Every year on May 12, International Nurses Day is celebrated to honour the nurses and their contribution in the healthcare sector. It was first celebrated in 1965 by the International Council of Nurses (ICN). In the year 1974, May 12 was declared as International Nurse Day day as it is the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, who was the founder of modern nursing.
Florence Nightingale, known as the Lady with the Lamp, started working as a nurse and helped the British and allied soldiers, who were wounded during the Crimean war. She was serving as a manager and trainer of nurses and comforted the wounded soldiers during the war. In 1980, the first nursing school was established at St Thomas Hospital, London. Florence Nightingale was the first woman to be awarded the Order of merit 1907.
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As the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world first in 2020, doctors, nurses, healthcare workers have played a significant role to fight the deadly virus. Since the pandemic began, the world has seen over 160 millions cases and the entire workload has shifted on the frontline healthcare workers. As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), %u201Cnurses account for more than half of the world%u2019s health workers, yet there was a urgent shortage of nurses worldwide with 5.9 million more nurses needed, especially in low and middle income countries.%u201D
Amid this difficult pandemic situation, where healthcare workers are working 24*7 to help people, International Nurse day is the great time to express our gratitude and respect to all the frontline workers who are serving all across the world.
