2024 Year in Review: A Year of Change

As 2024 draws to a close, it’s time for my (first) annual (quasi-public) year in review, where I take a look back at the entire year and reflect back on the various major events that occurred over the past year.  If there is one major theme that stands out to me when looking back at this past year, it was a year of MANY changes (some exciting, others more challenging) and as always, striving for personal growth and professional development along the way! 

Some of these changes were planned for and anticipated for many years- major career milestones, most notably completing the clinic-based portion of my family nurse practitioner program (January-August), more than 675 clinical-hours in a variety of settings (most notably 3 outstanding outpatient rotations at DFCI and an inpatient NP hospitalist internship at Faulkner Hospital in JP) while continuing to work at BWH as an Oncology RN and balancing the demands of fatherhood with two preschool-aged children (with varying degrees of success), then officially (and freaking FINALLY) graduating from Simmons University with a MSN as a Family Nurse Practitioner at the end of August! This marked the completion of an almost 7 year journey (with many twists, turns, and a few babies along the way) that began in the fall of 2017, which legit feels like an entirely different lifetime ago (pre pandemic, pre-children… I guess it kinda was?). 

Other changes- most notably my departure from BWH after nearly 4 years as an Oncology RN, came about little sooner and more abruptly than I had originally anticipated (such is life at times).  Overall, I am incredibly grateful for my time at BWH Oncology: for everything I learned and all the professional growth and incredible opportunities I was exposed to as a result of my employment at that institution.  I was/am incredibly fortunate to have worked side-by-side with some truly incredible fellow nurses, some of whom eventually became trusted coworkers and I developed cherished friendships with over the years (forever Trauma bonded on 5AB… iykyk), as well as countless outstanding PAs and Physicians from DFCI’s inpatient medical oncology service, and of course, all the ancillary staff (PCAs, Unit coordinators, various interdisciplinary teams, etc.) that I had the honor of working with and learning from over the years.   Although I was definitely ready for a change towards the end of my time there, make no mistake about it: I was (and still remain) a proud (former) BWH Oncology RN, and I have only love, gratitude, and immense respect for the overwhelming majority of people I had the pleasure of working with at BWH over the years.

The themes for the month of October were a)  Jewish Holiday (note: the “s” at the end of “holidays” was intentionally omitted, because even technically these were/are each distinct holidays, with all of three “3 day chags” + a casual Yom Kippur (Day of atonement/intense 25 hrs of fasting and prayer) over the first 4 weeks of month, the entire month of October seriously felt like one single, very long Jewish holiday, as well as b) starting to look ahead and prepare for future employment opportunities (both RN and NP).  When I left BWH in September I wasn’t necessarily looking for another RN opportunity, and in fact, was rather content take a much-needed breather after a grueling 6+ month pre-graduation sprint to complete all the clinical requirements/hours, and focus on spending time with the family (esp during the slew of previously referenced month-long october jewish holi-daze) and preparing for the FNP board examinations that I had scheduled for mid-November.  However, I haphazardly updated and then posted my nursing resume on Indeed.com, and within days (maybe hours?) numerous recruiters began to reach out with various RN opportunities.   Turns out the various acute care skills that I learned and gradually honed throughout my time at BWH- from chemotherapy and blood product administration, to the many highly technical, acute-care nursing skills I developed through caring for countless medically complex Oncology patients over the years were sought-after and in high-demand… who knew?! :P 

Anyhow, after considering a few different short-to-medium term RN opportunities (other hospitals in the Boston area, local travel contracts, etc.) I decided to accept a position with Bayada homecare as a private duty RN.   This opportunity came with a vastly different but enticing work setting (home based, single-patient focused care vs. inpatient hospital, juggling multiple sick AF patients care) plus significantly better pay (although admittedly, with a less impressive benefits package than BWH :/ ) and schedule flexibility (no more grueling 12+ hr saturday and sunday shifts, YAY!).  In my few short months working there, the company has been incredibly supportive and flexible in terms of my work schedule, allowing me to focus on preparing for the boards in the weeks leading up to the exam.   Early returns are extremely positive, and even though this wasn’t something I was necessarily looking for a few months back, I am definitely enjoying tackling a new challenge, and I am extremely grateful to BAYADA health for this new and very different RN employment opportunity. 

The major theme (and accomplishment) for the month of November was preparing for and then taking the (AANP) family nurse practitioner exam, which (thank god) I was able to pass! I’m not going to lie: I worked very hard to prepare for the boards, particularly in the 1-2 months leading up to the exam, and especially given all the unexpected (though not entirely unwanted) professional changes in the months preceding the exam, needless to say: I was very happy and extremely relieved to have passed the boards (on the first attempt).  Only now could I truly begin to look ahead and get excited about pursuing various NP opportunities for 2025 and beyond!  Oh yea, there was also Thanksgiving ( largely uneventful, but always nice to spend time with family and out-of-town childhood friends who come home), and a seismic presidential election but…. That's another story for another time! 

And finally, that brings us to this month, freaking frigid December in Boston, always my favorite time of year (tongue in cheek? Perhaps)!   This year in particular, despite (and perhaps because of) all the challenges I encountered along the way this year, there is also a lot to be proud of and grateful for.   As I sit here typing this, on the day after Christmas, the first day of Chanukah 2024, only days away from 2025 (which is freaking NUTS, by the way- time really flies by!) my beautiful wife (Roya) and I just celebrated 10 years together (Matzah Ball 2014, baby!)  When I reflect back over our past 10 years together, I must say, I am extremely grateful to have found such an amazing and supportive wife and life partner, and truly proud of (and somewhat in awe of) all that we have accomplished together over the past decade.   In the past decade, we a) started dating then b) got engaged (June 2015) and c) married (September 2016), d) I started graduate school (September 2017), e) we bought a house (2018), we/she got pregnant twice (2019 and 2021) and then had the two most amazing girls I could ever imagine, Norah (April 2020) and Mia (March 2022).    And then of course, the grand finale: managing to finish graduate school, with our love for each other and my/her sanity mostly still intact, all while continuing to work a rewarding but intense and highly demanding RN job, on top of juggling the incredible demands of raising two young (amazing but exhausting) children together.  It definitely hasn’t always been easy, but these 10 years have also been so amazing and filled with so much love, laughter, happy memories, and major accomplishments.  Thank you for always loving and supporting me, and for being such an amazing mother to our girls.  There is truly nobody else I could imagine going through this crazy-little-thing-called-life with :) I love you very much, Roya… thank you for 10 incredible years together- I can’t wait for all the fun and adventures in the next 10 years (and beyond!) with you!  

2024: you’ve definitely been a grueling but rewarding year… either way, absolutely action/milestone packed! (for better and for worse). Thank you for challenging me and for helping me continue to grow and strive for self improvement.  Looking forward to many more celebrations, challenges, growth opportunities, and new beginnings, both personally and collectively, in 2025 and beyond.  Wishing anyone who reads this a happy holiday season and best wishes for a happy, healthy, and fulfilling new year! :)