DR. WHO Brittany Badal, MD by KATHRYN VANCE
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Jacksonville, Florida native sat in her sophomore biology courses at the University of Central Florida trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her future. She loved science, but also didn’ t want to be stuck in a lab, needing some kind of connection to people. Her academic advisor suggested a pre-med summer program to explore her potential interest in medicine. She chose the University of Louisville School of Medicine from a list of places across the country – never having stepped foot in Kentucky before – and upon completing the summer program, the future Dr. Brittany Badal was born.
Hands-on clinical work and lectures at ULSOM combined with a beautiful, welcoming city were just what she needed to encourage her to come back and attend medical school at UofL just a few years later. Coming into medical school, she thought she’ d do some kind of primary care, as she wanted a specialty where she could develop ongoing relationships. As a first-year student, she was quickly pushed into pediatrics when a clinical experience allowed her to be a mentor in one of the Jefferson County Public Schools’ teenage parent program( TAPP) schools.
She enjoyed treating middle and high school students and found their unique needs so fascinating. This love for treating kids continued throughout medical school and she matched in pediatrics residency at Johns Hopkins All Children’ s Hospital in
St. Petersburg, Florida.
“ With pediatrics, we just get so fired up about advocacy, community, relationships, and kids are so resilient. I really feel like working with teenagers and young adults, it fills my bucket because you can change the course of their lives. I love and respect my adult medicine colleagues, but it’ s so different to counsel a young person that’ s started smoking versus an older person who’ s been smoking a pack a day for 50 years. It’ s cool to see them becoming an adult. I enjoyed that aspect of pediatrics and realized that even though teens get a bad rep, someone has to care for them and their unique needs, so it might as well be me.”
As she went through residency, she thought back to her experiences at the TAPP schools and realized teens truly sparked her interest. With the help of mentors in her residency program, she was introduced to the field of adolescent medicine. They supported her career exploration, and she spent a month at the main Johns Hopkins campus in Baltimore in their adolescent medicine clinic seeing the day-to-day inner workings.
“ That was kind of the final nail in the coffin,” she laughed.“ Working with youth engaging in high-risk behaviors and holding them accountable for things they need to do for themselves, while also being supportive and being their cheerleader and trying to make positive change for them. It was so inspiring. I found myself at the end of the clinic day not ready to go home, but ready to figure more
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