Anne Simmonds RN, PhD

Associate Professor, Teaching Stream Emeritus

I view nursing education as a creative, dynamic and collaborative undertaking. When students and faculty bring their selves — their experience, knowledge, passions and beliefs — to the encounter, we can all emerge enriched and energized, both personally and professionally.

Dr. Anne Simmonds taught a variety of courses, including Complexities in Perinatal Nursing and Nursing Ethics, in both the undergraduate and graduate programs.  For her contributions to U of T Nursing, Dr. Simmonds has received faculty and student-nominated awards.

She has extensive experience as a maternal child nurse and educator, most recently in high-risk obstetrics. Dr. Simmonds served as a Perinatal Nurse Consultant with the Reproductive Care Program of Nova Scotia. In this role, she designed and implemented e-learning orientation modules and conducted workshops for perinatal nurses in rural Nova Scotia.

For her doctoral work examining nurses’ moral understandings of childbearing women and families, Dr. Simmonds received the Dean’s Medal. Her scholarly work focused on ethical decision-making in perinatal nursing, understanding the meaning and limits of compassion in health care, and exploring dimensions of rural health care delivery, particularly for marginalized women.

  • 2010 – PhD, University of Toronto

  • 2001 – MN, University of Toronto

  • 1982 – BScN, McMaster University, Hamilton

Watson, J., Simmonds, A., LaFontaine, M., & Fockler, M. (2019). Pregnancy and infant loss: A survey of families’ experiences in Ontario, Canada. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 19:129.

Simmonds, A.H., Dicks, A.P. (2018) Mentoring and professional identity formation for teaching stream faculty: A case study of a university Peer-to-Peer mentorship program. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, Vol. 7 Issue: 4, pp.282-295

Peter, E., Simmonds, A.(CA), & Liaschenko, J. (2016). Nurses’ Narratives of Moral Identity: Making a Difference and Reciprocal Holding. Nursing Ethics

Peter, E., Mohammed, S., & Simmonds, A. (2013). Narratives of aggressive care: Knowledge, time and responsibility. Nursing Ethics. 21(4):461-472