{{{{Jen}}}} As someone with several dedicated nurses in her extended family, I can't tell you how much I agree. Nursing is so important and so misunderstood.
I think people's general impression of what teachers do is similarly screwed up, but I think nurses get the worst rap of all.
Kristin SO speaks for me here. (fwiw, the fella I like most on OKCupid got way more brownie points from me for being a nurse than he would have for being a doctor.)