National Clinical Nurse Specialist Recognition Week (CNS Week) is September 1-7, 2022. The theme for this year is Unstoppable Advocacy. Are you ready to celebrate? Download our celebration toolkit here!

What is CNS Week?

CNS week is an annual event that acknowledges the contributions of the nearly 90,000 Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) in North America.

NACNS established National CNS Recognition Week (CNS week) in 2009 to commemorate and celebrate the birth of Hildegard Peplau, who was born on September 1, 1909. Dr. Peplau was a prominent nursing theorist whose landmark book, Interpersonal Relations in Nursing, emphasized the nurse-client relationship as the foundation for nursing practice and today serves as the basis of the CNS role in health care.

CNS Week is a perfect time for CNSs to celebrate and bring attention to the role, and for hospitals and health care systems to pay tribute to the valuable part CNSs play in health care and healthcare delivery.

What Can You Do?

• Download our celebration toolkit, where we have compiled a list of resources that you can use to celebrate with your audience!
• Share your activities and photos of your CNS week celebrations on social media using #CNSWeek and tagging @nacns on Twitter. Check out our CNS Week Buzzkit here.
• Download our printable calendar and hang it up in your office, break room, lunch room, or wherever you and fellow CNSs can be reminded of the CNS Week days.

Download the Celebration Toolkit Access the Social Media Buzz Kit Download & Print the CNS Week Calendar

(See page 4) of our celebration toolkit for a complete list of ways, you can participate in CNS Week 2022. 

How is NACNS Celebrating?

NACNS will be sending communications to our audiences through email and social media during CNS week that embraces this year’s theme, Unstoppable Advocacy. Every day, for seven days, NACNS will introduce new resources and tips to follow to help spread awareness of the CNS role.

NACNS Action Plan for CNS Week 2022: