The Heart and Strength of Health Care Systems: Celebrating Our Remarkable Volunteer Nurses 

In our opinion, every day should be nurses day. These are the women and men who play a crucial role in any person’s journey to better to health, especially young patients with cleft conditions and their families who may be experiencing a surgery for the time. Nurses are the ones who calm your nerves as you prep for a procedure. They make sure all the essential equipment in the operating room is on hand and working at its best. They are often the first face you see as anesthesia wears off and you awaken in a recovery room.  

“As a former nurse and social worker, I know first-hand the importance nurses play in providing health services. It is the nurse who is with the patient more than any other health care professional,” says Kathy Magee, co-founder, president and CEO of Operation Smile. “Nurses are caregivers, educators and advocates. They’re key to keeping communities healthy around the world.” 

One of the best ways to support nurses is by providing access to training and education. Operation Smile does this in several ways, from the Operation Smile Academy, which provides free digital training programs to nurses and other health care professionals around the globe, to the nursing development trainings, a program supported by our long-time partner, Johnson & Johnson. This training series kicked off last year in Ethiopia with additional trainings happening in Peru, India and, most recently, Kenya. A total of 200 nurses from 25 countries were equipped with the skills and support they need to drive significant health care improvements in their communities. Additional trainings are scheduled for later this year.  

Of course, another way to show nurses appreciation is to take a moment and celebrate the incredible work they do every day. We encourage you to reach out to those in your community and give them thanks. Here are just a few of the thousands of nurses that help make the work we do here at Operation Smile possible, each of whom we are extremely grateful to, today and always.

Rashmony Mukherjee 

Pre/Post-Op Nurse
Durgapur Cleft Center at the IQ City Medical College Hospital, Bangalore, India
Operation Smile Volunteer since 2021

What being a nurse means to me: Nursing is a profession that allows me to make a real difference in people’s lives. Nurses are often the first point of contact for patients and can provide emotional support, patient education and advocacy for their patients. I truly believe that helping others is the most rewarding thing one can do with one’s life. That’s why I chose to be a nurse. 

Amanda Portillo 

Pathway OR Trainee | Hospital de Occidente, Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras
Operation Smile Volunteer since 2015 

What nursing means to me: I had a calling to serve, and that is why I also joined Operation Smile as a volunteer. I like to help anyone who I can. 

Invaluable experience: I graduated in 2004 as a surgical technologist and started working in the operating room at Hospital de Occidente, where I still work today. There, I had the opportunity to serve as a surgical technologist for five years, during which I learned a lot in that field. I truly learned what surgical awareness means, and above all, how to put yourself in the patient’s shoes, because it’s there that you really come to understand the patient’s pain — the true pain. 

Shafeeq Ahmed 

Pathway Pre/Post Trainee | Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Cape Coast, Ghana
Operation Smile volunteer since 2024 

What nursing means to me: I am passionate about helping others. It has been a great experience from the day I joined Operation Smile, clinical conferences and surgical programs have helped shape my clinical skills for good. Operation Smile has also given me the opportunity to meet and network with fellow volunteers and above all the platform to share our love with humanity. The joy on the faces of patients and their families after undergoing surgery successfully warms my heart, something that words can’t explain. It brings hope to the patients, families and everyone involved. 

Saber Mostafa 

Post-Anesthesia Care Unit Nurse (PACU) and Educator | Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation, Cairo and Aswan Egypt
Operation Smile volunteer since 2015 

What nursing means to me: Nurses are the very heart and strength of our health care system. Their deep knowledge and commitment to evidence-based practice are truly what ensure patients receive the highest quality care. Think of it this way: Nurses are the vigilant guardians, the compassionate advocates and the skilled navigators for patients through their health care journey. It’s a career filled with purpose, intellectual stimulation and the immense satisfaction of making a real difference. 

Learn more about how Operation Smile is investing in the well-being, leadership and development of nurses, which helps expand access to safe, high-quality care and build resilient health systems around the globe.