April Odom Buchanan, MD, FAAP
Dr. Buchanan is a Professor of Pediatrics and the Associate Dean for Medical Education at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. She is a Pediatric Hospitalist with Prisma Health.
Dr. Buchanan earned her undergraduate degree from the College of Charleston, where she graduated as the Top Honor Graduate. She earned her M.D. degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and completed a residency in pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Buchanan started her pediatric career as a community pediatrician in Oxford, Mississippi, then served as a neonatal hospitalist at Duke University Medical Center, and then worked as a pediatric hospitalist with Hasbro Children’s Hospital where she was the Associate Director for Undergraduate Medical Education in Pediatrics at Brown Medical School. Dr. Buchanan joined Prisma Health (formerly the Greenville Health System) in 2008. She served as the Vice Chair of Quality for the Department of Pediatrics for five years and also served as the Pediatric Clerkship Director and Pediatric Acting Internship Director before moving into various roles in the medical school.
On a national level, Dr. Buchanan is the immediate Past-President of the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics and continues to serve on the Executive Committee. She is also a leader in the AAMC Medical Education Senior Leaders group, serving on the program and annual meeting planning committee and as the former Co-Chair of the Research and Publications Task Force. She has served as UME Chair for the AAMC Group on Educational Affairs. Dr. Buchanan has led multiple national workshops on various topics including professionalism, quality and safety, assessment in integrated curricula, survey design, instrument validity, clinical reasoning, and the UME-GME transition. She has authored multiple book chapters, including contributions in Nelson’s Essentials of Pediatrics, Step Up to Pediatrics, Comprehensive Pediatric Hospital Medicine, and the Pediatric Hospital Medicine Core Competencies. Her publications focus on the learning environment, narrative evaluations, curricula, and resources for first generation students in medical school.
Dr. Buchanan has been recognized for her teaching and outstanding service with an Exemplary Character Award given by the graduating residents, the Most Outstanding Clinical Professor Award, the Clinical Mentorship, Education, and Service Excellence Award, and the Dean’s Award. She was also inducted as faculty into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and the National Academy of Distinguished Educators in Pediatrics. She is completing her fellowship in Drexel’s Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine.
Dr. Buchanan enjoys running, hiking, biking, kayaking, snow skiing, spending time with her family, and just being outdoors.
