Nurses are the backbone of our health care system. From lending an empathetic ear to administering medications to sitting with us when it feels like the world is falling down around us, they are there—making us feel human while seeming superhuman themselves. The nurses within these pages are the ones you nominated for their lasting influence, and they are truly the champions of our West Virginia centers of care. Read their stories, discover what inspires them, and be inspired yourself.

Maggie Burhan

RN Mon Health Medical Center Specialty: Cardiology

When Maggie Burhan headed to nursing school in 2019, she was testing the waters—she suspected it might be the career path for her, but she wanted to see how she’d like it before she committed to it being her life’s work. She found the classes interesting and fun, and it stuck with her when a professor mentioned that it was one of the most ethical jobs someone could pursue in the United States.

She began her career—and, as a new nurse, experienced the COVID-19 pandemic from its very beginning. “It was extremely challenging, and there were times where I was questioning, ‘Can I go through it?’” Burhan says. “In the past four years, I’ve seen very challenging and kind of dark parts of illness and how it affects people’s lives.” Still, she says, she never questioned that helping was the right thing to do, and going through those difficult times made her feel like she was part of something bigger than herself. “I’ve seen, as a whole society, how we overcome illness, and nurses are a very extremely intricate part of that,” she says. “I make myself feel proud. I feel like nothing can defeat me anymore in this nursing field.”

Burhan loves to continue learning about the human body and how it’s affected by both physical and mental illness. She says being a nurse even helps her be more in tune with her own health and the health of her loved ones. “It affects you very personally in your way of thinking about how an illness can affect your own life,” she says. “It’s really hard to separate yourself out of it. Nursing is not ‘Oh, this is a job. I’m coming here to do the job.’ I don’t think anyone can do it that way.”

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