Guardians of Health: Honoring Nursing Heroes During National Nurses Week 2025

May 6, 2025

National Nurses Week is May 6-12. It is somewhat ironic for those in the U.S. that the 2025 theme is “Caring for nurses strengthens economies” at a time when both healthcare and the national economy are facing profound challenges—from understaffing and potential cuts to Medicaid to inflation and widening income gaps.

May 12 is Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Generally credited as the founder of modern nursing, Nightingale was the first in a succession of bold, brave, and innovative nurse-leaders whose persistent and often heroic efforts have advanced healthcare in the face of many challenges, just as nurses and nurse-midwives will again lead us through the current challenges.

For almost a quarter century, nurses have been consistently voted the nation’s most trusted profession. They are seen as capable, caring, compassionate, accessible, and responsive.

And they are often seen as heroes. Look back at photos from the depths of the pandemic.  In almost every one it is a nurse who is at the bedside, providing not only medical care but also emotional and compassionate support to patients and their families. In a chaotic, frightening time, nurses were on duty, doing what they have always done. In the face of a poorly understood pathogen, they risked their lives, came to work, and provided care that saved countless lives. When people had no other means of sharing last moments with a loved one, it was a nurse who held up a phone or laptop to make that communication possible. They worked uncountable hours beyond normal shifts. They went wherever they were needed and did whatever needed to be done.

Ask a patient about their hospital stay, and you will almost inevitably get a response that reflects their nursing care. People remember their nurses because nurses are the front-line care providers. This is becoming even more true as many nurses provide primary care in offices and clinics.

There have been many nurse-heroes, some recognized and many not but heroes, nonetheless.

Clara Barton (1821–1912) founded the American Red Cross, worked on the battlefield, and later helped marginalized populations, including freed slaves and disaster victims.

Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail (1903–1981) was one of the first Native American registered nurses; she worked to improve health care access for Native American communities and fought against discrimination in health care delivery.

Mary Eliza Mahoney (1845–1926) was the first African American licensed nurse in the U.S.; Mahoney fought for racial equality in nursing and co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN).

Lillian Wald (1867–1940) was a pioneer of public health nursing who founded the Henry Street Settlement in New York to provide health care and social services to immigrant and low-income communities.

Many YSN graduates have made notable contributions to nursing and to the nation.

YSN alumna Dr. Marilynn Roberge Malerba ‘15 DNP is the lifetime chief of the Mohegan Tribe. Shortly after assuming that role, Malerba became one of the first YSN doctoral students. Her capstone project was investigating the Indian Health Services budget, which set her on a path that led to her appointment by President Joe Biden as the 45th treasurer of the United States from 2022 to 2024.

Florence Schorske Wald ’41 MSN, RN, MN, MS, FAAN, is included in the National Women’s Hall of Fame, recognized as an American Academy of Nursing Living Legend and received a Yale honorary degree in 1995. She led the school as its fourth dean (1959-1966) and is credited with bringing the hospice movement to the United States establishing the first hospice office in 1974 at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven.

Each of these nurses was a hero. Florence Nightingale literally went to war, as have many nurses in many kinds of wars. Nurses have provided care in military conflicts, epidemics, pandemics, mass casualty events, natural disasters, and many other situations where others feared to go. They’ve saved lives, provided reassurance, and helped families and patients alike understand the capabilities and limits of modern medical care.

It is important during Nurses Week to also see and honor the many nurses who people don’t often see in person, including those who make policy at the local, national, and international level; those who manage hospitals and other care facilities; those who are researchers, engaged in a nonstop search for better methods of diagnosis and treatment; and those who educate the next generation of nurses at colleges and universities throughout the country and around the world. (We are fortunate to have so many of these at Yale.)

Nurses are heroes, and they deserve not just recognition but also support. Many have spent their careers building a healthcare system that is now being systematically dismantled. Others have spent their careers pursuing vital research on serious diseases and illnesses, only to find their work deprecated and arbitrarily de-funded. Still others have devoted their careers to being public health nurses, educating people about disease prevention, only to have such efforts cast aside. These nurses have all committed themselves to making the world healthier. There are now some people with neither knowledge, nor compassion who would discontinue and reverse what all those nurses have accomplished.

Caring for nurses should be a priority. Not just this week, but every week. Nurses are our best and brightest link to a healthier country and healthier world. Yet study after study reveals that the profession is facing high levels of burnout, disempowerment, and lack of institutional support. Healthcare and the science on which it is based are being attacked rather than applauded, and we are being starved of resources. If this continues, an already-existing nursing shortage will become a catastrophic shortage.

National Nurses Week happens every year, but this year it is more than just a recognition event. We must choose between science and fiction–between supporting nurses and nursing or letting the profession’s efforts be misrepresented and ultimately squandered.

This is a week to think about what nurses and nursing have meant to you and those you care about. And it is a week to think about what you can do in support of America’s most trusted profession.