Year of the Nurse

WHEREAS, the Nurses Board of Examination and Registration of Alabama, later renamed the Alabama Board of Nursing, was formed in 1915; and

WHEREAS, the Alabama Board of Nursing is charged with public protection, licensing of registered nurses and practical nurses, approval and oversight of nursing education programs, approval of advanced practice applications, promulgating rules for nursing practice and nursing education,  as well as nursing discipline; and

WHEREAS, the Alabama Board of Nursing currently licenses more than 85,000 Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses in the state, making nurses the largest population of professionals licensed by any single regulatory board in Alabama; and

WHEREAS, national surveys consistently rank nursing among the most revered and trusted professions in the United States; and

WHEREAS, on December 11, 2014, the Alabama Board of Nursing officially adopted “100 Years of Regulatory Excellence” as its centennial theme for 2015:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim the year of 2015, as the

Year of the Nurse

in the state of Alabama.