March is almost over, but there are a few days left for you to celebrate/raise awareness/honor some health-related causes and professions. See any of your favorites? No one says you can’t roll some of these into April, too! This post was written by guest blogger Duane Hallock and originally appeared on his blog, Duane’s Dartboard.
Years ago, I began my career as a hospital public relations intern. My responsibilities included promoting National Hospital Week which occurs each year in May. I really tried to make the general public aware of this momentous occasion, but I eventually realized that no one outside of the hospital really cared. I was disappointed that my well-written news releases failed to convert that week into a newsworthy event.
Over time I discovered that almost every hospital professional (except for PR interns) had a day or week designated in their honor. For example, National Doctors Day is celebrated on March 30.
National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6th and ends on May 12th, the birth date of Florence Nightingale. During that week there is a National Student Nurses Day and also the globally-celebrated International Nurses Day. To further complicate things, each subspecialty within nursing has a special day or week—emergency nurses, gastrointestinal nurses, oncology nurses, pediatric nurses, cardiovascular nurses, neonatal nurses, perianesthesia nurses, nurse anesthetists, operating room nurses, IV (infusion) nurses, neuroscience nurses, school nurses, ad infinitum.
Oh, and don’t forget about the national days and weeks recognizing pharmacists, physical therapists, dietitians, occupational therapists, food service workers, respiratory therapists, social workers, home health providers and medical transcriptionists.
Red Cross Month begins today
March was first proclaimed Red Cross Month in 1943 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Since then, every president has designated March as Red Cross Month. This is a time when we hope to remind everyone about the work of the American Red Cross. We also want people to understand how we depend on public support to help people in need.
So, as you celebrate Red Cross Month, please don’t be distracted by March Madness, St. Patrick’s Day, Super Tuesday, Earth Day, Daylight Savings Time and the beginning of Spring (the vernal equinox). Furthermore, please don’t be sidetracked by those hapless PR interns who have been assigned the task of writing news releases to educate you that March is also:
- Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig Month
- National Caffeine Awareness Month
- National Collision Awareness Month
- National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
- National Craft Month
- Deaf History Month
- Dolphin Awareness Month (Go Chiefs!)
- National Endometriosis Awareness Month
- National Ethics Awareness Month
- National Eye Donor Month
- National Feminine Empowerment Month (Wonder if I could raise enough money to launch a Masculine Empowerment Month.)
- Foot Health Month
- Frozen Food Month
- National Furniture Refinishing Month
- Gardening Books Month
- Honor Society Awareness Month
- Humane Education Awareness Month
- National Humorists Are Artists Month (Now that’s funny!)
- Improve Management Skills Month
- Irish American Heritage Month
- International Listening Awareness Month (Isn’t it ironic that it’s the same month as Deaf History Month?)
- National Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
- National Middle Level Education Month
- Music in Our Schools Month
- National Noodle Month
- National Nutrition Month
- National Optimism Month (I’m somewhat pessimistic that this will catch on.)
- National Peanut Month (Please don’t confuse this with National Peanut Butter Lovers Month which comes around in November.)
- Philatelic Society Month
- Play the Recorder Month
- Poison Prevention Awareness Month
- Preschool Education Month
- Rosacea Awareness Month
- Save Your Vision Month
- Science Month
- Social Work Month
- Trisomy Awareness Month (Without a month set aside in its honor, I would have never known this condition existed!)
- National Umbrella Month
- Women’s History Month (Sorry guys, but there’s no Men’s History Month)
- Workplace Eye Wellness Month
- Youth Art Month
Did I miss anyone? If not, let the celebrations commence!
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