Nurses are more than sidekicks in scrubs—they’re the front lines of health and wellness. If the Doctor’s the head, you’re the hands. That’s because your job as a Nurse isn’t about diagnosing problems, it’s about delivering care.

An average day includes working with patients and asking about their symptoms. You keep written records, check vital signs, draw blood, dress wounds, give tests, and administering medications. You also instructing patients and their families about how to follow Doctors’ orders.

However, different types of nurses play different roles. Because they have more education, Registered Nurses, or RNs, are most likely to administer direct patient care. Licensed Vocational Nurses, on the other hand, typically do tasks like observing patients, washing and cleaning them, and changing their bed linens.

Your duties also depend on your specialty, which might include caring for children, treating the elderly, or delivering babies as a Certified Nurse Midwife. Similarly, you might specialize in a specific area of a hospital, like Emergency Room Nurses or Operating Room Nurses.

No matter what type of Nurse you are, however, you take pride in your job, which even at its most complicated is this simple: You help people when they’re sick.