Marilyn Ramdeen, Regional Clinical Director

National Nurses Week from May 6-12 celebrates the contributions and sacrifices of nurses across the globe. One of those is Marilyn Ramdeen, who is regional clinical director for AdvantageCare Physicians (ACPNY) in Queens.
There are more than 70 ACPNY nurses in Queens in ten ACPNY locations, with new centers opening soon in Jackson Heights and Flushing.
Ramdeen was born in Guyana but raised in New York, and comes from a long line of healthcare professionals. She has worked in healthcare for 18 years, and started her career as a medical assistant before transitioning to nursing. Ramdeen initially had plans to become a pediatrician.
“I come from a family of nurses and healthcare professionals,” she said. “My sister who was already a nurse suggested that I try nursing to see if I like it before I go to med school, and I did then stuck with it.”
Ramdeen joined the Queens Long Island Medical Group in 2006, and stayed on when the practice transitioned to become an ACPNY location.
“Nurses are an unstoppable force,” she said. “We are the heroes of our healthcare system, and I think the past year has shown that even more. It takes a very special person to say that they want to be a nurse and mean it.”
As vaccinations for COVID-19 began, Ramdeen’s team of nurses made a seamless transition to the new duties.
“Two of my offices in Queens are hub sites and four others are testing sites,” she said. “They just jumped right in and it was a pleasure for them to be serving the community, giving everyone hope that there is some sense of normalcy coming around the corner.”
Even though Ramdeen holds a managerial position, she still works on the floor helping patients.
“When it’s vaccination time, I have to jump in and help my nurses out,” she said. “You’re always a nurse regardless of what position you hold, so you can always get down and dirty. That’s when you’re respected the most with your teams.”