Nurses are the heart of healthcare.

The line frames nursing as the central, sustaining force within the medical system. Calling nurses “the heart” emphasizes both indispensability and the human, relational labor that keeps healthcare functioning: continuous bedside presence, coordination across disciplines, patient advocacy, and emotional support alongside technical skill. The metaphor also implies that without nursing, the system’s “body” may have expertise and infrastructure but lacks circulation—ongoing monitoring, communication, and care that connects treatments to lived patient experience. As a piece of professional advocacy, it elevates nursing from a supporting role to a defining one, underscoring why staffing, education, and respect for nurses directly affect outcomes and the moral character of care.