Nurses

Just as I rely on the important work of coworkers, including paralegals and administrative staff, around me, so do doctors rely upon and need the important work of nurses around them.

Nurses are on the frontline of doctor-patient contact, and in that sense perform not just much of the textbook medical work on behalf of the patient, but also importantly play the role of customer service agent: communicating directly with the patient, understanding the patient's personality and needs, and managing the patient's expectations and demands.

My brother-in-law and his wife are both nurses. And I have several friends and neighbors who are also nurses.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for the work they do, having to know so much about their field, being able to put it into practice while they're on their feet day in and day out, and as I mentioned above, be able to deal with all sorts of people under all sorts of fears and pressures.