You probably know a nurse, and you may even be friends with one that you call for advice when your child has a cut or a fever. But you may not have a good sense of who we are, what we do, and how we are well positioned to take on larger roles in tackling the many problems facing our country.

The way that we think about nurses is the way that we need to think about health care if we are to address the rampant inequities that are plaguing our country.

Each day, the stories of the risks that our nation’s nurses take — and the sacrifices they make — to provide care and save others bring tears to my eyes. They are doing so much, often with so little. I have never been prouder to be a nurse.

At the same time, I have never been angrier that our country, the richest in the world, has not done everything that it could to help nurses to feel as safe as possible at work and prevent them from infecting their loved ones. A healthy, adequately trained, and adequately equipped workforce is a critical element of responding to the virus. Nurses should not be expected to be martyrs.