Each year since 1993, we have paused to celebrate the amazing nurses in our lives during National Nurses Week. The celebration begins on May 6 and ends on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.
Although Nightingale went on to drastically impact standards for patient care and revolutionize the profession, her family was disappointed in her ambition to become a nurse. In the 1800s, nursing was not considered a respectable occupation, especially for a woman from such an affluent family as Nightingale's.
Today, nursing is considered a profession with high ethical standards. According to a December 2018 Gallup poll, nurses have earned first place in honesty and ethical standards among a diverse list of professions for the 17th year in a row.1 This change in public opinion did not come about by accident; it is the result of every nurses' kindness to, advocacy for, and dedication to their patients.
Some of today's public esteem for nurses' honesty surely stems from the profession's modern focus on evidence-based practice. A guide to critical appraisal of evidence (p. 24) lays out steps to evaluate and synthesize study findings before ultimately deciding whether to include them among the current evidence on a given nursing topic. This practical skillset can improve the way critical care nurses interpret the literature and translate research into practice.
Also in this issue of Nursing2019 Critical Care, Pulmonary arterial hypertension (p. 14) examines this rare and progressive disease, covering its pathophysiology, risk factors, and management guidelines.
The vigilance with which critical care nurses care for their patients is responsible for saving countless lives and improving the quality of life for so many seriously ill patients. It is just one of the many reasons we honor critical care nurses-and all other nurses-this month. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages (@nsgcriticalcare) for more National Nurses Week announcements and promotions, including free digital content and special promotions. To learn more about the pioneering life of Florence Nightingale, read Florence Nightingale: Lighting the way for the future of nursing at https://journals.lww.com/nursing/Fulltext/2017/12000/Article.13.aspx.
National Nurses Week is a time to show our appreciation for all the nurses who strive to make the world a better place one patient at a time. From all of us at Nursing2019 Critical Care, thank you for all that you do.
Haley K. McKinney, MBA
Associate Editor Nursing2019 Critical Care Health Learning, Research & Practice Wolters Kluwer Philadelphia, PA
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