Karen Brainard, M.D.

Karen Brainard, MD

Bradenton East Integrative Medicine

Bradenton, FL.

Hello, my name is Karen Brainard, allow me to introduce myself. I am a fully licensed Family Practitioner and co-owner of Bradenton East Integrative Medicine. I’ve moved to Bradenton from New Hampshire to be near family and explore the beautiful gulf coast of Florida. My dad and stepmother, sister and her family, and my children are all nearby, making this a natural place for me to make a new home.

My undergraduate education was at the University of Virginia where I earned a BS in Nursing. After three years in both hospital and public health nursing I entered the Medical College of Virginia to study medicine. From there I went to northern New England for my family practice residency in Augusta, Maine. There I met my husband and started my family. After completing my residency training we moved to Exeter, New Hampshire where I initially worked with a community health center as a National Health Service Corps scholar. We fell in love with the area and raised our sons there. After 21 years with the health center I spent a year as a traveling physician – a great way to see the country and do useful work at the same time. I was fortunate to work with the Navajo people in Arizona, and then continue my travels in New Mexico and Washington State.

My professional interests are in both health promotion and management of chronic disease. I find it important to know my patients in the context of their community, family, and personal lives as well as their physical concerns. Healing is most profound when all aspects of a person are taken into account. I view myself as an adviser to my patients and their families. Addressing your nutritional, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs are all important in achieving lasting good health. I stay current on the use of natural as well as pharmaceutical and technological treatments, as each of these has their place in an integrative approach to medicine. I use hypnosis to help prepare for surgery, address anxiety, and help people meet their weight loss or smoking cessation goals. My particular areas of clinical concern are diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and asthma as well as women’s health. Although I no longer deliver babies I enjoy the care of the entire family through all its phases of growth. There is something very special about caring for several generations of the same family!

I look forward to meeting you and developing a learning partnership focused on realizing your ideal health.