Told you I wouldn't be gone for too long this time around 😉
First things first, I hope you all had as happy of a holiday season and start to the New Year as you had hoped for!
I can certainly say that my New Year started off with a heck of a bang!
Bringing in the New Year in Rio was an unforgettable experience that I'll forever treasure! After spending a relaxing and unusually warm Christmas here in Atlanta where I got some really cool and useful gifts, we jetted off to Brazil to celebrate a friend's birthday that just so happened to be on the same day as New Year's Eve. The intense and spectacular fireworks show on the beach at the end of the countdown to the New Year was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! The fact that the Miami had just dominated Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl shortly before the countdown was icing on the cake 😊.
My wife and I ended up spending about ten days in Brazil where we split our trip between a lot of celebrating and partying in the first half, and a ton of relaxation in the second half. It's currently summertime down there, so it was a much welcome escape from the bitter cold that we ended up facing head-on at the end of our trip. The culture in Rio was beautiful, the caipirinhas were fantastic, and it felt so good to have each of our dollars go a long way when buying things. One thing that struck me was the crazy degree of disparity in the city; this isn't something that should have been that surprising to me coming from America but man, it's one thing to hear about and see the favelas on a TV screen and a whole different experience to see them with your own eyes. Also for those of you who may think Portuguese and Spanish are mostly the same language, newsflash — it absolutely is NOT. I really was able to appreciate just how different two languages are while I was in Brazil. If any of you find yourself in Brazil, please don't assume that you'll get Portuguese-speaking people to understand you if you speak Spanish, no matter how fast or slow you speak. All in all, my first time in South America was such a fun time and I would be more than happy to make another trip down there!
Before I start catching you up on all the other happenings in my life since my last post at the end of November, I need to go ahead and tell you all the biggest news update upfront:
I'VE OFFICIALLY SECURED MY ATTENDING JOB!!!
After spending at least half of the past year going through the whole application, interviewing, and negotiation process, I've finally signed my contract to stay at Emory University/Children's Healthcare of Atlanta as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Nephrology! It feels so incredible and satisfying to finally have my first attending job set and ready to go! All of these years of training, sacrifice, and effort have ultimately led up to this achievement: my first faculty appointment at a place I've grown to love and appreciate. I'm so excited to be able to stay in Atlanta for the foreseeable future and am really glad that I don't have to relocate to another city like I've had to do every few years since graduating from high school!
With each passing day being a day closer to finishing fellowship and starting my academic career as a faculty member, I've really been more locked in on how to make the most out of my remaining time in my fellowship training. I've been even more intentional about studying nephrology concepts that I want to really be confident in by the time I start my attending job, have been working on finishing the revisions of my research manuscript so I can get that submitted to a journal soon, have been focused on getting my SDOH QI project in our dialysis clinic up and running, and have taken advantage of teaching opportunities that have presented themselves to me where I've been able to lead discussions and presentations on a variety of topics such as C3 glomerulonephropathy, IgA nephropathy, and acute tubulointerstitial nephritis.
Additionally, I've put my pedal to the metal in the advocacy realm by continuing to actively engage in the ASPN's Public Policy committee, participating in the monthly webinars hosted by the JELF Advocacy Scholars program, and taking advantage of opportunities presented to me in Emory's HEAP track such as attending the Georgians for a Healthy Future's Health Care Unscrambled policy summit, and the Medical Association of Atlanta's Legislative Reception. In the coming months, I will be participating in some in-person Hill days where I'll have the opportunity to engage directly with lawmakers to advocate for key issues affecting the health and well-being of the patients we care for, how providers deliver effective and adequate care to our patients, and to stress the importance of evidence-based medicine. I'll also be participating in a social medicine elective offered in the HEAP track and will FINALLY get the chance to attend the AAP's Legislative Conference, something that I've been trying to get to for years! I'm looking forward to learning from all of these opportunities especially in these outrageously trying times, all of which will help me grow into a stronger advocate for the children I serve and the profession I've dedicated my career to.
On the clinical side, I've challenged myself to think from an attending perspective throughout my inpatient week in December, my two weekend call shifts these past couple months, my multiple call nights, and all my outpatient clinic days in the various clinics I see patients in. I've also continued to keep my general pediatrics skills fresh by working a few moonlighting shifts, those of which also helped fund my trip to Brazil (traveling there during the holidays was NOT cheap 😅). I ended up getting a very lovely and touching shoutout by a family I've helped care for over the past couple years and ended up being included in a feature on CHOA's social media channels highlighting the care the patient received and the gratitude that the family had for the nephrology team I'm a part of. I was so touched by this gesture and it helped reaffirm that the work I do everyday is making a true impact in the lives I touch. 🥹
Speaking of impact, The 2026 Desire To Inspire Scholarship Fundraiser was launched soon after my last post and is currently in full swing! The goal is to raise as much as we did last year; hopefully we can reach $5,000 again or get somewhere close to that! 🙏🏿 I'm very much looking forward to reading all the applications from this year's applicants and awarding three more scholarships to the inspiring winners!
For those of you who care, I had an unexpectedly stellar finish to my fantasy football season in the league I created and ended up winning back-to-back years! I achieved this much to the chagrin of my competition in the league of course lol. The fact that my team's name was VICTORY LAP all year long poured about a pound of salt into their wounds 😂
Also, let me just take a minute to discuss the roller coaster of a playoff run the Miami Hurricanes had; there are some things I just need to get off my chest. WHAT A SEASON MAN, WHAT A SEASON. Against all odds, not only did we force our way into the college playoffs after proving that we deserved to be there, we exceeded all expectations by vanquishing every opponent in our path to the National Championship game! It really is a shame that we literally threw our sixth championship title away on the last play of the game with an interception…the pain that me and the rest of the ‘Canes fans around the world felt in that moment was palpable. We were SOOOO close to the ultimate win 😭!!!
That being said, I had such a blast rooting for them throughout the playoffs, whether it was at a ‘Canes watch party here in Atlanta, at a NYE party in Brazil, or on a plane ride back home (watching the Fiesta Bowl on an overnight flight and reacting to the game while trying not to disturb those around me was NOT easy 😅). I believe we are witnessing the start of a new dynasty in college football with Coach Cristobal leading the charge, and I'm super excited to watch it all unfold!
Alright I think that's all I have to update you with at this time!
I hope that you all are staying safe, healthy, and are taking care of yourselves in these stressful times!
And last but most certainly not least, Happy Black History Month!
“I believe that each of us carries a bit of inner brightness, something entirely unique and individual, a flame that's worth protecting. When we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it. When we learn to foster what's unique in the people around us, we become better able to build compassionate communities and make meaningful change.” — Michelle Obama
– Black Man, M.D.