In our ongoing effort to focus on community and local stories in New Mexico, Brant One is starting a new piece to highlight Community Leaders once a month.
We want to tell stories to inspire and give a shout-out to those working hard among us in our community.
April’s Community Leader Spotlight is on Lindi Rodrigues Walsh, a Registered Nurse at UNM Hospital.
Lindi works in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU). She got her license almost 8 years ago, and has been working in the NICU for 7 years. However, she hadn’t initially planned on working in the NICU.
Becoming a Registered Nurse
“Before becoming an RN,” Lindi said in an interview, “I was just a mom.”
She had her first child in Brazil, and moved to the US in 2006, while pregnant with her second child. She didn’t speak much more than basic English: “Just introducing myself and asking for water,” she said. “After my second child, I had to go to school.”
Moving to a place like New Mexico from Brazil, the easiest language transition might be from Portuguese to Spanish, but Lindi refused to take the easy route. “I wanted to be involved in the culture of the country,” she said. “When my English was good enough, I started taking pre-reqs for nursing.”
When she began taking pre-requisites, Lindi wanted to be a midwife. “I decided to go to nursing school, it’s just the route people usually take.” Then, she wanted to go to be a labor and delivery nurse, and be involved in the birthing process that way.
Later, during her capstone, the final assignment to apply nurse schooling to real life practice, she realized that becoming a labor and delivery nurse may not be the path she was looking for.
“I had 6 weeks following a nurse for 12-hour shifts, and I realized that labor and delivery nurses were not really 100% about the babies. I decided that it was not for me, so I decided to go to pediatrics.”
What Makes a Great Nurse
I asked Lindi what is most important to her in giving care. She said that language differences and mis-translation can create a real barrier in the healthcare system.
“Because I was a patient before who did not speak English, when I see families who don’t speak English, I try my best, and I try my best with everyone, but especially the ones whose English is not their first language.”
Her own experience gives her a perspective on language barriers that other nurses might not pick up on. “I see that happen many many times that translation gets lost. I use an interpreter, and I will say something in English, and sometimes they don’t convey the full meaning of what I’m saying to families, and I’m lucky enough to understand most of Spanish so I can ask them to clarify. I can understand just how difficult it is when you have somebody giving you care and you cannot pass on your concerns and you’re not totally understood.”
In January 2024, Lindi won the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, and since then has been nominated several times. She was nominated by a family whose baby was born with a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH), and had to stay in the NICU for 50 days.
“Lindi made a huge impact on our family’s experience and hardship; she was trustworthy and the only nurse I ever felt comfortable leaving my baby alone long enough without me or my husband present to grab a bite to eat or take a nap.” (Taken from Lindi Walsh | DAISY Award.)
The DAISY Award is an international program created in honor of J. Patrick Barnes. The award is intended to recognize and celebrate nurses for their care and kindness. More about the award is on their website, The DAISY Award.
Lindi Rodrigues Walsh would like to thank her kids for being so patient when she was in nursing school. She thanked her husband for supporting her, and she thanked the many nurses at UNM Hospital who trained her: “When you start the job you know nothing, you have the basics of nursing school, and they have to train you and they’re not even paid for that, and I’m very grateful for all the amazing nurses that helped me to become the nurse I am today.”
Do you know someone who deserves a spotlight? Let us know! Email [email protected] or complete our form to nominate a Community Leader for Spotlight.