Nurses deliver 90 percent of all healthcare services worldwide. So it’s absolutely vital that we continue to make sure their voices are heard and their incredible contributions to society recognized. We look forward once again this year to amplifying our efforts to celebrate nurses and all that they do during Nurses Week.
In the US, National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6 and ends on May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. This year the theme is patient safety, something Molly McCarthy, our Chief Nursing Strategist here at Microsoft, is passionate about and will cover in her Nurses Week blog on creating a culture of safety. Along the lines of patient safety, a recent blog post from Rhonda Malone Wyskiel discusses its importance in the ICU. You’ll also see a blog from Joan Hankin, Global Director of Marketing for Healthcare Life Sciences at Intel, about the future of nursing and the role that technology such as avatars can play in addressing the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Additionally, Rob Fraser, RN, BSN, MN of Swift Medical will blog about the powerful history of innovation by nurses and how they’re continuing their great tradition of improving care and empowering patients by harnessing modern technologies. A great example of how nurses are using new capabilities to advance care for mothers and babies is perinatal software, which is very near and dear to Nurses Week blog author and GE Healthcare‘s Sharon Carpinello, RN, BSN, MBA.
During #NursesWeek we’ll also be sharing “Did you know?” facts and “Nurses Hacks” to help nurses do what they do best—take care of patients—and to help nurses take great care of themselves.
Nurses are on the frontlines of healthcare. At Microsoft, we believe that they also need to be on the frontlines of guiding the direction of healthcare and health IT. We couldn’t be more honored to help amplify their voices and highlight all that they do during Nurses Week. And as always, we’ll continue to do so all year round on the Microsoft and Intel Nurses Blog.
Have you done your part to recognize the lifesaving and life-changing work that nurses do? Have you shown your appreciation for a nurse lately? Do so at #ThankYouNurses.
And to all you nurses out there: We’d love to hear your stories and insights on the future of healthcare during #NursesWeek.
Please also feel free to reach out to us anytime via email, Facebook, or Twitter if you have any questions or comments, or if you want to contribute to the Nurses Blog.