They will be joined by their whānau and communities on a march from the First Church of Otago at 11am, to the Octagon where they will hear speeches, wave banners and enjoy family-focused activities until about 1pm.
It is one of 19 rallies being held across the country on the day, organised by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO).
NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter said it would be an opportunity for NZNO members and their Dunedin communities to call on political parties to have policies this election year that address the nursing crisis, and for health to top their list of election priorities.
"So much has been asked of nurses, and they have delivered like the courageous and professional workforce they are, right across the health sector.
"But decades of poor planning, inadequate funding and outright neglect across successive governments have led us to a time of absolute crisis in terms of pay, staffing resources and morale across the nursing sector."
He said it was no wonder thousands of nurses had left for Australia and thousands more were making plans to leave.
"We need 4000-5000 more nurses - it’s as simple as that.
"So we want to see everything possible being done to recruit them without delay, and for all politicians to get behind this with their support."
Dunedin nurse and NZNO delegate Kelly Morrissey hoped the rally would make the lives of nurses better and help boost morale.
She said she had been a nurse for more than 20 years and was saddened by how undervalued and overworked nurses were.
NZNO will be launching a petition at the rallies, calling on political parties to commit to fixing the nursing crisis.
Mr Goulter believed the petition response would be "massive".
"This is a chance for the public in Aotearoa New Zealand to express their concerns for the wellbeing of our nurses and their concerns about the future of our health system."
