72nd Brazilian Week of Nursing

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Professionals always attentive to patients, nurses and nurses today commemorate International Nurses Day, the date that also kicks off the 72nd Brazilian Nursing Week throughout the country. With the theme of Nursing Care, Ethics and Innovation, special programs will be carried out by all regions of the Brazilian Nursing Association (ABEN) and, in Salvador, it could not be different.

On May 16, from 16 pm, professionals in the field will meet at Praça 2 de Julho (Campo Grande) for a public demonstration in defense of the appreciation and visibility of work in Nursing. In addition, priorities will be identified such as the approval of Bill 2295/00, which regulates the working day in 30 hours, and also Bill 4924/09, which defines the wage floor. Other points such as the defense of quality training and the strengthening of the Unified Health System will also be raised.

On the 19th of May, from 16 pm onwards, a Poster Exhibition will be open to visitors. At 18 pm there will be a round table with the theme "Is work ethics possible in the contemporary world?", with the participation of Prof. Romério Aquino, from UFBA and Orlaneide Santos da Silva, nurse and nursing assistant.

All activities are being carried out by ABEN-BA.

Broadening the theme: Nursing Care, Ethics and Innovation
ABEN's direction for the theme is concerned with the visibility of work in Nursing, its social and economic valuation and the search for quality in the training of professionals.

By raising the issue, ABEN also proposes a reflection on the ethical and moral dimension of nursing care; ethics from the point of view of technological innovations; ethics in training curricula and technological innovations and repercussions on nursing staff.

Curiosities
The International Nurses' Day was instituted on May 12th, in honor of Florence Nightingale, a landmark of Nursing in the world, who was born on that day, in 1820.

This British nurse, of Italian descent, stood out during the Crimean War (1854) by transforming the way the British army's military hospital operated in Turkey and introducing changes in the provision of health care.

Florence Nightingale improved the sanitary and hygiene conditions, the quality of life of the soldiers and, in just two years, with a team of nurses, she was able to significantly reduce the hospital's mortality rate, proving the importance of the profession.

During the fighting during the Crimean War, soldiers made Florence their guardian angel, as, with a lantern in hand, she roamed the infirmaries of battalions and camps, tending to the sick.

Upon returning in 1856, stricken by typhus, Florence receives a cash prize from the English government, as proof of recognition for her work.

With this money, he founded, in 1859, in London, the first School of Nursing, at Saint Thomas Hospital, which became a model for other schools that came later.

In Brazil
In Brazil, the World Nurse's Day was instituted by President Getúlio Vargas, through Decree-Law nº 2.956, in 1938. Like Florence Nightingale, Anna Nery (1814-1880) was the first Brazilian to dedicate herself to this work by enlisting as a volunteer in military combat.

The Brazilian Nursing Week (SBEn) was instituted by the Anna Nery School of Nursing in 1940, having as its founder Prof.ª Laís Netto dos Reys. In turn, SBEn was made official in 1960 by President Juscelino Kubitschek.