I’ve had encounters with quite a few nurses in my life. Aside from peers at school, family members and a neighbor who is a nurse, I have been cared for by dozens of nurses through my own medical procedures—and witnessed dozens more care for my daughter in her three-month stay in the intensive care nursery. While I may have encountered one or two not-so-friendly—and even one neglectful—nurses now and then, the majority of these people (both men and women!) have had hearts of gold, and in most cases I don’t know where either of us would be without their attention and painstaking care.

As this is Emergency Nurses Week, I’m sending out a special thanks to the nurses out there—both the ones in the ER as well as the ones in other departments, as I’ve been in both and then some!—who work day in and day out to help people on what is often the worst day of their lives. I hope you’ll join me in doing the same.

Here are just a few things that we can to do honor the nurses of the world this week.

• Give thanks. Letting a nurse know how much he or she meant to you really matters. You can definitely give a card for this purpose, but a verbal, heartfelt thank-you is just as meaningful.
• Send some gourmet chocolate, breads, fruit or another gift to your local emergency room for the nurses to snack on when they have time. If there is a particular nurse you wish to thank, consider giving him or her a gift card to a nice restaurant.
• Give a small gift. My mother gave one of her favorite nurses a St. Louis Rams t-shirt when she discovered that he loved the team—even back when they were in California! We gave our daughter’s primary nurses framed pictures of her during her last week in the hospital and they really appreciated that. See what kinds of things your favorite nurse likes and if it’s possible to get him or her one of them.
• Volunteer. See if there is anything you can do at your local hospital. You may end up changing someone’s life—and helping to make a nurse’s job a little easier in the process.
• Give the gift of R&R. Maybe you can get a deal at the local spa for a massage, or simply give a basket with a candle and some bath salts.