By Kayla Greenberg, Tuck Partner (TP) '16
Kayla is a TP'16 who moved from Boston to the Upper Valley with her husband Eliav Kahan. She now works at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) as a nurse practitioner in pediatric neurology. She is an avid member of the book club, wine club, and enjoys exploring the beautiful outdoors of the Upper Valley.
I recently had a moment. I was attending a video conference between my colleagues at Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth (ChaD) and the Mayo Clinic. Neurology, neurosurgery, and neuropsychology team members were discussing an eight-year-old with refractory epilepsy and whether she was a good candidate for surgery. When you imagine the job a supportive wife takes during her husband’s two-year business school stint, you typically don’t envision a cutting edge learning experience in pediatric neurology.
When my husband and I decided to move to Hanover for business school, it was important for me to find both relevant and meaningful work for the two years that we’d be here. I wanted the opportunity to advance my career while my husband was doing the same. I’m a pediatric nurse practitioner and had been working in Boston area hospitals in pediatric primary care for the past two years.
Tuck has a reputation for being very partner-friendly. The spring before we moved, Tuck connected me with the recruitment team at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC). Over the next few months, the job fell into place. I remember interviewing over the summer and looking out the window onto the lush, verdant mountains. This was very different from the congestion and tall buildings of the city skyline. I excitedly texted my husband, “Will we stay here forever!?”
I now work at DHMC, a twenty minute walk through the woods from our home, and a far cry from the hour plus commute I dealt with in the city. My role in the outpatient pediatric neurology clinic allows me to see children and adolescents with a host of neurologic problems. This is a new specialty for me and I’m learning a great deal, particularly about seizure disorders and migraines. While it’s difficult and I often feel the pull between my job and everything else going on at Tuck and in the Upper Valley, I am drawn in by the challenging work. I know the two (or more) years I spend up here will not be idle time. I am thrilled to be actively growing as a clinician as well as furthering my knowledge and skills as a health care provider. What began as a plan to support my husband on his professional path has become the career move that takes my skills to the next level and pushes me far beyond what I had envisioned.
(Photo above by Mark Washburn)