Department: Family Medicine & Population Health

Phone: (804) 828-9626

Email: melissa.bradner@vcuhealth.org

Address/Location:
West Hospital, 14th Floor, North Wing
1200 E. Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23298

Professional Summary

• Primary Departmental Program Areas:
  • medical student education
  • physician wellness
  • medicine and humanities
• Areas of Expertise and Interest:
  • health policy
  • public health
  • active learning/flipped classroom
  • interprofessional education
  • distance medical education
  • motivational interviewing 

Education

• BA - Vassar College, 1987
• MD - Columbia University, 1996
• MSHA - Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006

Research Fellowships

• VCU Faculty Development Fellowship, 2000

Clinical Training Information

• San Francisco General Hospital internship Family Medicine, 1997
• VCU Blackstone Family Practice Residency, 1999

Academic Training and Positions

• Associate Professor
• Course Director, Patient Physician and Society course for M3/M4; 06/2015-present
• Interim Vice Chair of Family Medicine Education; 05/2021-12/2024
• Director, Third Year Family Medicine Student Clerkship; 08/2001-06/2021

Employment History

• Family physician, primary care of adults and children, Nelson Family Medicine Clinic, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System; 10/2005-present
• Co-Investigator, Project Gumboyaya, SAMHSA, Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, funded HIV prevention intervention for African-American women at risk for HIV in coordination with the VCU Center for Cultural Experiences; 06/2004-12/2006
• Medical Director, STI, TB, Refugee health, City of Richmond Department of Public Health; Tenth Street Clinic; 06/1999-10/2004
• Richmond City Department of Public Health, consultant physician for latent TB and active TB treatment program; 06/2001-10/2004
• Virginia Department of Health, Hepatitis C Awareness and Prevention Program. Director of Participating Pilot Site; 12/2000-12/2003
• Project Director, AIHA Healthcare Partnership Program Virginia Commonwealth University-Binigadi District Baku Azerbaijan, American International Health Alliance AIHA grant; 2000-2003
• Staff Physician, VCU Student Health; 06/2000-10/2005
• Program Director, Student Peer Counseling Program, City of Richmond, Department of Public Health STD Clinic; VCU Department of Health Education; 09/1999-08/2003
• Site Director, Project Shield, National multi-site study on brief counseling intervention for STD prevention; 12/1999-03/2001
• Project Director, AmeriCares, International Non-profit Medical Relief Organization, New Canaan, CT; 12/1989-08/1991
• Teacher, Vassar MacGuire Fellowship, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; 06/1987-09/1989

Special Awards, Fellowships, and Other Honors

• Medical Society of Virginia Salute to Service Award: Distinguished Medical School Faculty Service Award, 2024
• Virginia Academy of Family Physicians James P. Charlton, MD Teacher of the Year Award, 2020
• Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Master Preceptor Award, 2020
• VCU Center for Teaching Excellence Grant Award, 09/2006  
  • WikiWorldHealth: a forum for discussion of the impact of culture on medical practice.
• Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, Faculty Enhancement Award; 2006-2007
• Vassar MacGuire Fellowship, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.  Taught student teachers at IKIP Sanata Dharma teacher's college; 06/1987-12/1989
• Phi Beta Kappa, General and Departmental Honors, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY; 1982-1987

Membership in Scientific, Honorary, and Professional Societies

• Society of Teachers of Family Medicine; 09/2000-present 
• American Academy of Family Physicians; 07/1996-present

Scientific and Scholarly Activities

• Expert Services:
  
  • Sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic site evaluator for the Virginia Department of Health; wrote evaluation of the Roanoke STD clinic (2004) and the Norfolk STD clinic (2008)
• Grants and Contracts - Active:
  
  • Project Communication and Health Advocacy Training (CHAT) grant from Virginia Board for People with Disabilities; advisor for VCU Partnership for People with Disabilities; 2017-present
  • VCU Presidential Research Quest (PeRQ) award 2019 Evaluation of CHAT: Communication and Health Advocacy Training for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD); co-PI
• Grants and Contracts - Past:
  • "The EQUIP Program: Enhancing Quality for Underserved and International Populations.” HRSA Title VII, 2007
  • Project Gumboyaya, SAMHSA, Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, funded HIV prevention intervention for African American women at risk for HIV in coordination with the VCU Center for Cultural Experiences; 06/2004-12/2006
  • CDC and Virginia Health Department funded project to decrease STD epidemic in Richmond, VA. Wrote grant with VDH and acted as community coordinator; 03/2002-09/2003
  • AIHA Healthcare Partnership Program, Virginia Commonwealth University-Binigadi District, Baku Azerbaijan.  Funded to improve the health status of the local population in the Binagadi District of Baku City thorough socially-oriented public health and primary health care programs; 10/2002-09/2003
  • Special Hope Foundation grant to create Cultural Competency/Cultural Agility online CME modules for health professionals caring for patients with disabilities 2017; in collaboration with the VCU Partnership for People with Disabilities

Scholarly Activities

• Peer Reviewed:
  
  • Bradner M, Crossman SH, Vanderbilt AA, Gary J, Munson P Career advising in family medicine: a theoretical framework for structuring the medical student/faculty advisor interview. Med Educ Online. 2013 Aug 13;18:21173. doi: 10.3402/meo.v18i0.21173.
  • VanderWielen LM, Vanderbilt AA, Dumke EK, Do EK, Isringhausen KT, Wright MS, Enurah AS, Mayer SD, Bradner M. Improving public health through student-led interprofessional extracurricular education and collaboration: A conceptual framework for success. J Multidiscip Healthc. 2014 Feb 10;7:105-10. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S52019. eCollection 2014
  • VanderWielen LM, Vanderbilt AA, Crossman SH, Enurah AS, Isringhausen KT Bradner M, Mayer SD. Health disparities and underserved populations: a potential solution, medical school partnerships with free clinics to improve curriculum. Med Educ Online. 2015; 20: 10.3402/meo.v20.27535.
  • Bradner M, Crossman Steven, Gary J, Vanderbilt A, VanderWielen LM(2015). Beyond Diagnoses: Family Medicine Core Themes in Student Reflective Writing. Family medicine. 47. 182-6.
  • Residency Faculty Opinions about Medical Student Advising: A National Survey. Steven H. Crossman, MD; Judy S. Gary, MEd; Sharon K. Flores, MS; Melissa K.Bradner, MD, MSHA; Roy T. Sabo, PhD. Fam Med 2015;47(2):134-137
  • Bradner M, Harper DV, Ryan MH, Vanderbilt AA. 'Don't play the butter notes': jazz in medical education. Med Educ Online. 2016;21:30582. Published 2016 Apr 18. doi:10.3402/meo.v21.30582
  • Are Scores From NBME Subject Examinations Valid Measures of Knowledge Acquired During Clinical Clerkships? Ryan, Michael S. MD, MEHP; Bishop, Steven MD; Browning, Joel; Anand, Rahul J. MD; Waterhouse, Elizabeth MD; Rigby, Fidelma MD; Al-Mateen, Cheryl S. MD; Lee, Clifton MD; Bradner, Melissa MD, MSHA; Colbert-Getz, Jorie M. PhD, MS.  Academic Medicine: December 20, 2016 doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000001535
  • Bradner, M. K., et al. "Effective Learning in an Ambulatory Family Medicine Clerkship: A Qualitative Study of Medical Student Midpoint Feedback." Family medicine 49.8 (2017): 630.
  • Ryan, M. S., Bradner, M., Rigby, F., Lee, B., Waterhouse, E., & Grossman, C. (2019). Improving Passage Rate on USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills: Results from a Pilot Program. Medical Science Educator, 29(3), 709-714.
  • Bradner, M, Burns, J. , Amacher, C. , Martino, R. and Santen, S. (2019), Chronic non‐malignant pain: it's complicated. Clinical Teacher, 16: 530-532. doi:10.1111/tct.12955

Personal Statement

I am interested in doing interdisciplinary education and research with the undergraduate campus and other allied health schools. I am interested in health care disparities and work force equity. I work with disadvantaged undergraduate students to encourage application to medical, pharmacy and dental school.

Research Expertise

• qualitative research

Clinical Specialties

• general family medicine

Teaching Expertise

• ambulatory teaching

Practice Sites

• Downtown Family Medicine
  VCU Health Adult Outpatient Pavilion, 13th floor
  1001 E. Leigh Street
  Richmond, Virginia 23219

Back to Listing