Waltham, Mass – March 27 – Florence physician Deborah E. Smith, M.D. has been honored by her peers as the 2012 Community Clinician of the Year of the Hampshire District Medical Society. The Community Clinician of the Year Award was established in 1998 by the Massachusetts Medical Society to recognize a physician from each of the Society’s 20 district medical societies who has made significant contributions to his or her patients and to the community and who stands out as a leading advocate and caregiver. She will receive the award on April 5 at the annual meeting of the District Medical Society.

Since 1983, Smith has been in the private practice of oncology with Northampton Internal Medical Associates in Florence, a group practice of four physicians. She is board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. Smith is a member of Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s medical staff.

In nominating her for the award, her colleagues said “Dr. Smith works tirelessly and with uncommon dedication to care for her oncology patients, spending enormous amounts of time with patients themselves and with their families. She is also a key leader of the medical staff at Cooley Dickinson Hospital who has worked with grace and skill to protect the interests of the medical community and our patients.”

Smith is a magna cum laude graduate of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois with a bachelor’s degree in literature. She earned her medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, where she was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical honor society. A member of the Massachusetts Medical Society since 1993, she is also a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and serves as a member-at-large of the Medical Staff Executive Committee at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. She resides in Leeds. 

The Massachusetts Medical Society, with more 23,000 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the patients and physicians of Massachusetts. The Society publishes the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading global medical journal and web site, and Journal Watch alerts and newsletters covering 13 specialties. The Society is also a leader in continuing medical education for health care professionals throughout Massachusetts, conducting a variety of medical education programs for physicians and health care professionals. Founded in 1781, MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. For more information please visit www.massmed.org, www.nejm.org, or www.jwatch.org.

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