Broome honored by Midtown Optimist Club
Posted on October 29, 2026
Brandi Broome, a third-year medical student at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine, received the Medallion Award from the Midtown Optimist Club in recognition of her academic achievement, leadership and community service.
A survivor of domestic violence, Broome is a volunteer advocate with Lifelines Counseling Services’ Rape Crisis Center, where she works alongside the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner team to support survivors and connect them with resources.
“I did not have advocacy or trauma-informed care when I was in the hospital,” Broome said. “I also had difficulty accessing resources to help me with healthcare after my discharge.” Her experience has informed her commitment to helping others navigate crises and access the support they need.
At the Whiddon College of Medicine, Broome serves as secretary of the Student Assembly and ally coordinator for the MedPride student group, partnering with Prism United to support LGBTQ youth and their families across southwest Alabama and AIDS Alabama South to provide access to free testing and treatment. Building on eight years of volunteer service with the Huntsville Cave Rescue Unit, she is also president of the Wilderness Medicine Interest Group.
As vice president of Arts in Medicine at the University of South Alabama, Broome leads narrative medicine sessions for students in the health sciences. Using writing prompts and art discussions, she helps students process difficult experiences and develop coping skills to prevent burnout.
An accomplished writer, Broome is working on a poetry collection titled “History of Present Illness.” During the Optimist Club meeting, she shared her poem “Claiming a Cord,” which was recently accepted for publication in the Harvard Medical Student Review. The poem draws on Broome’s experience during her OB/GYN rotation, when she witnessed a woman give birth without anyone there to support her. The woman cut her own umbilical cord, an act Broome portrays as a powerful moment of a mother claiming agency for herself and her newborn daughter.
Nicolette Holliday, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology and clerkship director, came to know Broome during her OB/GYN rotation and supported her nomination for the Medallion Award.
“What stood out most was her ability to see each patient as a whole person, not just a medical condition,” Holliday said. “She was consistently thoughtful about the patient experience, especially for those navigating pregnancy, loss, mental health concerns, or difficult circumstances without adequate support.”
Holliday said Broome demonstrated a remarkable awareness of the challenges many patients face in accessing care and often reflected on how healthcare decisions and systems are experienced from the patient’s perspective.
“Brandi possesses that rare combination of intelligence, empathy, and humility that makes patients feel heard and cared for,” she said. “She has a sincere desire to improve the lives of others, and I have no doubt that she will continue to be a compassionate leader, advocate and physician throughout her career.”
As she considers her future specialty, Broome is weighing emergency medicine and obstetrics and gynecology, two fields that would allow her to continue working directly with patients during vulnerable moments.
Outside medical school and her volunteer commitments, Broome and her husband, Ben, are raising three teenagers and caring for two dogs.
