JHAH Nurse: ‘We Laugh Together, Cry Together — Just Like a Family’
June 08, 2026
Afnan Almutairi, nursing shift coordinator, explains what life is like as one of JHAH’s 1,400 nurses — and shares heartwarming stories from the ward.
It was a typically busy day in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Afnan Almutairi, then a senior nurse, was caring for an extremely sick patient. He was intubated and sedated, having suffered a heart attack. Afnan and her team were preparing him for the Cath Lab to implant a stent.
“We worked with him day and night for two days, and we knew how badly he was suffering,” Afnan remembers. “But he was very strong and had a good character. A few days after his surgery, out of nowhere, he started singing. It was a traditional Saudi song. It melted my heart. From that moment, we knew he was going to get better.”
Afnan says that touching moments like these are why she loves being a nurse at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH).
Nursing has shaped my personality; it has added to me more and more. The passion, the strength, the long hours, the happy and the sad moments and the care you give to patients.
She says that nursing “is not just about providing care — it’s about building trust, offering comfort and being a source of hope. I feel proud to be part of this profession and honored to be a part of a wonderful nursing team at JHAH.”
From the first day of her nursing internship at JHAH in 2016, Afnan knew she wanted to work in the Cardiac ICU. “It’s a busy place. There are monitors everywhere; alarms are constantly buzzing. On my first day, I remember seeing a patient who was intubated and was not moving at all — and yet, by the next day, he was awake, talking and making jokes. It was amazing. I thought, ‘I really want to save lives like this’.”
She says she was “excited and overwhelmed” when she was appointed as a junior nurse in the Cardiac ICU after her internship ended. “I was nervous, too, because I was very aware that I needed to always be super vigilant because it is a setting where lives are constantly at risk.”
“The first month, I remember very well: The action; the need to make fast decisions about critically ill patients. It was hectic. I remember some creeping doubts and asking myself, ‘How can I handle all these challenges?’ But I looked in the mirror every day and told myself, ‘You can do this. You will be strong and you will get through it. You will look back on your fears one day and realize they were part of learning, part of being better.’ And within six months, after learning so much, I gained the confidence I have today.”
Afnan was later promoted to senior nurse in the Cardiac ICU, then to charge nurse. She now serves as a nursing shift coordinator, overseeing the daily operation of the entire hospital on behalf of the Chief Nursing Officer. Afnan deals with bed management, staff allocation, admissions, discharges and transfers, thereby helping to ensure that 1,400 nurses at JHAH are empowered to meet the many challenges they face every day.
“Some of my favorite moments are the small, everyday interactions I have with my colleagues,” Afnan says. “This might be celebrating a small win or sharing a laugh during a busy shift. It could be about helping each other through a challenging situation. We laugh together, cry together and share food together — just like a family.”
She says nursing can be emotionally and physically demanding, and a test of strength and resilience. “Losing a patient is one of the hardest parts of nursing. It’s not just a clinical event; it’s a deeply human moment. You may have cared for that patient for days or weeks, learned their story, supported their family — and then suddenly, they’re gone. Yet, in that moment, you must stay composed, continue your duties and ensure you are there for other patients. You remain human while learning how to heal yourself, and you keep showing up to work filled with strength and empathy. Because in nursing, even in loss, what you give matters.”
Afnan recalls her experience with a 25-year-old patient with advanced cardiomyopathy, who was about to undergo a heart transplant. She would spend hours talking to him, comforting him as he shared his fears about losing the life he had ahead of him. “I will never forget the day he came striding back into the hospital,” she says. “He wanted to thank every member of his care team individually. He had this sparkle in his eyes. And I remember telling him, ‘Now you can do whatever you want. Your whole life is ahead of you.’”
“Nursing is a journey filled with purpose. Every day may not be easy, but every day matters. And that is what makes nursing truly special.”