First in Line By Sandra Lindsay, RN

“Well, personally, I felt a huge relief, because, as I mentioned before, I was scared. I was scared for myself, and I was scared for my family. I was scared for the community. I was scared for the nurses. So with this personal fear, I was walking around but like the whole world was on my shoulder because I felt personally responsible for so many people,” said Lindsay. “So with that extra layer of protection, I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulder. I felt like I was doing my job as a leader, leading by example. It was my civic responsibility in a crisis that all Americans are facing, that where I'm doing my part, I felt like it was my professional responsibility as a nurse, with my profession rooted in science, that I'm doing the right thing, and I just felt relieved.”

Lindsay decided to share her journey in nursing, from caring for her grandmother in Jamaica to becoming a leader in nursing, in her memoir, “First in Line: How COVID-19 Placed Med on the Frontlines of a Health Care Crisis,” emphasizing its personal and professional significance. While she was reflecting on her 30-year journey as an RN in the United States, being a part of an unprecedented time in history, making history, and all the lessons she has learned, she said to herself, “This is a story right here,” and it may change the path in someone else’s life.

She explored the different angles her story can address with her book agent while addressing the health disparities and inequalities and how they contributed to COVID-19. It is a memoir highlighting other issues, including overall health in the black and brown community, how her trajectory can change someone’s life, and the call to action. Lindsay says she knew nursing was going to be her life-long career, so she had to be mentally prepared to stay focused despite being a single mother at 21 and facing societal challenges.

“It was a mental preparation that I'm going to stay focused despite being a single mother living in a neighborhood where you didn't see nurses rushing off to work. Besides working as a nurse and attendant, besides being disrespected and broken down in that role, besides having a son, being a single mother at age 21, and besides not having my grandparents, who I grew up with here to encourage me, I was still going to do this, because I had to do it, besides wanting to give up when it became too much,” said Lindsay. Although Lindsay is grateful and appreciative for her line of work as a nurse, COVID-19 pandemic was one of the lows in her career because nurses were in high demand.

In recognition of her efforts, Lindsay has been awarded several honors, including being known as a "vaccine ambassador" by the Biden administration and receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022. Her vaccination was a medical milestone and a treatment to her commitment to public service and healthcare advocacy. When Lindsay became the first person vaccinated in the U.S., it inspired her team and helped build confidence in the vaccine within their community. Lindsay's journey reminds people to maintain a positive attitude and be willing to step up as a leader, even in the face of adversity. She continues to be involved in healthcare advocacy work so people can achieve excellent health; it is their fundamental human right.

“I hope to have raised awareness of the impact of healthcare disparities on regular people and how we can be better advocates for ourselves and live healthier, happier lives,” said Lindsay. “That is my goal in sharing my story. I hope you will be inspired by it, not just as another professional success story but as a call to action to address the problem of health care inequity in our society.”