One of the more enjoyable tasks usually assumed by HR is coordinating the recognition activities of the organization. Each organization has its own culture and usually has recognition criteria and programs in place for its heroes and heroines!
Along with our internal programs, there are national and international days set aside for recognizing various healthcare professions. There isn’t a month that goes by that does not also include a focus on some sort of health awareness.
Now is the time to identify these dates for 2020 and begin planning. In some cases, recognition awards and supplies need to be ordered early.
I have listed the recognition dates by month. You will notice that almost every nursing specialty is recognized at some point. Sometimes recognizing each specialty and then recognizing nurses as a whole in May (during Nurse’s Week) can create some hard feelings among other professions.
We made the conscious decision to organizationally recognize all nurses during nurse’s week and not observe each individual specialty and that was fine with our nurses. Of course, each nursing unit or specialty may have done their own recognition.
Some of these specialty dates may also be important because your organization is not a hospital but may be a clinic or specialty service provider. If your practice is Urology, then you probably don’t want to overlook observing Urology Nurses and Associates Week in November.
I have also included some health awareness dates. Some may impact employee wellness or be of such general interest that they are usually observed by many employers.
January
- Blood Donor Month
- National CRNA Week – Jan. 19-25
- IV Nurses Day – Jan. 25
February
- Heart Month
- Super Bowl – Feb. 2
- Wear Red Day – Feb. 7
- Patient Recognition Week – Feb. 1-7
- World Cancer Day – Feb. 4
- Cardiovascular Professionals Week – Feb. 9-15
- Valentine’s Day – Feb. 14
March
- National Social Workers Month
- Child Life Month
- Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
- National Nutrition Month
- Dental Assistant Recognition Week – Mar. 1-7
- Employee Appreciation Day – Mar. 6
- National Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week =- Mar. 8-14
- Healthcare HR Week – Mar. 15-21
- St. Patrick’s Day – Mar. 17
- GI Nurses and Associates Week – Mar. 25-29
- National Doctors Day – Mar. 30
April
- Alcohol Awareness Month
- National Autism Month
- National Child Abuse Prevention Month
- Minority Health Month
- Cancer Registrar’s Week – Apr. 6-10
- Public Health Week – Apr. 6-12
- Radiological and Imaging Nurses Day – Apr. 12
- Transplant Nurses Day – Apr. 15
- National Healthcare Volunteer Week – Apr. 19-25
- Administrative Professionals Day – Apr. 22
- National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week – Apr. 19-2
May
- Arthritis Awareness Month
- Asthma Awareness Month
- Employee Health and Fitness Month
- High Blood Pressure Education Month)
- Huntington’s Disease Awareness Month
- Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month
- Osteoporosis Month
- Physical Fitness and Sports Month
- Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month
- Stroke Month
- Mental Health Month
- Oncology Nursing Month
- National Hospital Week – May 10-16
- National Nurses Week – May 6-12
- National Nurses Day – May 6
- National Nursing Home Week – May 10-17
- Women’s Lung Health Week – May 10-16
- Emergency Medical Services Week – May 17-23
June
- Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month
- Cataract Awareness Month
- Hernia Awareness Month
- Men’s Health Month
- Migraine and Headache Awareness Month
- PTSD Awareness Month
- National Healthcare Recruiters Day – June 2
- Cancer Survivor’s Day – June 7
- Healthcare Risk Management Week – June 15-19
- Men’s Health Week – June 15-21
- National Nursing Assistants (NA) Week – June 18-25
July
- UV Safety Month
- National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
- ECHO Donate Life – July 13-26
August
- National Immunization Awareness Month
- Neurosurgery Awareness Month
- Psoriasis Action Month
- National Breastfeeding Month
- Health Unit Coordinators Week – Aug. 23-29
September
- Baby Safety Month
- Cholesterol Education Month
- Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month
- Healthy Aging® Month
- Newborn Screening Awareness Month
- Prostate Health Month
- Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month
- Recovery Month
- Sepsis Awareness Month
- Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month
- Vascular Nurses Week – Sept. 6-12
- National Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day – Sept. 10
- Environmental Services Week – Sept. 13-19
- Nephrology Nurses Week – Sept. 13-20
- National Nurses in Staff Development Week – Sept. 14-18
- National Neonatal Nurses Week – Sept. 14-20
- International Clean Hands Week – Sept. 20-26
October
- Dental Hygiene Month
- Domestic Violence Awareness Month
- Health Literacy Month
- Medical Librarians Month
- Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month
- Pharmacists Month
- Physical Therapy Month
- Healthcare Supply Chain Week – Oct. 4-10
- Healthcare Food Service Workers Week -Oct. 5-11
- Pediatric Nurses Week – Oct. 5-9
- Physicians Assistants Week – Oct. 6-12
- National Case Management Week – Oct. 11-17
- Emergency Nurses Week – Oct. 11-17
- Healthcare Security and Safety Week – Oct. 11-17
- International Infection Prevention Week – Oct. 11-17
- Nephrology Technicians/Technologists Recognition Week – Oct. 12-18
- National Healthcare Quality Week – Oct. 18-24
- Medical Assistants Recognition Week – Oct. 19–23
- Nuclear Science Week – Oct. 23–31
- Health Care Facilities and Engineering Week – Oct. 23-31
November
- Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month
- Family Caregivers Month
- COPD Awareness Month
- Hospice and Palliative Care Month
- Lung Cancer Awareness Month
- Allied Health Professions Week – Nov. 1-7
- Urology Nurses and Associates Week – Nov. 1-7
- Diabetes Education Week – Nov. 1-7
- Forensic Nurses Week – Nov. 9-13
- Nurse Practitioner Week Nov. 8-14
- Radiologic Technology Week -Nov. 8-14
December
- Safe Toys and Gifts Month
- Handwashing Awareness Week – Dec. 6-12
- Influenza Vaccination Week – Dec. 6-12
Whew!
I had no idea how big the list would be until I started compiling it! It appears that everybody will get a balloon and lollipop sometime during the year! Again, combine formal recognition for most employees into Nurses Week and Hospital Week. Let individual departments celebrate the specialties when the occur.
It is also easy for HR and Administration to send thank-you cards or some other recognition to the departments when some of these special days or weeks occur. Recognition is not costly, but pays big dividends. Have some fun!
