VCU news

By Malorie Burkett

The Virginia Commonwealth University Health System has bestowed its highest honor for a physician — the Distinguished Clinician Award — to Lenore Buckley, M.D., professor in the departments of internal medicine and pediatrics.

Each year, the VCU School of Medicine clinical faculty nominates a fellow clinician for the award based on criteria that include patient care, clinical excellence and compassion.

Buckley, who serves as professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, is being recognized for her extraordinary leadership, diagnostic skills and her ability to decipher intricate and complex cases and arrive at often life-saving conclusions.

“Dr. Buckley is an extremely talented clinician, a caring physician who makes herself accessible to her patients,” said Richard Wenzel, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine.

Buckley is board certified in internal medicine, pediatrics, rheumatology and pediatric rheumatology. Her clinical specialties also include treatment of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, management of rheumatic diseases during pregnancy and corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis.

She is a member of the VCU Health System Authority board of directors and is medical director of the VCU Medical Center at Stony Point. She is involved with research, education and treatment of osteoporosis through VCU’s Program for Osteoporosis and Bone Health. 

In addition, Buckley serves on the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) ad hoc committee and worked with colleagues to develop the ACR practice guidelines. She also has been selected as one of both the Top Doctors in Richmond and Best Doctors in America.

Buckley received her medical degree from the University of Rochester in New York. She completed her residency training at North Carolina Memorial Hospital and her fellowship training at the University of Vermont’s Harvard School of Public Health.

“There is no higher honor than getting this vote of support from so many physicians I know and respect,” said Buckley. “But, the reality is that there are many, many outstanding and compassionate physicians who are working just as hard every day with limited resources to ensure the best outcomes for their patients. It is a privilege to work with them.”

Previous award recipients include Harold F.Young, M.D., neurosurgery, 1994; David Draper, M.D., pediatrics, 1995; Arnold M. Salzberg, surgery, 1996; George Vetrovec, M.D., cardiology, 1997; David F. Garner, M.D., endocrinology, 1998; John D. Ward, M.D., neurosurgery, 1999; Thomas J. Smith, M.D., hematology/oncology, 2000; Kenneth A. Ellenbogen, M.D., cardiology, 2001; Robert Leshner, M.D., pediatric neurology, 2002; Michael L. Hess, M.D., cardiology, 2003; Lisa Brath, M.D., pulmonary and critical care medicine, 2004; and James Levenson, M.D., psychiatry, 2005.