Nurses Month 2023 | “You Make a Difference”

There are 4.4 million nurses in the USA and over 704,000 in the UK who work hard, long hours, nights, weekends, and holidays to make sure that other people get well. Every May, we take time to honor nurses and thank them for their care, their compassion, and their commitment to such a noble profession.

This year, the American Nurses Association is honoring nurses for the whole month of May using the theme “You Make a Difference.” (1) Their desire is to “promote understanding and appreciation of the invaluable contribution of nurses…”. (1) Be sure to share this schedule with all the nurses that you know:

• May 1-7: Self Care: “dedicated to cultivating and maintaining optimal mental health and physical well-being.” (1)
• May 8-14: Recognition: “Honor the work of nurses who lead, excel, and innovate in our healthcare systems and our communities, making them vital to transforming the future of healthcare.” (1)
• May 15-21: Professional Development: "Access resources and insights to guide nurses in their professional development. Focus on how to excel and lead in a nursing career or inspire and help others in their professional nursing journey." (1)
• May 22-31: Community Engagement: "Focus on Engaging with community, whether virtually or in-person. Educate members of the community on what nurses do beyond the bedside — advocacy, shaping public policy, or serving as an organization board." (1)

For over 30 years, Limbs & Things has been committed to improving both competence and confidence in nurses by providing products that allow novice nurses to gain new skills or seasoned nurses to maintain their skills through deliberate practice in a safe environment.

“Improving nurse competence can be achieved through various continuing professional development (CPD) activities. The old concept of CPD was mostly concerned with how to make every nurse get the training on the basis of hospital's predesigned programs, without considering the existing need, competence gap, or even the clinical assignment of the nurse. CPD is ideally conducted according to the training assessment and the clinical assignment of the nurse, to effectively hit the CPD target.” (2)

“The literature demonstrates that early-career nurses seek employment in supportive work nursing environments with a focus on quality patient care… Further, in the current environment where continuing education is increasingly the norm across all professions, and nurses are expected to keep their skill sets up-to-date, early-career nurses may expect that their employers will support them in seeking professional development, so as to augment their skills throughout their careers.” (3)

“Mid- to late-career nurses comprise the largest cohort of nurses in the workforce. Although mid- to late-career nurses are moving towards retirement, the literature demonstrates that they are willing to remain employed if their work environments are viewed as positive and supportive of older workers. Modified work arrangements, flexible working hours (with more scheduling options), opportunities for professional development and retirement planning have been cited as aspects of their jobs that could be improved to enhance satisfaction.” (3)

In summary, studies show that all nurses, regardless of age or years of experience, value lifelong learning. “Ongoing training, education and professional development facilitate transition to practice for students and new graduates and also help to ensure competency and quality patient care throughout the span of nurses’ careers.” (3)

“For all nurses, given the investment employers make in individual employees—and the benefits to employers accruing from further education—it is important that continuing education funding be made available annually, alongside paid release time for coursework/credentialing.” (3)

“Healthy work environments are ones that recognize the importance of nurses’ professional development to career satisfaction. For nurses, united in their commitment to quality patient care, career satisfaction is dependent on employers’ investments in continuing professional development opportunities so that nurses can continue to grow in their practice and enhance their ability to provide quality patient care.” (3)

To show our thanks for all nurses do, Limbs & Things is offering a discount for some of our most popular nursing products throughout the month of May*. Both Cherry and Yaye are full body manikins that offer hands-on training in a wide range of skills required for day-to-day patient care.

*offer available on Cherry and Yaye manikins until the end of May 2023

¹ ANA Nurses Month May 2023 Celebration

² The relationship between nurses’ job satisfaction and continuing professional development

³ The Importance of Continuing Professional Development to Career Satisfaction and Patient Care: Meeting the Needs of Novice to Mid- to Late-Career Nurses throughout Their Career Span