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Contemplating where to practice medicine at the end of that medical training, the former resident of Falmouth in Stafford County might have followed scores of classmates to patient-rich places like Northern Virginia, Richmond or Tidewater.
Instead, she chose the more lightly populated Northern Neck, partly because it's one of the many regions of the state underserved by doctors. That suited her interests and a requirement in the training program she'd been through.
Today, the 30-year-old doctor has a growing pediatrics practice in Warsaw and an office that's as kid-friendly as they come, with a castle, choo-choo trains and tigers on the walls.
Dr. Bradshaw has been received there warmly, especially by parents surprised but gratified to get calls checking up on their children.
I visited Dr. Bradshaw at her office last week, drawn by two very different reasons.
One was the Mary Washington College Young Alumnus Merit Award she recently received from the College Alumni Association.
Presenting that award, Alumni Awards Chairman Monecia Naggs said that Bradshaw "is known not only for her kind and gentle bedside manner with the children who visit her office, but she has the unheard-of reputation for calling concerned mothers late in the evening just to check on a little one who visited her earlier in the day with strep throat or an ear infection."
The second reason I wanted to visit with this pediatrician in Warsaw is my own history there.
As I was growing up in that town thirty-some years ago, there wasn't a pediatrician to be found.
Instead, when I needed allergy shots or something for wheezing in hay-fever season, I hopped in the car and was driven about half an hour to see a doctor with evening office hours in Westmoreland County.
Now, children in Warsaw and other counties have several doctors to pick from, including Bradshaw and other pediatricians in the region.
The doctor--young enough to still be asked her age by some parents--takes her position in the community seriously.
That starts with the habit cited in the award, calling parents when there's a concern.
"With new patients or with children who are very sick, I'll often call at night to see how they're doing, how they're reacting to the treatment I worked out with the parents," said Bradshaw, a sweet and soft-spoken but serious advocate for her young charges.
Aside from her own practice, Bradshaw is working with school systems, school nurses and families to advance health education and improve the care youngsters get in school.
In addition, she's working to start support groups for parents who have twins, or have children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or chronic diseases. She's also looking into starting a general parenting class.
Those activities and Bradshaw's attempts to put children at ease make it easy to see why she's been warmly accepted.
With teddy bears above the computer terminal in her office and the children's art painted on her walls by Heathsville artist Lara Brody Haynie, it's no secret that she goes the extra mile to connect with her young patients.
That connection came as a bit of a surprise to this young woman, who set out to be an internist. But when her rotation in pediatrics introduced her to young patients, something just clicked.
"I wanted to work with adults, and was fascinated with the range of diseases and ailments they get," she said. "But then I did pediatrics and knew it was for me."
A kind heart and a healthy dose of patience are two personal traits invaluable in her work.
"I have patients who come in and are terrified because they've been held down during an examination or had a terrible experience with a shot," said Bradshaw.
She uses the children's art in the examination areas--the bubble room, the train room, the jungle room, etc.--as well as calm, reassuring tones to put her youngsters at ease.
"And I have a nurse who gives a shot so gently, it's a breeze," she added, noting that numbing sprays and tiny needles also help to minimize the fear and pain.
The doctor, whose parents, Harry and Joyce Bradshaw, still live in Falmouth, said she's been a bit surprised at the heartfelt thank-you's from parents and at the MWC alumni award.
"They say thank you for caring about their children," she said. "That seems like the least they should expect, from me or any doctor. We're not in this business if we don't care about them."