Ashanta Patricia Brady is a second-year resident in Combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at RUSH University Medical Center. As a proud alumnus of two historically Black colleges and universities, she received her Doctor of Medicine degree at Meharry Medical College in Nashville. Before medical school, she practiced as a licensed pharmacist in Atlanta and Chicago for four years in various practice settings, including retail/community and hospital/institutional. Walking by faith and with support from family, she discovered that her calling in life was the coordination of medical care in underserved communities and the elimination of health disparities.
Growing up in Chicago and a ‘lifer (nursery-12th grade) of U of C Laboratory schools, Brady was highly involved in athletics, particularly track and field. She most enjoyed off-campus track meets, which served as an opportunity to meet different people from all over the city and work as a team toward a common goal. Athletics taught discipline, confidence and helped shape a global consciousness that has helped her appreciate different perspectives.
After high school, she went on to complete a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. Excelling in academics and tutoring collegiate athletes, she then went on to Howard University in Washington, D.C., to obtain a Doctor of Pharmacy. After a life-changing research experience at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Division of HIV/AIDS Program in 2009, she knew that every experience should be approached from a collaborative point of view.
Research and experience have been a way for Brady to apply the knowledge gained in the classroom to help bridge the community implementation gap. As she reflects upon life’s journey, one of her greatest accomplishments is her son, now in kindergarten. Charged to become a change agent, she values research as the mechanism to unite the world and hopes to pursue a lifelong career in public health, health policy, social justice, developing pharmacoeconomic models for affordable care and project management.
What is your advice for someone considering medicine?
Prepare to humble yourself in a field of never truly knowing the answer but on walking side by side with members of the community to strengthen the human spirit and care of the environment.
What are some of the community initiatives you have been involved in or currently working on at RUSH?
One of the great things about training at RUMC is the commitment to the community! Our daily work encompasses a variety of community health initiatives and service to the Chicago areas. Recently I participated in a Pediatric Ground Rounds with my family discussing the importance of diversity and increasing awareness of underrepresented minorities in healthcare including persons of African descent and gender fluidity/LGBTQIA.
Would you please tell us a fun fact about yourself?
Throughout college and advanced training, I have never tasted or had a cup of coffee.