In brief
- Date in 2026: Monday 27 July.
- Official name: Healthcare Workers’ Day.
- Legal basis: The date was established by Presidential Decree No. 327/2023 of 13 June 2023.
- Previous rule: The holiday used to fall on the third Sunday in June (Decree No. 281/94 ceased to be in force on 14 June 2023). Calendars showing 21 June 2026 still reflect the repealed provision.
- Status of the day: 27 July is not a public holiday or a non-working day within the meaning of Article 73 of the Labour Code.
- In this article: dates up to 2028, greetings, signatures for cards and where to find healthcare vacancies.
When is Medical Professionals’ Day
In 2026, Healthcare Workers’ Day falls on 27 July (Monday). The date is fixed: Presidential Decree No. 327/2023 ‘On Healthcare Workers’ Day’ sets a specific calendar date and does not tie the holiday to a particular day of the week.
Paragraph 1 of Decree No. 327/2023: ‘To establish in Ukraine a professional holiday for healthcare workers — Healthcare Workers’ Day — to be celebrated annually on 27 July’.
| Year | Date | Day of the week |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 27 July | Thursday |
| 2024 | 27 July | Saturday |
| 2025 | 27 July | Sunday |
| 2026 | 27 July | Monday |
| 2027 | 27 July | Tuesday |
| 2028 | 27 July | Thursday |
Old date: the third Sunday in June and why it is no longer in force
Until 14 June 2023, Presidential Decree No. 281/94 of 3 June 1994 ‘On Healthcare Workers’ Day’ was in force in Ukraine, under which the holiday was celebrated ‘annually on the third Sunday in June’.
Paragraph 2 of the new Decree No. 327/2023 declared the previous document to have ceased to be in force from 14 June 2023. In 2023, the third Sunday in June fell on 18 June, so there was no double celebration: the new decree came into force four days before the old date.
Why do calendars still show June?
Some desk and electronic calendars continue to calculate the date using the abolished algorithm. This is not an alternative date for the celebration, but an error in the automatic calculation based on a law that is no longer in force.
| Year | Date according to the repealed rule |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 21 June |
| 2027 | 20 June |
| 2028 | 18 June |
Ministry of Health vote: how the date was chosen
The decree does not contain a detailed justification for choosing 27 July specifically — the preamble merely sets out general reasons and states that the decision was taken ‘in support of the initiative of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine’.
In January 2023, the Ministry of Health announced an online vote to select a new date, in response to public calls to move away from the Soviet tradition. According to the ministry, the following options were offered:
- 15 April — the anniversary of the founding of the Ukrainian Red Cross;
- 8 May — the anniversary of the founding of the Ministry of Public Health and Welfare of the Ukrainian State;
- 14 June — the day commemorating Saint Agapitus of the Caves;
- 9 August — the feast day of Saint Panteleimon the Healer;
- 1 October — the founding day of the Ukrainian Medical Society;
9 December — the opening day of the Oleksandrivska Clinical Hospital in Kyiv.
The ‘27 July’ option was not announced during the public vote — this date was approved directly during the drafting of the legislative act.
Connection with the feast day of Saint Panteleimon
In the media, the choice of 27 July is often explained as the day commemorating Saint Panteleimon the Healer, the patron saint of doctors.
The official text of the Decree contains no religious references. In the Ministry of Health’s list, St Panteleimon’s Day was listed as 9 August (according to the Julian calendar). The Orthodox Church of Ukraine switched to the New Julian calendar, where this feast day falls on 27 July, on 1 September 2023 — after the Decree had already been signed. Consequently, this coincidence of dates is more of a symbolic coincidence than a documented reason.
The official name of the holiday and whom it concerns
- Official name: Healthcare Workers’ Day (Decree No. 327/2023).
- Previous name: Healthcare Worker’s Day (Decree No. 281/94 used the term in the singular).
- Colloquial name: ‘Medical Professional’s Day’ (not used in legislative acts).
The document defines the target audience in general terms as ‘healthcare workers’. Consequently, the holiday applies to a wide range of professionals:
- doctors of all specialities;
- nurses;
- medical assistants and paramedics;
- pharmacists and dispensing chemists;
- junior medical staff.
27 July: a professional holiday, not a public holiday
Article 73 of the Labour Code of Ukraine (LCU) contains an exhaustive list of public holidays and non-working days. Healthcare Workers’ Day is not included in this list. Presidential Decree No. 327/2023 also does not establish an additional day off.
Impact of martial law
Whilst martial law is in force, the provisions of Article 73 of the Labour Code do not apply in accordance with Part 6 of Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Organisation of Labour Relations under Martial Law’ No. 2136-IX. However, even in peacetime, 27 July remains a working day.
Conclusion: Healthcare Workers’ Day does not constitute a national public holiday. At the same time, employers (companies and institutions) have the right to establish additional benefits and days off for employees at their own expense in accordance with Article 9-1 of the Labour Code. In the absence of such a decision, 27 July 2026 is a normal working Monday.
Congratulations on Healthcare Workers’ Day
You may copy these texts and sign them with your name.
Official messages — from the management
Dear colleagues! Congratulations on your professional holiday. Your work is measured not by reports, but by the lives saved and the people who have returned home in good health. Thank you for every shift and on-call duty completed with total dedication.
I congratulate the team on Healthcare Workers’ Day! You are at the forefront of a field where there is no room for pause or error. May your rota be predictable, your equipment be in good working order, and may sincere gratitude be heard more often than complaints.
Happy professional holiday! Thank you to the doctors, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists and support staff — everyone without whom the work of our hospital would be impossible.
Short messages — for instant messaging apps
Happy Medical Professionals’ Day! Thank you for your hard work. Please look after yourselves just as carefully as you look after others!
Happy Professional Day! May all your call-outs be routine, your shifts be calm, and your patients be grateful.
Happy Professional Day! May your knowledge and experience save lives and restore health every day.
Happy Healthcare Workers’ Day! May your shifts be easy, your health be strong, and may you always have enough time to rest.
Funny ones — with a sense of humour
Happy Medical Workers’ Day! I wish you patients who come straight in with their test results, rather than with diagnoses from Google.
Happy professional day! May your handwriting remain a trade secret, and may your diagnoses and results always be accurate and clear.
Happy Healthcare Workers’ Day! I hope there are as few emergency calls as possible, and as many nice bonuses as possible!
Heart-warming — for colleagues and loved ones
Yours is one of those professions where there’s no such thing as someone else’s pain. Thank you for your kind heart and compassion. Happy Medical Workers’ Day!
Mum, happy Medical Workers’ Day to you! To me, your white coat has been, ever since I was a child, a symbol of protection and peace.
Happy Medical Workers’ Day, colleague! Thank you for having my back on shift, for your timely advice, and for that cup of coffee in the middle of a night shift.
To the addressee — a nurse, a pharmacist, a doctor
To nurses and nursing assistants: The day-to-day work of the entire shift depends on your attentiveness and care. Thank you for your timely care and a kind word. Happy professional day!
To pharmacists: You always give the right advice, explain complicated instructions in simple language and find the necessary medication. Happy Professional Day!
To the GP: Thank you for looking after my family’s health, for your attention to detail and for your professionalism. Happy professional day!
What to write on a card
Short messages:
- Happy Healthcare Workers’ Day! You are the reason why someone is smiling today and returning home.
- To those who help us return to a full life every day — with deep gratitude and respect.
- Thank you for your calm voice on the phone, your professionalism and your prompt assistance. Happy holiday!
- Happy holiday to those who spend their whole lives learning to look after our health.
- We hope that paperwork leaves you more time to provide real help to patients!
Poetic greetings
You are the first to be called in the night,
and you manage to finish by morning.
May the warmth you give so selflessly
come back to you.
May no machine let you down,
may there be time for sleep and lunch,
may each of your positive outcomes
bring the world back to someone at home.
Nurses’ Day: 12 May
Every year on 12 May, International Nurses’ Day is celebrated (on the initiative of the International Council of Nurses — ICN). The date coincides with the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. There is no specific legislation in Ukrainian law regarding this date. At both national and local levels, nurses are recognised on both 12 May and 27 July — alongside all healthcare workers.
Where to look for a job in healthcare on Injobe
On the Injobe platform, job seekers can find current job vacancies in the healthcare sector.
- Where to look: All vacancies are published in the dedicated section ‘Medicine, healthcare, pharmacies’.
