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COM Outlook . Winter 2015
career,” he acknowledged. “I am con-
fident that my level of involvement is
much more than my wife bargained
for when we got married.”
Ruminations on Being
a Physician
In a career brimming with
achievement, Dr. Lenchus said
the most fulfilling aspect of being
a physician is the ability to effect
change. “There is the influence we
have on our patients—to materially
alter their lives—whether helping a
noncompliant patient understand the
importance of medication adherence,
or assisting a family in dealing with
end-of-life issues, physicians have an
inherent nature of being with patients
at the beginning, middle, and end of
a disease process,” he explained.
“Patients, colleagues, and men-
tors all teach us valuable lessons—
generally when we least expect
them,” he added. “Patients typi-
cally keep us grounded in reality.
After seeing them, our own issues
are put into a clearer perspective
in regard to importance. Selecting
a restaurant at which we will eat
dinner is meaningless after caring
for someone who does not know
from where his next meal will come.
It is difficult to speak about my day
if I’ve been present as someone’s
loved one died. Even more challeng-
ing is empathizing with others on
that day. Colleagues can draw on us
for support and assistance, or be the
source of both when needed. True
mentors have an unselfish nature,
looking out for what is best for you,
even when you do not know what
that may be. There is a basic trust
and respect in that relationship.”
Because of his humanistic ap-
proach to medicine and patient care,
Dr. Lenchus aspires daily to be an
earnest mentor to those who enter
his professional circle. “I try to go
out of my way to
learn about others
and make myself
available at all
hours, anytime,
for those who
need me,” said Dr.
Lenchus, who has
received numer-
ous accolades for
his people-first
approach, includ-
ing both the 2014
Broward College Hall of Distinction
Distinguished Alumni Merit Award
and the Soref Jewish Community
Center Humanitarian of the Year
honor. “Especially in a teaching
environment, I make it a point to let
people know they should never feel
as if they are alone. There is always
someplace to turn, and I have been
fortunate to have had opportunities
to assist others in their time of need.
“Additionally, my involvement
in organized medicine, especially
legislative advocacy, has proved
incredibly beneficial,” he continued.
“Aside from gaining an inside look
at how intimately politics affects the
practice of medicine, I have been
fortunate to be part of organizations
that help craft legislation, or the
implementation thereof, such as the
Florida Osteopathic Medical Associa-
tion, Florida Medical Association,
American College of Physicians, and
Society of Hospital Medicine.”
Winning awards for doing some-
thing you love is a dividend, an out-
growth of an individual’s unabashed
commitment to being the best he or
she can be. That certainly explains
why he has been the recipient of
numerous honors and awards over
the past few years. “Any accolades
received are due to those who served
as my mentors,” said Dr. Lenchus,
who received the Jackson Internal
Medicine Residency Program Faculty
Award for Excellence in Teaching
in 2012-13. “My parents taught me
valuable life lessons that I have now
passed on to others. Some of my
instructors at each level of schooling
have had profound impacts on the
man I have become. And I remain in
contact with a number of my class-
mates, who continue to inspire me.”
As for being an osteopathic trail-
blazer, Dr. Lenchus humbly down-
played his contributions, choosing
instead to impart his philosophical
approach to life. “The lesson is that
we are unstoppable if we have the
drive, motivation, determination,
persistence, and fortitude,” he elo-
quently concluded. “Glass ceilings
are exactly that because they can be
broken. Once someone else achieves
a position formerly thought impos-
sible, others can follow. It is in this
way that one person can effect a
tremendous change. My parents
taught me that.”
