Days Until International Nurses Day

About International Nurses Day

May 12 marks the birthday of Florence Nightingale, born in 1820, widely regarded as the founder of modern nursing for her pioneering work in sanitation and patient care during the Crimean War.

The International Council of Nurses has sponsored the observance since 1965, using it to celebrate the contributions of nurses to health systems worldwide and to advocate for the profession.

The International Council of Nurses, which coordinates the observance, represents national nurses' associations from over 130 countries, making the day one of the more globally coordinated health-profession observances.

The Nightingale Pledge, a nursing ethics oath modeled after the Hippocratic Oath and named for Florence Nightingale, is still recited at some nursing school graduation ceremonies today.

Nightingale's own statistical work during the Crimean War, including her pioneering use of data visualization to demonstrate preventable deaths, is now separately recognized as an early landmark in the history of public health statistics.