Brittany Bruggeman, MD: empowerment and endocrinology

By Trent Batchelor, FMA Staff Writer

Brittany Bruggeman, MD’s journey to becoming a physician was inspired by the teachers in her life. After seeing the impact her mother, a middle school math teacher, had on her students’ lives, she wanted to follow in her footsteps. However, she felt that handling a classroom of 30 kids was not really in her wheelhouse. It was during her ninth-grade biology class that she became fascinated with the intricacies of the human body. Little did she know that would end up having an impact on children’s lives in a different way as a pediatric endocrinologist and physician scientist at the University of Florida.

Dr. Bruggman’s pathway to a career in medicine was further solidified when she participated in an executive internship class during high school and ended up shadowing Mihai Radu, MD, a pediatrician practicing in Merrit Island.

“I just I loved it … especially the impact that he made with his patients. He would see the same families for years and years,” said Dr. Bruggeman, also an assistant professor of pediatric endocrinology at UF in Gainesville.

Dr. Bruggeman recalled a defining moment in her decision to become a pediatrician: Dr. Radu asked her to help diagnose a pediatric patient with neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes changes in skin pigment and tumors on nerve tissue. Armed with a dermatological textbook and patient findings, she eventually came up with the correct diagnosis and was fascinated by the process.

“Wow! You can diagnose this systematic disorder by looking at the skin and knowing what you’re doing,” Dr. Bruggeman recalled thinking at the time. “So, that’s when I knew I wanted to be a pediatrician.” 

Dr. Bruggeman said the path to becoming an endocrinologist was winding but guided by her strong faith.

“I feel like God directs your path in a certain way, and it felt very directed, just because I had no idea,” she said. “I had no background in medicine and no idea what endocrinology was.”

It was during the endocrinology section of medical school at the University of Florida that Dr. Bruggeman first conducted research on Type 1 diabetes, which piqued her interest.

“I was fascinated by complicated, intricate pathways,” she said. “I felt like Sherlock. Everyone always references Sherlock Holmes in these sorts of cognitive medical fields. But you really do feel like you're a detective figuring something out.” 

What “sealed the deal” for Dr. Bruggeman was her experience conducting clinical research at a Type 1 diabetes camp for children with Janet Silverstein, MD, one of the founders of the UF Department of Pediatric Endocrinology. She fell in love with the children who were dealing with this chronic illness and the camp’s motto, “I can handle it.” In this supportive environment, children were empowered and taught to take charge of their health so that they could live the fullest and most productive lives possible.

Empowering her own patients and their families as they navigate living with Type 1 diabetes is something that she most loves about her job. “As a pediatrician, I want to empower my patients to live their most healthy, productive, and happy lives mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Dr. Bruggeman accomplishes this through treatment and encouragement. Recalling her mother’s impact as a teacher, she said, “It reminds me what my mom does, honestly, with her students.”

“I want my patients to take their health in their own hands and make sure that they do what they're supposed to do for their health, and then go do all the things they're supposed to do with their lives.”

In her drive to help her patients live their best lives, Dr. Bruggeman feels a strong desire to advocate for the practice of medicine and her colleagues. “We're working individually with kids to optimize their health. I try to advocate for physicians to be able to practice the medicine they need to practice.” 

Through her involvement in the Florida Medical Association (FMA) as a member of the Council on Medical Education and Science and the Alachua County Medical Association as Vice President and as a delegate to the FMA House of Delegates, she understands the importance of organized medicine.

“You see all the things … that can make it either easier or harder to practice medicine and how that really does affect patient care as well. If physicians aren't at the table, advocating for the policies that make it easier for us to practice medicine, then all these other players are going to advocate for whatever they want,” she said. “As the leader of the healthcare team, I think physicians need to be present to advocate for things that will help them to help their patients.”

Dr. Bruggeman particularly appreciates the FMA’s focus on physician leadership, advocacy, patient care, and education. “I think every single one of those topics really does impact my practice, and the FMA advocates for those issues.”

“The wins we had last year in Medicaid parity are huge for the practice of pediatricians,” she said, referring to the FMA’s recent success in advocating for the largest payment increase for physicians in over a decade. Specifically, physicians who provide services to Medicaid patients under the age of 21 – including primary and specialty care – received a payment increase from Medicaid to Medicare rates.

“If we don't have equal pay, then it's hard for systems to prioritize the healthcare of children. It really does impact how I'm able to provide care for my patients,” said Dr. Bruggeman.

She also emphasized the importance of the educational opportunities offered by the FMA.

For many medical students and residents, the FMA’s David A. Paulus, MD Poster Symposium is their first experience with organized medicine.

“When I was a resident, I did the poster symposium. It was a great learning and networking experience," Dr. Bruggeman said. She has come full circle and is paying it forward as a symposium judge.

Additionally, as a graduate of the 2024 class of the Karl M. Altenburger, MD Physician Leadership Academy, Dr. Bruggeman noted that physicians, as leaders of the healthcare team, receive training on how to practice medicine but not how to be effective leaders. The Leadership Academy helps to bridge this gap, she said.

“I think there were some specific things that I knew I wanted to work on, like my oral presentation skills, for example, or something that I just had never gotten trained in, such as healthcare policy. I thought it would be really valuable to have actual training in leadership, and it really was.”

Dr. Bruggeman also found networking to be a valuable benefit of the Academy. “It's nice to meet people from the other areas of the state and learn what they're doing in those areas and also have a network for consults in those areas,” she said. “You also know where leadership is in different areas of the state, and that has been really helpful.”

When not conducting clinical research and treating her patients, Dr. Bruggeman spends the vast majority of her time with her daughters, a five-year-old and a five-month-old. She and her husband, OB/GYN Bradley Bruggeman, MD, learned to balance this with full-time careers in medicine.

“We both knew when we went into medicine that we wanted a family, and that we wanted to be present and good parents. I would say it's always a seesaw between which day I'm going to be a better a better doctor and which day I'm going to be a better parent, because it's a balancing act.”

During family time, she and her husband visit farms and parks with their children. As a person of strong faith, she also attends church regularly with her family. “It's a nice, strong community to have, especially when you're trying to balance being doctors and parents,” she said.

Dr. Bruggeman is also an accomplished vocalist and enjoys singing in her church choir when her schedule permits – even participating in a performance at Carnegie Hall!