There is a popular trope going around suggesting that somehow doctors lack the compassion of our nursing colleagues. We see it in the PR materials for nurse practitioners that say, ‘Head of a doctor, heart of a nurse’.

Even hospital CEOs seem to love images of nurses plying their trade, leaning over patients with furrowed brows, loving hands reaching out to comfort the sick.

Mind you, my mother is a nurse. Among my earliest memories are those of her in her starched white uniform, including folded and pinned cap, going off to the hospital. Indeed, she was always a model of compassion.

She influenced me enormously in my professional path. I have been fortunate to spend my career in the company of some wonderful, caring nurses.