Nadejda Iurii Named Hebrew SeniorLife Nurse of the Year

Waltham resident Nadejda Iurii has been named Nurse of the Year at Hebrew SeniorLife.

To Nadejda, hearing her name announced as Hebrew SeniorLife’s 2024 Nurse of the Year felt like winning an Oscar. “Winning the Nurse of the Year award was an incredibly humbling and emotional experience. At that moment, I felt a profound sense of gratitude and pride, not just for myself but for my entire team. The award signifies recognition of the hard work and dedication I put into my profession, and it motivates me to continue striving for excellence in patient care,” she says.

Nadejda was inspired to pursue a nursing career after witnessing the impact nurses had during her father’s battle with cancer.

“My inspiration to become a nurse was my father. He suffered from cancer, went through many surgeries, chemotherapy treatment, and hospitalization, and was finally put into hospice care. Watching how the doctors and nurses helped my father with managing his symptoms and trying to improve his quality of life made me realize the significant impact a nurse can have on someone’s life. I witnessed their compassion and dedication to my father. It left a profound impression on me,” she explains.

She joined Hebrew SeniorLife as a patient care associate in 2006. It was the second job she held after immigrating to the United States from Moldova, where she had attended nursing school and gained multiple years of hands-on experience in the field. After receiving her nursing license in Massachusetts, she moved into a role as a registered nurse. She has also held roles as a nurse manager and a clinical research nurse at Hebrew SeniorLife’s Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research. Today, she is a charge nurse at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Boston.

As a charge nurse, her daily responsibilities include overseeing the floor, ensuring the nursing functions within her department run smoothly and efficiently, managing staff, coaching and teaching, advocating for staff, family, and patients, and keeping a watchful eye on process improvement.

One experience that has stood out to Nadejda is the opportunity to be part of the multidisciplinary team that implemented a new electronic health record system at Hebrew SeniorLife. “This experience was incredibly enriching, as it allowed me to contribute significant technological advancement in our healthcare delivery by being involved in this project. I collaborated with a diverse group of professionals, including IT specialists, administration, and the medical team. This collaboration not only broadened my understanding of health care informatics but also my skills in project management and teamwork,” she says.

As a preceptor, she enjoys teaching the next generation of nurses. “I have the privilege of helping new nurses transition into their roles, sharing my knowledge and experience, and fostering their professional growth. This responsibility not only strengthens our team but also enriches my own practice by allowing me to stay current with the best practices and new developments in nursing,” Nadejda adds.

But the greatest reward of nursing for Nadejda is the impact she gets to make on her patients’ lives. She had gained valuable experience in different areas of nursing while working in Moldova, but the country lacked geriatric nursing positions. It was something new for her that she was excited to take on, especially due to her lifelong admiration and respect for older adults.

“They have so much wisdom and life experience to share, and I find that it’s incredibly rewarding to provide them with the care and support they need. My favorite part of working with older adults is building strong, trusting relationships and seeing the positive impact that compassionate care can have on their quality of life,” she says.

Seeing for herself how nursing can make a difference, Nadejda’s daughter has chosen to follow in her award-winning mother’s footsteps. She is going into her third year in nursing school at Merrimack College!