i am a nursing student here in the philippines and i can say that many people even the ones in nursing do not seem to see the distinction between medicine and nursing and so tend to downplay nursing as to physician's aide or something... i was even once guilty of it i admit... but if you truly understand what nursing is, you will surely appreciate it because it is the one single profession-vocation that requires scientific and evidenced-based practice as well as a holistic approach to a person.