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Growing up in the farmland region of Winslow Township, New Jersey, biology alumna Dr. Tracey (née Smith) Brascom’s ’09 teachers would often draw on the unique resources from their environment to bring their classroom lessons to life. For a then-eight-year-old Brascom, one of those hands-on demonstrations lit a spark of lifelong fascination with the heart and a future career in medicine.

When Brascom was in the fourth grade, her teacher brought in a cow's heart from her farm for a lesson on the vascular system. The teacher asked her class for a volunteer to blow into the lungs. While the other students were repulsed, she eagerly called out, “Me, me, me!”

Sensing her eagerness and curiosity, the teacher invited her to dissect the heart after the demo was complete. She was captivated. “I was just blown away by it,” she recalled with a smile, thinking back to the demonstration. As a fourth-grader, Dr. Brascom didn’t know about specialties in medicine, but knew she wanted to do it for the rest of her life. That early moment became a path to medical school, and eventually to becoming a cardiovascular surgeon.

Today, she is a second-year resident at the University of Maryland, and her days are anything but ordinary. She explained, “I’m pursuing my dream and I’m excited, but it is hard. We usually hear about the glamourous side when you become a full doctor, but no one talks about the in-between period. It’s tough.”

As a first-year resident and a mother of two under two, her daily routine is grueling. On most days, Dr. Brascom is up with the roosters as she gets herself and her children ready for the day.

After dropping the kids off at the sitters, she commutes 40 miles to the hospital. She arrives between 6-6:30 a.m. and prepares for sign-out [the process of transferring responsibility and information about patients from the outgoing doctor to the incoming doctor, ensuring a smooth and continuous handover of care during the shift change at 7 a.m., where residents gather to discuss patient updates.]

Her mornings are filled with ‘pre-rounds,’ checking in on patients, reviewing labs and ordering tests. She explains the structure, “As an intern, I work under senior residents and attendings. We start around 9:00/9:15 a.m. with table rounds. We sit down and discuss all our patients together as a team. As a first-year resident, I could have up to 10 patients – next year will be 20.”

Despite the demanding schedule, Dr. Brascom finds fulfillment in her work.

She shared an experience she had with an older patient who was crying when she met with him. She asked him why he was crying. He explained, “You’re the first doctor who actually heard me.” The gentleman had been having issues for years, and Dr. Brascom explained it was a matter of reviewing and replacing the medications that were causing the symptoms. “He said he felt 100% better – almost back to normal. Those are the moments I live for.”

These experiences reinforce a vital lesson a med school professor taught her. She recalled, "90% of the diagnoses we make are just from listening. No tests. If you just listen to your patients, they will tell you what's wrong with them."  This is a guiding principle she uses daily in helping diagnose medical conditions and build genuine connections with her patients.

Advice for Aspiring Physicians

Dr. Brascom credits her experience at ������ with preparing her for her medical career. Biology professor and preceptor Dr. David Burleigh was one of her many mentors at ������.

“When I told him I wanted to be a doctor, he was all for it,” she recalled appreciating his supportive nature and course guidance. In addition to Burleigh, she also credits the guidance of NAMS faculty, Drs. Tara Luke, Yitzhak Sharon, and former Assistant Dean Cheryl Vaughn Jones, as well as others, for their support in ensuring she took the right courses and stayed on track.

When recalling her experience at ������, she fondly remembers it for the community. “There was so much support, especially among the Black faculty and staff. My twin sister and I were really embraced. People like Mr. Melvin Gregory, Drs. Ben Agyare, Donnetrice Allison, and Beverly Vaughan looked out for us.”

She is candid about the challenges of pursuing a medical degree. 

“Medicine is hard. It stretches you, but anything worth having is going to be tough – it’s not meant to be easy. Most importantly, failure is part of the process,” she explained. “Personally, I failed one of my board exams on the first attempt, and feedback wasn’t positive in the medical community… if I failed this exam, I wouldn’t get into residency. But, here I am entering my second year.”

She goes on to explain that failure is about resilience. “If you fail an exam or if you don’t pass something that you were expected to, it’s okay. It happens. It’s how you respond afterwards. Most successful people have failed at something – it’s part of the journey. It’s what makes us resilient.”

In addition to academics, Dr. Brascom believes students should also be focusing on soft skills while at ������.

Communication is the key to everything. She went on to explain that technology is great, but personal communication is more important. “People still want to be spoken to. You need to be able to communicate with people in other departments, or with those who may not understand medical terms… If there is an opportunity to speak, I know it sounds weird, but you should volunteer.”

Another key skill Brascom recommends focusing on is professionalism – both in and outside of school. “It’s so important. People are watching you, especially when you tell them you want to go to medical school – they’re going to notice even more.”  

Dr. Brascom noted, respectful interactions and diligence can lead to unexpected opportunities. “It goes such a long way when you’re talking to professors. Don’t address them by their first name unless you have permission. If you are unsure, you can always use titles such as Mr. or Ms. When sending an email, don’t use slang. Be attentive in class, ask questions, and show that you want to be there,” Dr. Brascom explains. “Honestly, they’ll talk about you in their program meetings, and then you’ll be someone they’ll think about for an opportunity.”

The Future

After her residency is complete, Dr. Brascom's end goal is to come back to New Jersey. Her long-term vision is to open a practice as a Cardiologist where she will offer a mentor opportunity – something she didn't have – for students to shadow her, where they could make a determination at an earlier age if medicine is the route for them. 

"Once you commit yourself to medicine, it's lifelong. It's not even a career, it's a lifestyle," she explains. "People are in high-stress situations. You don't want to get into something unless you're sure about it."

Dr. Brascom's journey from a wide-eyed fourth grader in that pulmonary demonstration to a dedicated medical resident is a testament to resilience, curiosity, and following one's calling. The heart will always lead us to who we're meant to be.