When did you know that you wanted to pursue a career in medicine? And, what confirmed that decision?
My passion to pursue medicine was realized at the young age of 8 or 9 years old. By that point I had already witnessed numerous medical tragedies in my family. These experiences ranged from my grandmother dying from late-diagnosed metastatic lung cancer, my cousin dying from the consequences of years of drug abuse, and another cousin dying from a police-related altercation and subsequent fatal gunshot wound. While watching TV with my mother one day after school, she asked me “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and while taking a moment to think of tragedies in my family I replied back, “I want to be a Doctor!” Without hesitation, she said “And a doctor you’ll be, Bradley.” I remember saying the same thing to a teacher in middle school who had asked me the same question, however, their response was not supportive and informed me that I should be more realistic. The anger I felt at that moment was all I needed to launch my ambitions full-steam towards becoming a doctor.
Why the daunting and challenging field of neurosurgery?
I choose neurosurgery as a career mainly because of my love for the patients. The patients that we see coming into our emergency rooms after bad accidents with head or back injuries or the patients that come into our clinic offices with newly diagnosed brain tumors are at the weakest and most vulnerable point of their lives. The trust that is given to us by our patients and their loved ones as we take them to our operating room and work tirelessly to try and save their lives is the utmost humbling experience. Regardless of how daunting or challenging a day in the life of neurosurgery may be, it is all worth it when you are able to watch a loved one’s eyes light up as you inform them that their child/spouse/friend made it through surgery and is expected to recover just fine.
While you were in medical school, you worked with underserved patients at homeless shelters and throughout the community. What did you learn from that experience?
My experience was eye-opening. Prior to my studies in medical school I did not fully comprehend how influential socioeconomic status was on health and healthy living. However, once I began to speak to the homeless and the less fortunate population it was painfully clear that the obstacles they face every day are unimaginable. Some obstacles were personal, such as battling mental illness while living on the street or choosing homelessness or shelters as opposed to living with an abusive spouse. Some obstacles were institutionalized such as reduced funding to shelters or psychiatric hospitals for beds and necessary medications. And some obstacles were simply bad circumstance such as lack of job opportunities and being forced to feed your family as opposed to buying necessary medications.
