Health proposed a day for nurse appreciation—though it wasn’t approved at the time. In 1974, the International Council of Nurses declared May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday, as International Nurses Day, and that same year, the White House officially recognized a National Nurses Week.
It wasn’t until 1993 that the American Nurses Association (ANA) established May 6–12 as the official dates for National Nurses Week, beginning with National Nurses Day and ending on Nightingale’s birthday.
Today, Nurses Week is a meaningful opportunity for patients, hospitals, and communities to recognize the vital role nurses play. Whether you’re sending a thank-you or creating a Kudoboard, Nurses Week 2025 is the perfect moment to celebrate our healthcare heroes.
Nurses Day, also known as National Nurses Day, is celebrated annually on May 6th to recognize the invaluable contributions nurses make to healthcare and patient well-being. It marks the beginning of National Nurses Week, which concludes on May 12th, Show appreciation for the nursing practice, nurse leaders and their impact on healthcare workers and patient care.
Kudoboard makes it easy to celebrate Nurses Day online by letting teams, patients, and families come together on a collaborative board. You can add thank-you notes, uplifting photos, and even videos to express appreciation for the nurses in your life. Whether you’re a hospital administrator or a grateful patient, a Kudoboard for Nurses Day is a meaningful and memorable way to say “thank you.”
Patients can use Kudoboard to create a heartfelt and personalized tribute to the nurses who made a difference in their care. Whether you want to thank a single nurse or an entire nursing team, a Nurses Day Kudoboard lets you share messages of appreciation, photos, and even videos—all in one beautiful, shareable board. It’s a meaningful way to recognize the compassion, dedication, and hard work nurses provide every day. Perfect for individuals, families, or patient advocacy groups looking to celebrate Nurses Day virtually.
The American Nurses Association (AMA) and other national associations in healthcare suggest celebrating the following:
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National Nephrology Nurses Week – September 14–20, 2025
A week to honor nephrology nurses for their dedication to patients with kidney disease. -
Nurses Week – May 6–12, 2025
A nationally celebrated week recognizing the incredible contributions of nurses in all specialties. -
National School Nurse Day – May 7, 2025
Celebrates the vital role school nurses play in supporting student health and academic success. -
National Hospital Week – May 11–17, 2025
Honors the dedicated professionals who keep hospitals running and care for communities every day. -
Certified Nurses Day – March 19, 2025
Recognizes nurses who’ve earned professional certification for their advanced skills and expertise. -
National Student Nurses Day – May 8, 2025
Celebrates the future of nursing by acknowledging the hard work of student nurses. -
Nurses Appreciation Week – May 6–12, 2025
An opportunity to show gratitude to nurses for their compassionate care and unwavering commitment. -
National Nurse Week – May 6–12, 2025
A nationwide tribute to nurses and their critical role in healthcare systems. -
Transplant Nurses Week – April 20–26, 2025
Honors transplant nurses who provide specialized care to organ transplant recipients and donors. -
National Neonatal Nurses Week – September 7–13, 2025
Recognizes nurses who care for the tiniest patients in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). -
Emergency Nurses Week – October 5–11, 2025
Appreciates emergency nurses who provide life-saving care in high-stress, high-stakes situations. -
Mother’s Day – May 11, 2025
A special day to celebrate moms everywhere, including the many working in healthcare. -
National Nurses Month – May 2025 (all month)
A month-long celebration honoring nurses’ leadership, innovation, and dedication to care. -
Sterile Processing Week – October 12–18, 2025
Highlights the behind-the-scenes heroes who ensure surgical instruments are safe and sterile. -
Nursing Professional Development Week – September 7–13, 2025
Celebrates nursing professional development practitioners who support nurse growth and learning. -
International Infection Prevention Week – October 19–25, 2025
Raises awareness about infection prevention and the healthcare professionals who lead this vital work. -
National Midwifery Week – October 5–11, 2025
Recognizes midwives and their compassionate, evidence-based care for mothers and babies. -
National Nurse Practitioner Week – November 9–15, 2025
Honors nurse practitioners for providing high-quality, patient-centered healthcare. -
Perianesthesia Nurse Awareness Week – February 2–8, 2025
Shines a spotlight on nurses who care for patients before and after anesthesia or sedation. -
National Hospice and Palliative Care Week – November 2–8, 2025
Acknowledges the compassionate care provided by hospice and palliative nurses and teams.
More ideas for celebrating healthcare workers
Looking for ideas beyond celebrating National Nurses Week? Here are additional inspirations for how health systems use Kudoboard.
Invite your staff to collaborate on a note of thanks to a prominent donor.
Recognize students from an associated med school who are entering the profession.
Create boards with questions like “What does inclusion mean at our organization?” and allow employees to respond and engage. Turn on proactive moderation for added control.
Bring attention to new hires, work anniversaries, and anything your teams want to share.
More examples of Kudoboard in healthcare
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