Nurses acting in the tradition of wise, skillful Good Samaritans are overlooked as causes of good patient outcomes. That is perhaps because such practice, while it can be facilitated or impeded, cannot be mandated or standardized. The following stories, in which qualities that are intangible but integral to nursing are exemplified, show why health care cannot be reduced to a commercial product managed from a distance. Each narrative describes a relationship that is unique yet universal in expressing the human need for connection and care.

Besides exemplifying good nursing practice, these narratives capture what is left out of accounting language about nursing productivity. Without the clinical wisdom, skill, and compassion demonstrated in these exemplars, our health system would come crashing down as unworthy of public trust. The stories remind us that the most important system redesign comes daily, from clinicians on the nursing unit. Unanticipated needs are met, system failures are corrected, and flexible timing and good judgment prevent harm and the compounding of tragedy.