National Nurses Week 2026 runs Wednesday, May 6, through Tuesday, May 12. The American Nurses Association has designated the theme as "The Power of Nurses™" — a nod to the profession's actual influence on patient outcomes and simultaneously the ANA's 130th anniversary year. Congress has introduced a formal proclamation recognizing 2026 as "The Year of The Power of Nurses," led by Representative Lauren Underwood and Senator Jeff Merkley.
The headline activation is a "Nurses Light Up the Sky" campaign: the ANA is targeting 250 illuminated landmarks across the country, building on 206 in 2025. If your hospital is submitting a landmark, you can email suggestions to [email protected] through the end of the week.
The Deals and Freebies — Actual List
The annual tradition of Nurses Week discounts exists, and some of it is useful. Here's what's confirmed for 2026:
- Buffalo Wild Wings: 20% off all orders, May 6–12. No verification required, just mention you're a nurse.
- Dunkin': Free medium Hot or Iced Coffee on Tuesday, May 6. One per healthcare worker.
- Crocs: 15% off when you verify through ID.me. The discount stacks on sale items depending on the item.
- Adidas: 30% off online for ID.me-verified nurses. Worth using if you need shoes.
- JAANUU: 25% off scrubs with code NW25, valid May 6–12. If you've been putting off a uniform purchase, this is the time.
- Wild Iris Medical Education: 20% off all CEU courses with code THANKYOU. If you're due for contact hours, this is a legitimate discount on a legitimate provider.
- Convention Jewelry: 25% off with code NURSESWEEK26 through May 31, with 15% of proceeds donated to the American Nurses Foundation.
Chipotle is running a sweepstakes through May 12 tied to their ANA partnership — nurses can enter for a chance to win a free burrito. Not a guarantee, but worth two minutes if you're already ordering.
What the "Power of Nurses" Theme Actually Means in 2026
The ANA's theme is aspirational framing. The "power" of nurses in 2026 is real — nurses are the largest healthcare profession in the country, with 4.7 million registered nurses, and evidence consistently shows that better nursing staffing produces better patient outcomes. In that sense, the theme is accurate.
It's also juxtaposed against a year when 475 MNA nurses in Brockton ended a three-day strike over benefit cuts, 55,000 BC nurses are voting on authorizing job action, nurses at UCSF Mission Bay are rallying because patients are being diverted due to understaffing, and the NSI 2026 report found nurse turnover has risen to 17.6% with hospitals losing over $5 million annually to RN churn. The power is there. The conditions have not kept pace.
The ANA's Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation "Power of Nurses: Recharge & Rise Challenge" — sponsored by Humana — offers daily wellness prompts designed around nursing life. The stated goal is building sustainable habits around rest and renewal. It is genuinely well-intentioned. Whether a wellness challenge addresses the structural causes of burnout is a separate question.
What Nurses Week Looks Like at the Bedside
On a typical Nurses Week, acute-care nurses receive some combination of: a bag of snacks in the break room, a catered meal that shows up during the one shift you're not working, a branded pen or badge reel, and a certificate from administration acknowledging "the difference you make." If your hospital does anything beyond that — genuine conversations about staffing, a real retention review, any movement on the issues that drove your colleagues to leave in 2025 — that is notable and worth saying out loud.
The most meaningful recognition is structural: adequate staffing, competitive pay, genuine scheduling flexibility, and managers who don't make you feel like a liability for taking your PTO. None of those show up in a Nurses Week press release. But if you're at a facility that does those things, saying thank you this week costs nothing and probably means more than you think.
The full ANA digital toolkit for Nurses Week is available at nursingworld.org. Hashtag is #ThePowerOfNurses.