National Nurses Week 2008 has barely come to a close, but it’s not too early to begin planning for next year’s festivities! Nurses Week is a wonderful time set aside to honor nurses for their skill, commitment, and compassion that touches lives every day. Every healthcare organization has a unique way of recognizing nurses, but many of them utilize outside speakers in one way or another.
Given the finite nature of National Nurses Week (celebrated May 6-12 each year) and the limited number of speakers qualified to address this group of caring professionals, it is always wise to secure your speaker as far in advance as possible. This is the one week out of the year that you can be almost certain that every speaker with a connection to nursing will be booked solid. By the time March and April roll around, most speakers will only have a day or two remaining during Nurses Week. Since the dates are set, why not begin your speaker selection process now and have your choice of speakers to create your special event?
At The Speakers Group, we’ve set up a special page with recommendations of speakers qualified to help you recognize and honor your nurses during Nurses Week. Among the speakers who are most requested for Nurses Week events:
- Diane Sieg – A former Emergency Room Nurse and author of STOP Living Life Like An Emergency, Diane is a great speaker to provide relief from the hectic, hurried life of your nurses. In her “Reclaiming the Spirit of Nursing” presentation, Diane challenges and inspires nurses to reclaim their passion and pride for nursing so they can continue to make a REAL difference in their work and in their lives.
- Kathleen Bartholomew – Kathleen Bartholomew, RN, MN, has been called the most important new voice in American Nursing. With a wide array of available programs for nurses, Kathleen can help you address the issues that are relevant in your workplace. Whether that be “Ending Nurse to Nurse Hostility,” “Improving MD/RN Relationships,” or simply re-igniting “A Passion for the Art of Nursing,” Kathleen is changing nursing by compassionately holding a mirror to the profession and exposing a century of hidden truths.
- Kathy Dempsey – Another former ER nurse, Kathy received national attention as a result of a life-altering hospital-based event that ‘made her a poster child for the Center for Disease Control (CDC).’ Her presentations reach far beyond the experience, to build a touchstone with each member of the audience. Kathy’s ‘signature story’ is her transformation as an ER nurse who became the first health care worker in America to be diagnosed positive for AIDS as a result of workplace exposure.
- Judy Carter – Judy is not a nurse, but nurses love her! A humorist, author and motivational speaker, Judy delivers a highly customized “Laughing out of Stress” message which generates plenty of laughs but also teaches real lessons on how nurses can laugh their way out of stress and even use humor to connect with their patients.
- Karyn Buxman – A former nurse, Karyn connects with her fellow healthcare workers and shows that while the state of health care today is no joke, it just may be a laughing matter – if we understand that humor is frequently generated by painful circumstances. In her hysterically entertaining keynote titled “This Won’t Hurt a Bit – And Other Fractured Truths in Healthcare,” Karyn shows nurses how humor can help them get through the toughest of days and still remain smiling.
Of course there are many more candidates to choose from, and regardless of your budget or unique program objectives, the right speaker is out there. Let us know if we can help. Happy Nurses Week 2009!
