Shakia Brantley

Shakia G. Brantley has been awarded the Judith G. Whitaker Scholarship. She is currently enrolled as a third-year student and PhD candidate at the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Huntsville Joint Nursing Science PhD program. After receiving her Associate of Science from George C. Wallace Community College, Shakia earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama. Her positive experiences in undergraduate studies led her to choose the University of Alabama for her doctoral program.

Her decision to pursue a career in nursing was influenced by a personal experience involving her grandmother, who passed away shortly after refusing to undergo a medical procedure requiring anesthesia due to her advanced age. During her grandmother's final days, Shakia assisted her mother in providing care, an experience that left a lasting impression and sparked her interest in nursing.

Shakia is a certified critical care registered nurse employed full-time at the University of Alabama. She is dedicated to patient advocacy and engagement, and her decision to pursue a doctoral degree was influenced by her aspirations and experiences and those of family members who have faced discrimination in healthcare settings. As a nurse, Shakia has encountered discrimination and disrespect due to her race but has also received understanding and respect from certain patients and colleagues. These experiences have led her to recognize the significance of diversifying the nursing workforce at the bedside and in research to advance nursing science and drive healthcare innovations.

Shakia, a dedicated nursing scientist, strives to further her academic credentials to contribute to health equity substantially. Obtaining a PhD degree would facilitate her attainment of this objective. Her ambition is to establish an academic career and advocate for increased diversity in research, with a particular focus on minority populations. Shakia's research interests lie in the domain of stimulant use disorders (StUD), which are mostly treated with behavioral therapies at present. Through her research, she intends to evaluate the efficacy of various treatments for StUD using a digital technology behavioral approach. This area of study holds personal significance for her, as her family has experienced the devastating consequences of stimulant drug use. Driven by her education and skills, Shakia aims to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future. Her ultimate objective is to prioritize research in this field and make a meaningful impact on the lives of vulnerable individuals.

Being honored with an award from the Nurses Educational Funds is a testament to the fact that her efforts are not going unrecognized. Thanks to the NEF scholarship's support, Shakia can now dedicate herself fully to her dissertation without the added stress of financial constraints, thus bringing her closer to achieving her ambitions.