Brandon Nurses Make Caregiving A Family Affair

BRANDON, FL — Watching a grownup come home day after day exhausted might be enough to scare some kids out of ever considering taking the same path. There was something about Sharon Sabb-Oce’s demeanor, however, that had an opposite effect on her young niece.

Whether it was the passion, work ethic or satisfaction she displayed – despite working long shifts as a nurse – Sabb-Oce’s calling sparked her young niece’s curiosity at first. Eventually, it would lead the girl to follow in her footsteps entirely.

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“From childhood, I used to watch her come home in her scrubs,” Symone Ambrose explained. “After a while, I got curious and started asking questions.”

Those questions became insatiable after Sharon was featured in an ad for a hospital in Miami. Symone distinctly remembers her aunt was wearing pink scrubs while holding a baby in one arm and another baby in the other.

“It was so cool,” Symone recalled. That newspaper spread was quickly cut out and laminated by Sharon’s older sister and Symone’s mother, Yacenda Ambrose. “She still has it to this day,” Symone said.

“From there I knew that she was a nurse and she took care of babies and sick people,” Symone explained. That understanding ignited an even greater sense of wonder in the little girl who was “all of 8 or 10 years old” at the time. Before long, Symone started watching a show called “Birthday,” so she could learn more about what her Aunt Sharon did.

As she got older, the direction her life would take was already set.

Now a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at Brandon Regional Hospital, Symone, 26, is proud to say she works alongside her inspiration. Sharon Sabb-Oce is the director of the hospital's medical/surgical unit. While Sharon works days as an administrator and Symone spends her nights in the NICU, the two cross paths frequently.

Sharon said the two almost ended up working at different hospitals. After spending about 30 years working in Miami, where Symone grew up, Sharon decided to return to the Central Florida area where she was from. She accepted a job in Brandon about 18 months ago, shortly before Symone’s career began.

Sharon recalls asking her niece to consider applying in Brandon instead of Miami so she could be closer for mentoring.

“She thought about it for a minute and she said, ‘Auntie, I think I’ll give it a try,’” Sharon said.

The two have now been working together since January at Brandon Regional's Oakfield Drive campus.

“I love working with my niece,” Sharon said. She particularly enjoys when Symone stops by her office at the end of a shift to tell her how her night was.

As for serving as Symone’s inspiration, Sharon admits she “felt a huge responsibility," but she tired to be a good role model.

“She would see me exhausted, but always with a positive attitude,” Sharon said. “I was constantly telling her nursing is very rewarding, but there’s nothing easy about it.”

Sharon said she is the first nurse in her family’s history. Like Symone, she said the profession was a calling.

“(It’s) 30 years later I’m (still) in it, and I love what I do,” she said.

Just what the future holds for Symone remains a story for time to tell. Like her aunt, she wants to keep advancing her education. She intends to begin working on a master’s degree soon and hopes to earn nurse practitioner credentials.

As for working so nearby her mentor, she said she loves it and likes knowing “she’s not too far away.”

National Nurses Week began on May 6 and continues through May 12. The annual recognition is designed to put a spotlight on healthcare providers like Sharon and Symone who dedicate their lives to helping others.

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Photos courtesy of the Linda Costa Communications Group