Nurses Week Appreciation Ideas: 6 Ways to Appreciate a Nurse

In hospitals and in nursing homes, doctors are the ones who are thanked and appreciated the most. However, they wouldn’t be able to provide as much care for their patients if it wasn’t for the nurses who are, sadly, often overlooked completely. They put their heart and soul into their work but it’s very rarely noticed.

With a beautiful initiative that is National Nurses Week, there’s one more reason to show how much you appreciate everything that nurses have done and continue doing for you, your family, and for the whole country. Here are some simple ideas on how to say thank you to the nurses.

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1. Team up with the American Nurses Association

Every year during nurses week the American Nurses Association (ANA) does great things to raise awareness and to support this profession. You can join in by downloading the National Nurses Week Toolkit provided by the ANA: it has certificates of appreciation, branded “Thank You” cards that you can share, and a lot more. You can also learn more about the history of the National Nurses Week and attend the ANA nurse wellness webinar.

2. Bring snacks and drinks

If you have nurses in your staff, there’s nothing they’d enjoy more than some healthy snacks and a few cups of coffee. Very often nurses are so busy that they have no time to have a normal meal. Food items like fruit, oatmeal bars, yogurts or some other nutritious and healthy snacks are some good gifts the nurses will appreciate.

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3. Write a thank-you note

By finding time in your busy schedule to actually write a small letter of appreciation, you’ll certainly make the nurses smile. A handwritten note will mean a lot more than a text message or an email. The nurses will most probably keep your letters and reread them every time they feel they aren’t appreciated enough. A simple thank-you note will do wonders. You can also pair the note with a simple gift — check out this nurse gift ideas article for inspiration.

4. Give your time

Nurses have a million things on their mind at the same time and, even if they don’t admit it, sometimes they do need help. Reach out and ask whether you can do something to help them out. Simply by going through some of their paperwork or doing a couple of their tasks, you’ll show just how much you respect and appreciate them and their profession.

5. Be an appreciative supervisor

If you’re managing a team of nurses, there are many things you can do for them. For instance, the nurses week is the ideal opportunity to give them an extra day off, so, after spending so much of their time taking care of others, they can take care of themselves. One other idea is to give nurses useful gifts that, accompanied by sincere thank-yous, won’t fail to make them feel appreciated.

You can say thanks publicly as well. Take a photo with your nurses and post it on social media; this way, you won’t only show appreciation towards your team, but also remind your followers how important the nurses’ work is.

6. Don’t wait for nurses week

Indeed, nurse week is perfect for celebrating nurses, but don’t let this be the only time when you do so! Make appreciating nurses a way of life: recognize their efforts and thank them every day. Remember that nurses spend their entire lives caring for other people and giving them hope, so it’s only fair that we remind them how thankful we are as often as we can.