Being a nurse and famous seems like a contradiction. Florence Nightingale was both: nurse and famous. She was the daughter of the wealthy landowner (1).
Yet, when searching for "famous nurses," Mary Seacole appears after Florence Nightingale. And there are also male nurses: St. Camillus de Lellis (1550-1614) and James dirham (2). Being famous is a relative competence.
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She -- Nightingale -- "refused to marry several suitors, and at the age of twenty-five told her parents she wanted to become a nurse. Her parents were totally opposed to the idea as nursing was associated with working class women. (1)"
Being a nurse is often associated with a vocation. It is not a rational choice in dedicating one's life to serving patients, but more an ideological choice. But this will not be the case for every nurse. For many it is just a job.
"On several occasions she was found treating wounded soldiers from both sides while the battle was still going on.... returned to England as a national heroine ... decided to begin a campaign to improve the quality of of nursing in military hospitals." (1)
There is not one group of nurses. The work of the nurse can be more technical for those that are dedicated to surgery and intensive care. But the largest group of nurses are constantly dealing with patients or clients as they are called often.
The word "patient" is etymologically related with "patience" and that is perhaps one of the the best qualifications a nurse can have: patience. If one business is centered around people it is the hospital business and having patience is highly needed and valued (but under-paid).
The nurse takes "care" of the caring part of the patient's recovery in a process where it has been "cured" previously by a medical specialist.
There are new developments where the nursing profession gets more specialized, like the role of the nurse-practitioner. But in general the role of the nurse is more generalistic than that of the (medical) specialist.
Now, why are nurses never famous? Why do we remember the name of the man that performed the first open hart-surgery in South Africa and not the nurse who assisted? Because, nurses are no heroes ... But maybe they are for the patient.
Hans Bool
(1) - http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REnightingale.htm
(2) - http://nurse.lifetips.com/cat/59404/nursing-history/
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