Depending on how you look at it, it could seem sad that it has taken a worldwide pandemic - a global health crisis - for us to finally realise how important our health services are.
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And not just that they are important - they will be key to getting us through this crisis.
On the other hand, the recognition that doctors and nurses are receiving is more than welcome to the profession itself.
More than 17,000 nurses have rushed to sign up for online courses to enable them to work in intensive care units, and 3000 more have moved to re-register in the workforce as part of the response to coronavirus.
That these people are fronting up to work in what could well turn out to be extremely difficult and dangerous environments speaks volumes to a profession that is often founded on courage and belief in doing what's right.
There are many people that we, as ordinary folk, will be relying on during these challenging times.
We rely on medical specialists to provide the right advice to our governments and policy-makers, so that they in turn can make the right decisions to steer us through the crisis.
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We rely on state and federal leaders to deliver clear and simple messaging, so that the situation doesn't become harder.
We rely on the media to relay this information, and hold our leaders accountable.
We rely on workplaces to ensure the safety of employees, and, where possible, a smooth transition to working from home.
We rely on teachers and other educators to ensure the nation's children don't miss out on the most crucial aspects of schooling at a time when physical schools have had to close their doors temporarily.
But the people who should bring us the most comfort are the medical professionals on the frontline, who are dealing with the most confronting and human aspect of the crisis.
For a great many of us, COVID-19 is both real and remote. It is having an impact on our daily lives in ways we could never have imagined just a month or two ago.
It is not, for the most part, causing the significant health crisis that we are seeing on screens and in news reports from Europe and America.
It feels far away, even as it is among us.
But the medical people on Australia's front line know the devastating impacts of this virus all too well.
And they know because they have, for the most part, placed themselves at the coalface of the crisis, in a bid to keep us safe.
Speaking to The Canberra Times recently, chief nursing and midwifery officer Allison McMillan said work was being done at all levels on public education strategies around hygiene and physical distancing to prevent the health system being overwhelmed, as well as preparing for the surge in cases.
And she reiterated that medical professionals, in turn, relied on an entire ecosystem of workers to keep hospitals running and enable them to do their jobs.
With this in mind, she said it was more important than ever that Australians all did their part.
"Follow and listen to the instructions ... so that our world-class health system can remain a world-class health system," she said.
And she also had a simple message for all Australians: support our medical professionals through empathy.
Understand how difficult their jobs are, respect the work they are doing, and know that they are doing their best for us.
They're the ones we're counting on now.
And they, in turn, are counting on us to do the right thing.
