Spotlight Series

Guest Name: Brandi Rudy

Credentials:  FNP-C

Brandi Rudy: Thanks for having me. I’m excited to be here.

Dr. Betty DeLass: Absolutely. Okay. So, with over 20 years of nursing experience in the last five dedicated specifically to urology, Brandi brings a deep um a deep well of clinical knowledge and compassionate care to her role as a nurse practitioner. She’s committed to providing highquality patient- centered treatment while helping individuals navigate often sensitive and complex urologic concerns. Brandi works in close collaboration with two urologic surgeons, partnering to develop and coordinate care plans for patients with a variety of urological needs, including prostate cancer, kidney cancer, kidney stones, and overactive bladder. Their strong teamwork and shared commitment to excellence create a supportive environment where collaboration is key and patients benefit from a truly integrated approach. Outside of work, she’s a proud mother of three adult children and enjoys supporting her husband in his role as an associate athletic director at the University of Utah. Her well-rounded perspective both professionally and personally makes her a valued member of the care team and a trusted partner with her patients. Couldn’t agree more.

Brandi Rudy: Thank you.

Dr. Betty DeLass: Yes. So, Brandi, without further ado, let’s jump in. And what um what made you decide to be a nurse practitioner? Tell us your journey. Tell us your your your trajectory through that and how you arrived at where you’re at.

Brandi Rudy: Yeah. So, um when I was young and um very uh what’s the word? ambitious. I um I wanted to be a physician and I went to college with that in mind and I was very involved and um headed on that path to go to medical school and I woke up one day and said I don’t I don’t think that’s the right path for me. So I last minute decided to apply to nursing school and um I uh became a nurse and that turned out to be the very best thing from for me to do at that time. Um it allowed me to be um successful not only in um the nursing world but I learned a lot. I made a lot of really great friends and um it helped me um as a wife and a mother and it gave me time and freedom that I probably wouldn’t have had as a provider. Um about seven years ago, um my dad passed away and um caused some upheaval in my life and um I was searching for some answers and some clarity and um I felt like it was time to go back to school and um obviously not medical school, but nurse practitioner was actually um something that was very similar that could kind of get me right back to that initial goal, right? And um I always wanted to be um involved in women’s health. I think women are underserved in the medical community and um so I feel like that this opportunity opened up for me to work with Dr. Fischer and he wanted to have more women be be seeing more women in his clinic and um as a man you know not many women seek out that and so um I joined Summit Urology group um five and a half years ago and um I just feel like the things that we’ve done and the team that we’ve built and then we added Dr. Page and I think that um just even my knowledge about women and health and um how I can help people has just grown exponentially and I just I just love everything about the urology world. It’s weird. People ask me all the time why would I want to do something like that? But I think that um I love it because I can make a difference in women’s lives and men’s lives. Um, I can be a sensitive listener. Um, you know, I’m I’m not a child anymore. I’m a grown woman with lots of experience. And I think that that just, you know, life experience tends to make you a lot more sensitive when people are talking to you about very personal, private things. And and that’s what we do in urology. I mean, those are those are things that people just don’t want to talk about. And I think that they know that I get it and they want they want to tell me because they can see that I really want to help them.

Dr. Betty DeLass: Totally. Totally. And you kind of you kind of hit on the next question I was going to ask you of what um makes you different and some of those things are are very true in that. Is there anything more you’d like to add to what makes you different than a a regular old nurse practitioner?

Brandi Rudy: Um, I think that, um, what makes me different, uh, is that I just have so much nursing experience. I mean, I I’ve been a I’ve been in the medical field since I was 19 years old. Um, and I’m I’m not 19 anymore. I turned 51 this year. So, I’ve been doing this a very long time. And I think that, you know, my experience ranges from home health to nursing homes to um high level ICU care um to urgent care and um surgical um interventions. So I I just have so much experience and I’ve worked with and I’ve I’ve lived in a couple of different places. I’ve I’ve lived in um Southern California and um Utah and I’ve just kind of been through this whole, you know, transition. Healthcare has changed a lot in the last 30 years and I’ve just been able to kind of roll with that and stay with it and still love what I do. And so I think that that’s what makes me unique is just the vast experience I have. I mean, I literally have more more medical field experience than both of the physicians I work with combined. So, you know, cuz I didn’t have all that time in med school, right? So, I have more practical hands-on experience that just I think, you know, and when you take care of people in their homes, that’s kind of where I started as a home health aid. Um, you know, people trust you if they let you in your homes. And I think that I’ve just been able to develop that relationship with um patients when they come see me in my office. They they realize that they really can trust me. So

Dr. Betty DeLass: amazing. I love that. Okay, thanks. Thank you so much for sharing that. Um, walk us through who’s an ideal fit for you. Like if a patient is watching this and they’re like, “Oo, I think I need to come see Brandi.” Who is that person? What symptoms are they having? What kinds of procedures do they need? Walk us through who’s an ideal fit for you.

Brandi Rudy: Okay. So, um, we do quite a bit in our office like you said. Um the main the main patients that I see are um well surgical because we’re a surgical specialty, right? And if I can help you surgically and fix you, I want to do that and I want to do it fast and effectively and get you back to your optimal health. But I also um really have a connection with these patients that I see and mostly women who come in and have been to multiple multiple providers, right? And nobody has an answer for them and they tell them that it’s all in their head and that they’re crazy. And I can sit down with those women and hand them a box of Kleenexes and we can kind of power through some of the things they’re experiencing. Some things would be um chronic urinary leakage or um chronic pelvic pain or UTI symptoms that never grow a culture, right? Um those are those are some people that I can talk to and sympathize with and really help them. And um you know, if you’ve got a kidney stone, I can help you with that, too, right? um if you’ve got kidney cancer, if you’ve got bladder cancer, um if you’ve got prostate cancer, those are all things that we treat in our clinic. And um but again, I think I really connect with those women that are like, um, wow, I’ve just been through so much and nobody believes me. And they come in and they pour their heart out and I’m like, I believe you. I have a plan for you. Let’s let’s get to the bottom of this for you. And I think that that’s what really um that’s who I connect with and that’s who I want to see in my clinic is people that want to be vulnerable but also want to be helped. So

Dr. Betty DeLass: totally love that. Thank you for sharing. Hey, walk us through the process of what it’s like to work for you. Does someone just call the office? Do do they have to set up an appointment? How do you have a wait list? Does it do you take all insuranceances? Like what does it look like to set up an actual appointment?

Brandi Rudy: Yeah. So, um I work for uh Granger Medical, which makes us unique because then we can take pretty much all insurance providers, right? We there’s a very few that we don’t accept. So, if you have UFU insurance, we accept that. If you have Select Health, we we accept that. United um Oops. Sorry, my dog’s next to me. Um, we so we take most insurance providers that are available in Utah, which makes me unique in that and I accept the same insuranceances as all the providers in Granger. We’re all um credentialed the same, which is a real advantage, right? So, if we need to share patients or um refer to specialties within Granger, that’s a really nice option. Um, I I’m not a walk-in clinic. We are a specialty clinic and so you need to have an appointment. Um I tend to be about four to six weeks out unless um it’s an emergency. If you’ve been seen in the emergency room, I do leave um appointments open for emergencies, especially when the the week after the the docs I work with are on call. So I do have emergency slots available. Um I work four days a week, Monday through Thursday. Um only a half day on Tuesday just for my mental health. Um but uh we have a great office team that helps get people in and um you know you just call Summit Urology and Sandy. That’s where my office is. It’s located in building five of um Alta View Hospital. We rent that space from them. And um we have a beautiful new office that we we love there. Um but you call you get an appointment and again I don’t typically see things that are emergent unless it’s a surgical emergency. Most of the things I see can be ma managed chronically and um we can really um you know dig in deep and and figure out what’s going on and see how we can best help you.

Dr. Betty DeLass: Awesome. And I can attest to that. I loved when I came to your office. Everyone there was fabulous. I was blown away. I was like these people are awesome. So

Brandi Rudy: it’s such a great team to work with family and we love it.

Dr. Betty DeLass: Yes. Yes. Okay. Um, this question I really like asking is, “What’s something that most people don’t know but that you think that they should know about your services?”

Brandi Rudy: Um, gosh, that’s a that’s a tricky question. Um, I I think that um, you know, people get in their mind that urology is only for men and we only do testosterone and ED and prostate health. And I think that I think that we, you know, I guess if I could change anything about the way people think or feel about urology, I would love for them to see it as everybody has kidneys and everybody has urtors and everybody has a urethra and we all have to urinate because that’s how we get rid of waste. And so I think if we could all see each other um a little bit more equally in the urology world that women should realize that there is a space for them in urology. the the physicians are trained to take care of men and women. Um, not all of them choose to do all of the things in urology, but in my office, I’m lucky to work with two really great physicians and especially Dr. Fischer because he loves to do um female surgeries like slings and um sacral copexes for prolapse and um you know, surgeries that are life-changing for women, right? And I and I think that women just think, well, I’m just getting old. There’s no option for me or I have to go to a gynecologist when really, you know, I I can help you in urology and I want to.

Dr. Betty DeLass: Totally. Totally love that. Thank you. Okay. Um, is there anything special you want to promote, whether that’s like an event coming up or something that you want to promote for health for the the viewer watching this of like anything that you’re like, here’s my like two second plug for something. I’ve had people say like an event. I’ve had people say um like focus on sleep or like some health tip that you would recommend. Anything and then everything is is fair game.

Brandi Rudy: Okay. Um I don’t have any I don’t have any events coming up. I wish I did. That would be fun to promote something. Um but I think what I I think what I really want women to know is that um don’t believe everything you get told in the doctor’s office. Do research. Be an advocate for yourself. Um, and you know, don’t don’t take drink more water and wipe front to back as an excuse, right? Like that’s not a that’s not an answer. And and that’s the wrong answer. We’re grown women. We know how to wipe. I think that’s why that’s my biggest pet peeve. Women know they we know what to do, right? And I think trusting in ourselves as women and knowing that we know our bodies and really pushing for, you know, for that that care that you deserve, right? And I think that, you know, if you come and see me, I’m going to tell you, listen, I’m going to tell you what I do, but if it’s not working, I’m willing to try something else. Or if I can’t help you, I’m going to help you find help. I’m not afraid to refer. I’m not afraid to ask questions. I’m not afraid to team up with someone else. So, I think I think just, you know, I’m all about girl power. So, I just think be an advocate for yourself as a woman and, you know, step out there with confidence and, you know, ask for what you need.

Dr. Betty DeLass: I love that. Yes. Amen to all of that. Yes. Okay. Um, this is one of my favorite questions to ask everyone and it is, what is the main thing that you want to be known for?

Brandi Rudy: Um, well, I really want to be known as a great mom, but I feel like with adult kids, I’ve kind of already like I’ve already kind of got there. So, um, so I’m grateful that my kids really love me and appreciate me, but I think that I also want to be known as somebody who people can trust. Um, I think I’ve alluded to that a little bit as we’ve been talking today. Um, but I want to be known for um my ability to listen, my ability to sympathize and understand and and just that I’m trustworthy to tell your deepest, darkest secrets to and know that I’m really going to sympathize and empathize and then help you find a solution.

Dr. Betty DeLass: Amazing. Love that. Love that. Thank you, Brandi. Where can we find you? Obviously, Granger Medical Summit Urology Alta View. Is there a website? Is there a phone number? What’s like any other information that we

Brandi Rudy: So Granger Granger Medical has a website. You can search me up as a provider. Um I mean I can give you my phone number now. It’s 8015715121. That’s my direct office number and um that’s how you would call and schedule an appointment. But if you want to see my reviews or my um my um bio again, if you want to read over that, that’s all on Granger’s website. um along with reviews and of course we get Google reviewed which I don’t love but um but our office actually got awarded the state of Utah award for having some of the best reviews and two years ago I think I was one of the top reviewed female providers you know I mean so I that you know not everybody loves me but most people seem to think I do all right so

Dr. Betty DeLass: so I feel amazing everyone Brandi is amazing I can attest to that okay thank you so much for your Thank you for doing the spotlight series with me and thank you for all that you do in the community. It’s a huge blessing. So, thanks so much for for being on here.

Brandi Rudy: Thank you. It’s been great to be spend time with you. I appreciate it.

Dr. Betty DeLass: Yes.