Hate to burst your bubble, but a nurse can be a lot of other things, like:

An advocate for the patient.. Sometimes that requires toughness and backbone. It takes courage to stand up and fight for your patient when they are getting the wrong care.

A mediator. Sometimes you have to negotiate solutions to problems when different factions that have different agendas for the patient are fighting.

An administrator. Paperwork, staff assignments, schedules, workflows, budgets, compliance with federal/state regulations are all part of nursing & healthcare

An expert on Medicare/Medicaid/HMOs. If you send that patient home, who's going to provide (and pay for) services and medical equipment to that patient in their home/nursing home?

An expert in their field, whether it's OB/ER/ICU/home health or long-term care. Each requires different knowledge and skills. How are you going to advocate for your patient if you don't know how to communicate with a physician about what's happening?

A rational/critical thinker. Are you able to reason through a problem, weighing all of the choices/possibilities, and come up with a good solution to the problem in front of you.

A mentor and a teacher. People look to us for answers to their questions. We teach other nurses and healthcare professtionals. When I worked in a teaching hospital, the young physicians counted on me to help and guide them through their residencies.

Leader. Like it or not, we are role models for others. We are counted on to "know what to do in a crisis", (like the COR we had today in the facility where I work). We also are advocates for changes in the system when we see policies that are wrong (morally or ethically).

The list could be longer, but the role of a nurse is much broader than you have described. It takes a strong, smart, intelligent, confident, experienced and well-educated nurse to understand and act on each of these isssues. Exposure to new ideas, and a broader range of knowledge, can never hurt you.

Old Florence Nightingale understood these issues. If you have a chance in your nursing program, you should read "Notes on Nursing". She was the first "change agent" in nursing, and she understood what it takes to be a leader.