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Neuroscience alumna pursues medical social work career

Rachel�Brandon��18 was initially drawn to neuroscience because her family spent a lot of time in hospitals due to her brother�s genetically-based autoimmune disorder which was undiagnosed most of his life. �I developed an acute awareness of the emotional and psychological toll that chronic illness places on patients and their families,� Brandon said.��By majoring in neuroscience, with a focus on neurobiology, she �sought to understand this aspect of humanity further through undergraduate studies at��������˾��.�����

After graduation, Brandon pursued research��as a post-baccalaureate fellow at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland where she participated in three different labs.��“Throughout the course of this work, my favorite part was the interaction I had with the participants,� she said. Realizing she would be �too far removed��from the interest in and questions about people� that drove her to neuroscience in the first place, Brandon searched for alternatives��and discovered social work. Gaining experience as an intern in��the Institute�s social work department, Brandon��realized that as a social worker, she �had the power to uncover the humanity of patients facing chronic illness.���

In May, Brandon earned her master�s in social work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore with an interest in palliative care, a field of medicine which focuses on pain and symptom management throughout the course of illness, as well as at the end of life. Following her graduation, Brandon started a job as a licensed oncology social worker with Life with Cancer at Inova Shar Cancer Institute in Fairfax, Virginia. �Although I shifted my goals away from research,��my degree in neuroscience at ������˾�� prepared me��well for��my current career aspirations,���Brandon said.����

One example of this was through the College�s Health Coach Program, part of a partnership with ������˾�� Community Hospital called the Community Care Network in which students who have undergone necessary training are assigned patients from the community whom they visit weekly to work on health-related goals. During her junior and senior years, Brandon was assigned to a married couple, �Frank� and �Barbara,� who lived near campus (names changed for patient confidentiality). After Barbara passed away a year later from complications with dementia, Brandon focused on helping Frank grieve his wife�s loss. Despite differences in �gender, age, and political views,� she found their conversations beneficial. �My ability to listen and be a consistent presence were assets to Frank as he grieved,� Brandon explained. This led her to become a hospice volunteer and to become immersed in the field of palliative social work. �My experience as a health coach, paired with my personal experience watching my brother struggle with chronic illness, laid the groundwork for my career path,� she said.��

Posted in Alumni on July 6, 2021.