100 Moments

10:10 10.10: Anatomy of a Moment

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
6:10 p.m. Gulf Standard Time

In the acute care medical surgical unit, another 12-hour shift is winding down for Shaima Alobeidli, RN. 

Jassim Ali has cirrhosis of the liver and diabetes. Shaima has cared for him over multiple stays, admiring how he faces challenges with a healthy sense of humor. His feisty personality has endeared him to the staff. 

Soon enough, dinner will be served. Before the meal, Shaima checks Jassim’s blood sugar level. He cracks a joke, as usual. 

Members of Shaima’s family sometimes mistake her for a doctor, unable to quite grasp the contours of her calling. For Emirati women, nursing offers a relatively new career path. 

Somewhere between the textbooks and the training, Shaima fell in love with her profession. “It’s all about the human interactions,” she says. “You need empathy. It’s the best way to understand a patient and the best way to provide care.” 

Another desert, another land. The sun goes down on another day.

Photograph by Moatasem Al Ahmad