38
COM Outlook . Winter 2015
of the Jackson Health System medical
staff in the institution’s history.
“Throughout medical school, I
internalized the feeling I had to push
the envelope because I was going to
be a D.O.,” said Dr. Lenchus, who
intends to be the first D.O. to serve
as president of the Florida Medical
Association, which was established
in 1874. “Some of my classmates
thought we had to prove ourselves
because of our degree, but I was
never one to recognize limits, believ-
ing that most are self-imposed. Being
able to pave the way as the first D.O.
to do something is incredibly reward-
ing personally and professionally.”
Becoming chief of staff for the
Miami, Florida-based Jackson Health
System, however, is but one of the
D.O. firsts he’s achieved, which
includes being named associate
program director of Jackson’s Internal
Medicine Residency Program, chair-
man of the American College of Phy-
sicians’ Council of Early Career Physi-
cians, and an officer of the Broward
County Medical Association.
Based on his current status as an
osteopathic trailblazer, was there a
significant event that occurred in his
formative years that compelled him
to become such a formidable figure
in the profession? Not according to
Dr. Lenchus, who admitted he “knew
next to nothing about osteopathic
medicine before entering NSU-COM.”
Medical Calling
Proves Instinctive
Although he cannot pinpoint a
specific event that inspired him to
pursue medicine, Dr. Lenchus intui-
tively knew becoming a physician
would be his inevitable destiny. “As
far back as I can recall, I wanted to be
a doctor,” he explained. “It was the al-
truistic notion of helping others—and
the mysteries of the human body—
that proved most fascinating to me.
My earliest consideration was that
of an obstetrician, probably because
I was the eldest of four boys and my
mom delivered us all in 10 years, but
there were no physicians in my family
who influenced me. I enjoyed math
and science, so health care seemed
like a natural course to pursue.”
When it came time to begin his
undergraduate studies, Dr. Lenchus
chose to attain a bachelor’s degree
in Pharmacy from the University of
Florida because of the interactions
he had with his high school chem-
istry teacher—a Vietnam veteran
who conducted early research about
napalm and its effects. “His scientific
stories intrigued me, so I asked him
what I could do with a degree in
chemistry,” said Dr. Lenchus, who
worked as a pharmacy technician
while attending community col-
lege. “He told me I could teach, do
research, or pursue pharmacy, so I
chose the latter.
“I always knew I’d ultimately
become a physician, despite this
beginning,” he added. “Everyone
needs to complete undergraduate
work before medical school, and I
thought having a pharmacy back-
ground made the most sense. In fact,
I wrote of my desire to pursue medi-
cal school education in my personal
statement to pharmacy school. And
they still accepted me.”
Prior to attending medical school,
Dr. Lenchus spent three years work-
According to Dr. Lenchus, simulation-based instruction plays a key role in his career. “In 2007, we
launched a simulation-based invasive bedside procedural curriculum, teaching learners how to
perform common procedures using mannequins in a standardized and formal manner,” he said.
TYING THE KNOT:
Dr. Lenchus and his wife on
their wedding day: January 12, 2003.
