There are a few things you might not know about Silvio Inzucchi, M.D., medical director of the Yale Diabetes Center: He loves Italian opera; he’s a big college football fan; he was program director for his own college’s radio station (Fordham University’s WFUV, where he met his then future wife); he enjoys a good single malt Scotch.
Most of all Inzucchi is a superb clinician.
This month, he was formally recognized for his clinical acumen with the annual David J. Leffell Prize for Clinical Excellence. The prize is given to individuals who demonstrate the highest level of clinical expertise, commitment to teaching and compassion for patients.
Inzucchi is a professor of endocrinology who holds other titles, including director of the Yale Affiliated Hospitals Program, and associate chief for clinical affairs in the Section of Endocrinology (ranked 7th for clinical care in 2014 by U.S. News and World Report). He treats patients with diabetes and other endocrine diseases, including adrenal and pituitary diseases.
He called the Leffell Prize “a great honor,” then quickly passed the praise along to his “excellent colleagues” and “strong support team.” He also feels that he has developed an effective personal approach to treating patients, carefully honed over 30 years at Yale. It includes being on top of the latest advances, but also responding to each patient’s individual needs. “I like to try to draw people out in terms of who they are, what’s important to them, their life experiences and their family. Such an approach resonates with patients because they don’t want to be seen as a patient, they want to be treated as a person,” Inzucchi said.
This approach is not lost on those who consider Inzucchi a mentor. “I remember eight years ago, the first day working with Dr. Silvio Inzucchi in subspecialty endocrinology clinic,” said Ania Jastreboff, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of endocrinology and pediatric endocrinology who nominated Inzucchi for the prize.
“He seamlessly flowed from patient room to patient room, remembering all the salient details of every patient’s complex diagnosis, while connecting with each at an individual level. His diagnostic skills were astounding, teaching at the bedside, in a kind manner, the finer points of the physical exam now so commonly lost with the advent of imaging tools and technology. Most importantly, he taught us to think in a logical grounded manner, considering each patient as a unique individual, focusing on the nuances of each patient’s diagnosis,” Jastreboff said.
Inzucchi is considered to be the driving force behind the creation of the five-year-old Yale Diabetes Center, now a destination for 2,500 active patients; as well as the Inpatient Diabetes Management Program, which has improved the quality of glucose control at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
He is internationally recognized as a leader in diabetes care and recognized as one of the top clinical endocrinologists in the United States. He has been described as a “thought leader” and has helped to shape national diabetes care guidelines. Yale’s long-standing, award-winning CME diabetes newsletter Diabetes 2015, edited by Inzucchi with his section chief, Robert Sherwin, M.D., summarizes scientific presentations at national and international diabetes meetings. It continues to have a circulation in excess of 50,000.
A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Inzucchi completed his internship, residence, and endocrinology and metabolism postdoctoral fellowship at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
The Leffell Prize was presented to Inzucchi by Dean Robert J. Alpern, M.D., at a ceremony this month. The prize was established five years ago with a gift from David J. Leffell, M.D., and his wife, Cindy, in honor of Leffell’s 30th Yale College reunion. As a recipient, Inzucchi will be honored with a monetary award and a framed citation, engraved with his name, to be displayed in the Sterling Hall of Medicine.