Nurses Week tends to arrive as things outside begin to feel a little brighter. Trees bud, flowers bloom, and the sun shines. It’s a season that naturally invites us to notice growth. Nursing isn’t so different—every confident and compassionate nurse was cultivated through intentional, ongoing support and development.  

If nursing is a garden, nursing professional development (NPD) practitioners are the gardeners. In tending to the soil that will support growth, they create an environment of inclusion and psychological safety. They plant the seeds of success through orientation, onboarding, and transition-to-practice programs. They encourage a spirit of inquiry, build collaborative partnerships, and help nurses take root and flourish wherever they’re planted. While NPD practitioners may not always stand in the spotlight, their impact can be seen and felt throughout the nursing profession.

NPD practitioners continue to nurture growth and tend their gardens after they’re established by offering professional development opportunities to nurses. This might include involvement in an evidence-based practice project, pursuing certification, or stepping into a preceptor role. Maybe it’s simply reminding others that there’s still room to grow.

Through this process, something special happens. Nurses who were once supported feel empowered to pay it forward. They precept, they mentor, they lead changes that help the entire profession grow. That’s part of what makes nursing and NPD practice so deeply human. It’s not just about competencies or checklists. It’s about the connection of someone taking the time to invest in someone else.

During this Nurses Week, consider asking yourself:

• Who helped you grow?
• When did you feel yourself start to “bloom”?
• How are you helping others flourish?
• And how are you continuing to grow yourself?

Nurses Week is about celebrating nurses, but it also includes recognizing the NPD practitioners who make so much of that growth possible. Their work shows up in confident new nurses, engaged teams, and strong leaders. It shows up in better outcomes, a sense of support, and in a sense of belonging. This week is a reminder that growth takes time and support. It takes people who are willing to invest in others, even when they’re not the ones being recognized.

As you celebrate this week, take a moment to appreciate not just how far you’ve come, but how you got there, because none of us grow alone. When nurses are supported in the right way, given the right conditions, and encouraged along the journey, they don’t just grow, they flourish.

Happy Nurses Week!