The party honoring the 19th century nursing pioneer comes as chronic nurse shortages strain hospital staffing. Maui Memorial has about 440 nurse positions. Of those, 24, or 5 percent, are "traveling nurses" recruited from off-island to cover personnel shortfalls and work on a short-term basis.

Another 9.6 percent of the positions at Maui Memorial are vacant, according to Nick Hughey, the hospital's regional director of clinical resources.

The hospital has a variety of ongoing nurse recruitment projects, including one aimed at enticing graduates out of the Maui Community College nursing program. Nurse recruiters have even visited local high schools to try to drum up student interest in the profession. An entry-level nurse earns more than $50,000 per year, not counting the additional overtime potential.

"Nursing is a great profession," Hughey said. "It's very diverse, and you can do a lot of different things."

Ronalyn Malasig, a first-year nursing student at Maui Memorial, did not have nursing high on her list of careers after seeing her mother, a hospital nurse, cope with the high stress that sometimes comes with the job.

"I thought, I don't ever want to be a nurse," Malasig said.

She obtained a bachelor's degree in exercise science on the Mainland and worked as a certified nurse's aide in Oregon and through that experience changed her mind and decided to explore a nursing career caring for senior citizens.

"The elderly population, no one wants to work with them," Malasig said. "I think it could be rewarding."

Veteran emergency room nurse David May said he finds his job "kind of fun." So much so that he spends his time away from the hospital doing more nursing as a part-time medivac flight nurse and as a private escort to patients who need a nurse with them on trips to the Mainland.

"To make people feel good right away is great," May said. "Coming to their bedside and taking care of patients is hard work but it's also rewarding."

As a nurse's aide, Gemma Delos Santos worked for 13 years at Maui Memorial, helping with the care of patients but never receiving the training needed to become a registered nurse.

"I'm getting older. I'm getting wiser, and I thought to myself, 'I'm not going to be a CNA (certified nurses aide) for the rest of the life,' '' said Delos Santos, a 38-year-old mother of three. She's enrolled in the newest class of student nurses studying at MCC and began receiving clinical training at Maui Memorial.

"When you see a patient go home, they get well and you see them happy to go home, that's really good, the best part of the job," Delos Santos said.

Registered nurse Ione Chong, who has 20 years of experience in nursing, said she likes to see new student nurses on her floor at Maui Memorial.

"It's nice, and it's refreshing and you learn from them too," she said.

Like Delos Santos, Chong said the reward in her job is seeing patients get better. "They walk out on their own two feet. There's nothing better than that," she said.

Oncology nurse Janele Todd said she loves her profession because it provides many lessons about people and a person's ability to overcome debilitating diseases like cancer.

"I see people here with the most amazing strength and positive attitude," she said. "It's really a blessing."

Hayley Clapson, a 2006 MCC nursing graduate, said her education in college covered the basics and helped fulfill her dream to be involved in direct patient care.

"I just wanted to do so much more," said Clapson, who had previously been employed as a cardiology technician.

Asked about the myths about nurses, Clapson said: "I think people think that we give medicine, take doctor's orders, and we do do that. What they might not know is that we spend a lot of time talking with patients about their personal issues.

"It really is a profession that gives back," Todd said.

This week's appreciation events recognize nurses, nurse's aides, health unit clerks and facility transporters.

"They're all part of a team" in nursing, Todd said.