Venessa Saldana had been working as a nurse for more than 12 years when she started to feel burned out by the many challenges of the profession.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to continue working in the field of medicine until her experience as an Operation Smile volunteer helped her rediscover her love of nursing and her passion for patient care! Read on for a question-and-answer interview with Venessa to learn more about her story as an Operation Smile volunteer.

Q: What inspired you to volunteer with Operation Smile?

A: I was first exposed to Operation Smile back in 1996. I remember seeing a feature on the organization’s work in a magazine and being fascinated by the photos of the medical volunteers helping little children with facial conditions. I knew this was something that I wanted to be a part of, even before I knew that I wanted to be a nurse.

Q: What drives you to continue volunteering with Operation Smile?

A: I have been working as a nurse for 14 years and I have never been a part of anything that is as professionally and personally satisfying as participating in an Operation Smile medical mission. Seeing a shy child who covered her mouth when she first arrived at the medical mission site have the confidence to smile after receiving surgery is the best feeling in the world.  

After participating in four medical missions over the last two years, I am sure that I want to stay involved with Operation Smile for as long as possible. I will never be able to help everyone who needs medical and surgical care, but by serving as an Operation Smile medical volunteer, I have the opportunity to work with highly dedicated and skilled medical professionals to serve those who are most in need of our care. Together, Operation Smile volunteers are able to change thousands of lives every year.

Q: Why do you feel the responsibility to take care of these children?

A: I grew up very poor and my family relied on government assistance and free medical care to meet our basic needs. Because of the government’s and my community’s investment in my wellbeing, I was able to access a quality and affordable education. Now that I am a nurse practitioner, I feel the responsibility to pay this kindness forward by providing healthcare services to other vulnerable children.

I feel that as a society and as a global community, we have an obligation to invest in children’s futures. I am always saddened by stories of parents who removed their children from school or children who voluntarily left school because of their cleft conditions as I believe that every child deserves an education. I hope receiving surgery and beautiful new smiles will give children the courage to pursue their passions and will help them reach their fullest potentials.

Q: Is there a particular moment or patient from a medical mission that will stay with you forever?

A: There are so many moments from medical missions that will stay with me forever. Watching children on screening day who have never seen another person with a cleft condition is one of those heartbreaking and beautiful moments. During one medical mission, I had the privilege to care for a 15-year-old boy who had traveled by horseback, bus, and walked over 15 hours to get to the medical mission site. When he entered the hospital, his eyes filled with tears and he reached for his father’s hand. The father later explained to me that his son was the only person in their remote village with a cleft lip and he had never seen anyone who looked like him before. I am happy to report that the boy’s surgery went well and his repair was perfect. I saw a different boy walk out that door.

Of course, my first medical mission as an Operation Smile volunteer will always be very special for me. During this medical mission in Honduras, we didn’t have any air conditioning at the hospital and the patients were getting overheated and uncomfortable. We had only three small fans to cool down two rooms that housed over a dozen people in each. The other nurses and I did our best to keep the patients cool after surgery, but we felt like we were failing. A father of a patient noticed how much we were struggling and went out and bought us four large fans. I was so thankful that I hugged him and told him that he had saved our lives. He replied with “you saved mine”. His son had received cleft palate surgery that morning. 

Q: Why is early surgical care a critical need?

A: Early intervention for children with cleft conditions in critical. Babies with cleft lip or cleft palate can have a very difficult time feeding. Improper feeding puts these babies at a huge risk for medical conditions such as aspiration pneumonia and chronic sinus infections. Without surgery, older children with cleft conditions can have issues developing proper speech patterns.

Q: How has volunteering with Operation Smile impacted you professionally and personally?

A: Volunteering with Operation Smile has renewed my desire to continue working in the field of medicine. I work as a nurse practitioner in a busy emergency department which can be emotionally draining. Every day, I experience so many highs and lows. I am responsible for breaking bad news to patients, comforting families after they have lost a loved one and helping people through the worst day of their lives while also delivering hope and solutions to others. While I loved working in the emergency department, I had hit a point where I began to feel burnt out. Some days, I would leave work and wonder if I made the wrong choice going into medicine. Volunteering with Operation Smile reminded me why I became a nurse and taught me how to love my profession again. Because of my experiences with Operation Smile, I hope to someday work in another country where there are limited health resources and I can make a bigger impact as a nurse. 

On a personal level, I am grateful to be a part of an organization and community that consistently reminds me that the world is much bigger than I can see sometimes and that there are still good people in the world who care about others.