Dr. Brooke Steadman, PNWU-COM Class of 2019, brings compassionate care to her beloved hometown.
“Everything comes back to family for me,” explained Brooke Steadman, DO, PNWU Class of 2019. Framed by a faded blue burger stand bench, Dr. Steadman smiled as she scanned the little league pictures lining the walls of Kings Row Drive In, a time capsule of a restaurant located in the heart of Selah, WA. “When you’re from a place like this, a familiar face is never hard to find. There’s always a connection, and the meaning of family goes beyond your relatives. I think of this entire community as family.”
As a student in Selah’s public schools, Brooke fell in love with academics, and was deeply drawn to the wonders of science from an early age. She wanted to learn everything, and as she buzzed through her coursework, she began wondering where her education would take her next. It was then, she recalls, that she found herself at a crossroads: Maintain her local roots, or give them up to chase her dreams.
“I knew what I wanted to do, but it seemed I’d have to give up so much of myself to make it happen,” she explained. “If I wanted to be a doctor, I’d have to leave my family and friends for a long education in a big city. I’d be losing touch with the people that inspired me and the place I wanted to be.”
When her mother told her about a developing health sciences university in Yakima – just six miles from her house – her dreams found a home.
After earning her bachelor’s degree, Dr. Steadman was accepted into PNWU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM). She graduated as a DO in 2019, and began working in Yakima as a resident with the Central Washington Family Medicine Residency (CWFMR) program. The local residency program gave Dr. Steadman access to a diverse group of patients – from infants to the elderly – right from the start.
“Being from here helps me to know my patients – the neighborhoods they live in, the jobs they’re doing, the opportunities they have – that connection is truly invaluable.” As she works to care for those patients, she recognizes the need for more providers like herself. “There’s a shortage and a real need. A three-to-six month wait to see a provider is not uncommon, and that just doesn’t work.”
As a family medicine physician and PNWU faculty member, Dr. Steadman is committed to not only impacting the health of her hometown in the clinic, but equipping a new crop of small-town doctors to care for their own beloved communities.
“Caring for my community is so rewarding, and I’m able to do it thanks to my community,” said Dr. Steadman. “The people here started PNWU, and PNWU gave me a chance to stay home; to be valued and accepted, to grow here, and to ultimately make a difference here.”
As Dr. Steadman prepares to begin her own clinical practice in Yakima, she frequents the halls and classrooms of the very campus her mom drove her by in high school, where she continues to work toward the same community health revolution she’s long envisioned.
“When I look at our students, I’m looking at the people who will care for my family one day,” she explained. “If I can just convince them to trust and learn from their own experiences, and from the different perspectives of others – to lean into the things they don’t understand and find the commonalities in us all – they’ll grow, and they’ll do great things.”
“We’re all community members, and we’re all working toward the same goal,” she continued. “Our communities need us to be great, so I’m striving for that.”