While nurses and doctors are often seen as the holy grail of the hospital world, there's a lot of us behind the scenes who do our part too, to make sure you're on your road to a diagnoses and then recovery. What I am not is a nurse, what I am is a radiologic technologist and sometimes I'm your whole day.

I can't give you Zofran, can't even ask the doctor for more pain meds, I can't hook you up to fluids or call your family to update them. But what I can do is make the 15 minutes I am with you seem a little less scary.

If I meet you during the day, in my eyes, you may think you're my 10:30 slot, but to you I'm a day scheduled off of work, I'm the front line of the results you're nervously waiting to get back, and I'm the first person to know what's truly going on with you. I am not a nurse, I am the eyes to your diagnoses.

If I meet you at night, in my eyes, you may think you're just another stat on my work list, but to you I'm the person taking you to the cold, dark room with the big machine. To you, I am just another step in the process.

I am not a nurse, but I am no greater or no lesser than one either.

I am the person who sees the reason behind your grandmother's sudden change in mental status. I am the one who can see the reason you've had a cough for two weeks and why antibiotics aren't working. I am the first one to show you the new life brewing that's causing the morning sickness. Through the happy and the sad, it all starts with me.

I am not a nurse, but I SEE you. I see you more than just another person on my table. I see the personality that's slowly fading in grandma's eyes because of a stroke not caught soon enough. I see the lung mass that's hard to look away from on the marathon runner who's been healthy all their life. I see the heart beat that turns you into a parent.

I may take a little longer time with you. I may ask you questions about your children, or your grandkids, or how you grew up because I want you to know that I see you as more than just what I see in you.

I am not a nurse, I am the person who momentarily takes you away from your nurse, from the medical jargon, from the needle pokes, and the buzzing monitors.

I am not a nurse. I may not get to spend 12 hours straight checking in on you, asking if you need anything, and making sure you're comfortable. I may not even get to give you updates about your care. I am not a nurse. I don't get to talk to you about your diagnoses or what the next steps will be.

What I am is a 15 minute escape from your confining ER or ICU room, I am the reason your doctor knows how to take care of you, I am your eyes when you need them the most. But no, I'm not a nurse.