Simone Anderson-Magwood
August 2025
Simone
Anderson-Magwood
,
RN
OR
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital
Saint Petersburg
,
FL
United States
She goes above and beyond in every way. She helps other departments, she helps other shifts, she is a wealth of knowledge, and is passionate in her chosen field and shares that passion with others.
Operating room nurses are often one of the unsung heroes of the nursing world. The very nature of the job is one that is more behind the scenes, not front and center, even though the knowledge, skill, and dedication to the patient is singular and focused.
The patient does not remember who took them into the operating room, calmed their fears, held their hand, and helped care for them through the entire procedure due to the fact that they are not conscious and aware for most of the time and have no memory of the before, during, and after. Likewise, the patient's family members have just a glimpse of the nurse who will care for their loved one during the surgical time of their procedure.
I have had the honor of working with Simone since 2017. Simone has always strived for excellence and knowledge. She is dedicated and devoted not only to patients but also to surgeons and staff. She goes above and beyond in every way. She helps other departments and shifts; she is a wealth of knowledge, passionate about her chosen field, and shares that passion with others.
Surgery can be a very frightening experience for anyone, but especially children. While most surgery is a planned and scheduled event, on weekends and nights, it is usually an emergency that cannot wait. This past weekend was no exception. An infant was rushed to the operating room in the middle of the night after a very serious automobile collision. Simone and all in the operating room performed tirelessly to help this baby survive very serious injuries.
While preparing the child for emergent surgery, Simone, thinking quickly, placed the baby's hair, as it was being shaved, into a plastic bag and saved it. This took no extra time; instead of throwing it away, she placed it in the bag. While the child survived the initial surgery, they did not survive the day. When the OR staff was made aware that the baby had passed away a few hours later in the PICU, Simone called to say she had saved the baby's hair if the family wanted it.
This family, that had just experienced the injury and death of their precious baby, now had a very small part they could touch and hold in their hand as they started down the very difficult path no parent ever wants to walk. Those parents will never know who Simone is; they will never know all that was done by the entire OR staff that night to try and save their little one, but I know, and I saw the compassion of one person, not just a nurse but a mother as well, giving the smallest gift to help them grieve
The patient does not remember who took them into the operating room, calmed their fears, held their hand, and helped care for them through the entire procedure due to the fact that they are not conscious and aware for most of the time and have no memory of the before, during, and after. Likewise, the patient's family members have just a glimpse of the nurse who will care for their loved one during the surgical time of their procedure.
I have had the honor of working with Simone since 2017. Simone has always strived for excellence and knowledge. She is dedicated and devoted not only to patients but also to surgeons and staff. She goes above and beyond in every way. She helps other departments and shifts; she is a wealth of knowledge, passionate about her chosen field, and shares that passion with others.
Surgery can be a very frightening experience for anyone, but especially children. While most surgery is a planned and scheduled event, on weekends and nights, it is usually an emergency that cannot wait. This past weekend was no exception. An infant was rushed to the operating room in the middle of the night after a very serious automobile collision. Simone and all in the operating room performed tirelessly to help this baby survive very serious injuries.
While preparing the child for emergent surgery, Simone, thinking quickly, placed the baby's hair, as it was being shaved, into a plastic bag and saved it. This took no extra time; instead of throwing it away, she placed it in the bag. While the child survived the initial surgery, they did not survive the day. When the OR staff was made aware that the baby had passed away a few hours later in the PICU, Simone called to say she had saved the baby's hair if the family wanted it.
This family, that had just experienced the injury and death of their precious baby, now had a very small part they could touch and hold in their hand as they started down the very difficult path no parent ever wants to walk. Those parents will never know who Simone is; they will never know all that was done by the entire OR staff that night to try and save their little one, but I know, and I saw the compassion of one person, not just a nurse but a mother as well, giving the smallest gift to help them grieve