Dr. Bradway Receives Gentle Doctor Award
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Media Contact: Derinda Blakeney | College of Veterinary Medicine | 405-744-6740 | derinda@okstate.edu
Each year, the graduating class selects one member who exhibits the qualities of the Gentle Doctor — concern, affection, love and respect for the significance of life for all God’s creatures, great and small. The class of 2021 selected Chloe Bradway, DVM, of Oologah, Oklahoma.
“It’s truly an honor to receive this award,” Bradway said. “It’s an experience that I’m going to cherish forever because I really look up to my classmates. Not only because I’m 5-foot-2 but because during this fourth year, they have just shown exemplary patient care. I want to hold myself to a high standard where in the future, if they ever transfer a patient to me, there is no question, no concern about the care that I’m going to show that patient.”
Bradway decided to become a veterinarian after participating in mission trips to Central America and South America while she was in high school.
“On those mission trips we worked with communities that were primarily agrarian,” Bradway said. “I realized that if I wanted to help these people, I really needed to help their animals first. I chose Oklahoma State for my DVM degree because I’m from the northeast part of the state. I have a lot of aging family members both of the human and animal variety. I really wanted to be close to home so I could visit them as often as possible. Also, in-state tuition is a significant factor. I wanted to graduate with as little debt as possible.
“My favorite memory of veterinary college was hosting the Veterinary Business Management Association Career Day. I was president of the VBMA a few years back. Getting to meet my future colleagues and network with them and help pair classmates with hiring clinics was an incredible opportunity.
“Veterinary medicine is a profession but it’s also a lifestyle. It’s something where you are going to need to be practicing compassion and kindness and showing concern for both your patients and clients. You are also going to be a life-long learner and teacher. That’s something that before you step into this role, you need to be prepared for.
“I asked a couple classmates what else aspiring veterinarians should know. They said something that really struck home with me because the Gentle Doctor Award is all about showing concern and compassion for our patients. You can’t care more about your patients than the owner does. As a veterinarian, we work with patients that aren’t always in the greatest situations. Owners can’t always financially or emotionally afford to hold onto their pets for a long time. So when we’re working with them as their doctor, I think the best way to think of it is they walk into our lives but we can’t hold on to them with closed fists. We need to keep our hands open and as long as they are with us, we are going to do the best job we can possible, but we also have to be willing to let them walk out.”
In addition to the Gentle Doctor Award, Bradway also received a Robert G. and Karen F. Beach Scholarship and a Dr. Michael J. Wiley Endowed Scholarship to assist with educational expenses. She is the daughter of Lorrie and Mark Bradway of Oologah. Following graduation Bradway began working at a mixed animal practice in Skiatook, Oklahoma.