NurseWeek, Nursing Spectrum, + the Gannett Merger
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, NurseWeek and Nursing Spectrum were print magazines that focused on local nursing news in the United States. NurseWeek covered news west of the Mississippi River, and Nursing Spectrum covered things in the east.
In the early 2000s, NurseWeek and Nursing Spectrum merged under the ownership of Gannett. This combined 13 local magazines that were distributed bi-weekly to major metro areas.
At the time of the Gannett merger, there were roughly 30 editorial staff members, five production staff, and several sales representatives. The Nursing Spectrum and NurseWeek magazines kept their original names for years until 2009, when they both merged into Nurse.com.
What did these magazines look like?
The NurseWeek and Nursing Spectrum magazines included:
- Local cover stories
- Photoshoots
- Regional calendars
- At least one continuing education (CE) module
- Monthly specialty/topical guides
- Monthly marketing booklets
Nurse.com Magazine + Gala
Nurse.com originated as a program to honor and award outstanding nurses. Starting in 1996, Nurse.com was a feature in the NurseWeek and Nursing Spectrum magazines, which quickly evolved into regional live galas. These galas were packed with nurses, sponsors, employers, and healthcare colleagues to view the presentation of finalists and winners in six categories.
This gala continued to develop over the years. In 1999, the Diane F. Cooper Lifetime Achievement Award was added to the event, which spotlighted nurses who left a profound legacy on the profession.
In 2008, the program included naming six nurses for the National Nurse of the Year award. In each category, there was one national winner who was selected from the regional winners. The winners received not only the coveted title but a trip to receive the award in person in Las Vegas.
In 2013, another award was added to honor nurses who were new to the profession, which was called the Rising Star award. The name “GEMS – Giving Excellence Meaning” was eventually added to this award. This GEMS/Nursing Excellence program was discontinued in 2016.
Public Founding + Early Website Years
Following the merger of NurseWeek and Nursing Spectrum magazines, Nurse.com officially launched as a website on January 1, 2007. At this point, the brand was well established as a go-to online hub for nurses, offering CE courses, job postings, news articles, and professional resources.
By the 2010s, Nurse.com had evolved more fully into an online platform combining three core functions:
- Continuing education: Accredited courses for nurses, both state- and federally approved
- Career and job resources: A job board, listings, and career tools tailored to nursing professionals.
- News and community: Articles, commentary, and content focused on nursing practice, workplace issues, and health policy.
However, in December 2014, Gannett sold its nursing publications to OnCourse Learning. This marked the major business transition from print to digital. Print content was discontinued in 2017, except for the annual National Nurses Week publication, which stopped production in 2019.
Integration Into OnCourse Learning
Nurse.com was part of a larger educational-technology portfolio under a company called OnCourse Learning, which focused on online professional training, including in healthcare, real estate, compliance, and continuing education.
In press releases, OnCourse described Nurse.com as a core “online presence for registered nurses,” offering CE, job resources, and news.
Under OnCourse’s stewardship, Nurse.com’s parent company at the time also made related acquisitions to expand the range of training content beyond acute care nurses. In 2016, OnCourse Learning (through Nurse.com’s parent structure) acquired the Institute for Professional Care Education (IPCed), a provider of training modules for assisted living, home care, and non-medical care settings.
Thus, during this era, Nurse.com functioned as a specialized nursing brand within a broader online education ecosystem, benefitting from shared infrastructure, content libraries, and cross-domain reach.
Acquisition by Relias / Bertelsmann + Transition
A major turning point in the history of Nurse.com came in 2018, when Relias, a provider of performance management, learning, compliance, and workforce enablement solutions in healthcare, acquired the healthcare segment of OnCourse Learning, which included Nurse.com, WCEI.net, and ContinuingEducation.com.
Relias announced the integration of OnCourse Learning’s healthcare business (over 4,000 clients and thousands of courses) into its own offerings, folding in Nurse.com and related platforms such as CE Direct, ContinuingEducation.com, and others.
Effectively:
- Relias gained access to Nurse.com’s established nursing community, content library, and brand.
- Its course catalog expanded, and nurse-focused CE offerings became part of the Relias library.
- The acquisition supported Relias’s strategic goal of being a more integrated, full-stack platform combining learning, assessments, performance, compliance, analytics, and recruitment tools.
Relias is owned by Bertelsmann (a global media and education conglomerate). The Bertelsmann Education Group saw the OnCourse/Relias deal as strengthening its U.S. education footprint and deepening its presence in healthcare learning.
By 2018–2019, Nurse.com had become a brand under the Relias umbrella, often referred to as Nurse.com by Relias or Nurse.com/Relias.
Post-Acquisition Evolutions and Strategic Focus
Under Relias, Nurse.com has continued to evolve, with several noteworthy developments and shifting emphasis:
- Expanded community and platform features
In September 2022, Nurse.com (under Relias) acquired HOLLIBLU, a social networking app built specifically for nurses, aimed at fostering peer connection, networking, knowledge sharing, and professional support. The app was integrated into the Nurse.com ecosystem to deepen engagement beyond CE and job listings. - Technology investments and recognition
After the acquisition, Relias and Nurse.com announced in 2023 that they achieved “significant growth,” introducing new digital technologies, publishing industry reports, forming new partnerships, and launching the NurseDot podcast, among other initiatives. - In 2023, Nurse.com rebooted its job board, aiming to help nurses find career advancement opportunities and help its healthcare clients connect to an audience of skilled nurses.
- Awards and brand recognition
In 2025, Nurse.com was named “Overall Career Prep Company of the Year” by EdTech Breakthrough, a recognition of its continuing impact in education technology, career services, and community building. - Strategic role within Relias
Nurse.com now acts as the nurse-targeted segment of Relias’s healthcare/workforce enablement brands, alongside others such as the Wound Care Education Institute, Relias Academy, FreeCME, and Clinician.com.
Its offerings now typically include:- Fully accredited CE courses (with state and federal approval)
- Digital publications, news, blogs, and newsletters discussing nursing practice, policy, trends, stories, professional development, and more.
- Job and career tools (job listings, advertising solutions) embedded in the nurse community platform
- Community features: peer networking, discussions, app-based engagement (through the HOLLIBLU integration)
- Content and course scale
After integration into Relias, Nurse.com’s CE catalog became part of a broader Relias library that spans thousands of healthcare courses, strengthening its depth and scope.
Nurse.com’s platform also publishes periodic reports (e.g., Nurse Salary and Work-Life Report), research-driven content, and data insights to help organizations and nurses understand trends.
Summary + Position Today
Over its history, Nurse.com has transitioned from print magazines to a standalone online resource for nurses to a key brand within a sophisticated healthcare education and workforce enablement platform. Its consistent focus has been to support nurses throughout their careers by combining accredited CE, news and commentary, job and career services, and increasing community and networking features.
The acquisition by Relias marked a turning point: it brought deeper integration with analytics, performance, compliance, and broader healthcare learning ecosystems. Under Relias, Nurse.com continues to evolve, adding social and community dimensions (e.g. via the HOLLIBLU app), content innovation (podcasts, reports), and enhanced digital experience — all while serving as a central node connecting nurses with education, professional development, peer networks, and career opportunities.
Nurse.com has now been active for over 30 years and is one of the longest-running resources for nurses. The platform now offers a catalog of more than 1,000 CE courses, along with blogs, webinars, and a weekly newsletter to support nurses at every stage of their careers.