Whom do you see before seeing the doctor? The nurse, of course.
The nurse assists the doctor by collecting information and specimens from the patient, assessing injuries, administering immunizations (as well as cartoon printed band-aids, lollipops, and giant stickers) and sometimes will even offer general medical advice. While laying in a hospital bed, a patient may have a whole round-the-clock rotation of nurses to care for them while the doctor is busy with other patients, though the doctor is always there immediately when one of his nurses calls.
Just as nurses can be soothing and attentive, there are nasty nurses who contribute to patients leaving a doctor’s care and looking elsewhere.
With a number of small children, we were often at a certain pediatric practice. It became quite a hassle to interact with nurses who made assumptions and volunteered opinions about unrelated personal matters, were rough and aggressive with tender little children in pain, ones who were always grumpy or rolled their eyes when they were asked to help. Or, would stand at the nurses station and would loudly talk about their patients as though they were less than human. Yes, patients notice these things. It was because of the unpleasant nurses that I chose to switch pediatricians.