To the lay person, a nurse's job may seem pretty simple: Nurses provide care for patients. But the word "care" is a bit complicated. In a medical sense, it means to tend to needed procedures, carry out instructions from physicians, and do the clinical things that are required for an ill or injured person. On top of all that scientific caring, there's sociological caring as well. That means providing an equal level of commitment to the emotional situation, making sure that the patient and family members are coping with the complexities of their particular cases.