After a long medical career, Dr. Bucco settles in Georgia to do what he loves most: treating patients
After a motorcycle accident when he was in the Army put Richard Bucco in the hospital for nine months, preventing him from continuing with active-duty service, he decided medicine was a path he’d like to explore.
The extended stay at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the multiple surgeries he underwent gave him firsthand insight into a profession he has now practiced and loved for decades.
“I just thought it would be a good thing to do with my life,” recounts Dr. Bucco, who recently joined the staff as a physician with CareATC’s Roper Wellness Center.
Dr. Bucco went on to earn his medical degree and a doctoral degree in biochemistry from Vanderbilt University, where he was a Cunningham Scholar award winner for biochemistry. After graduating, he went into a residency program with the Columbia University hospital system, working at a location in upstate New York. He is board certified in both internal medicine and addiction medicine.
In the years following his residency, Dr. Bucco’s career path included running his own private practice, serving as chief medical officer and counselor at an addiction hospital, building and managing an occupational medicine clinic similar to the Wellness Center at Roper, and consulting with medical device companies.
However, while Dr. Bucco most recently lived and worked in Alabama, he hoped to find a way to move full-time to Georgia, where he already owned some land. The position with the Wellness Center had a lot of appeal—but the biggest for him was its location.
Dr. Bucco wants his patients to know he’s “down-to-earth,” and comes from an unexpected background. “I got in trouble growing up,” says Dr. Bucco, “and I’m tatted up.”
At this point in his career, he just wants to practice medicine—not manage a hospital system—and the Wellness Center gives him the opportunity for close patient care. “I love people, and I’m very social,” says Dr. Bucco, who enjoys connecting with patients.
Dr. Bucco still loves to ride his motorcycle: “I love speed,” he says. “I love going down a scenic highway on a motorcycle with my hair on fire.” He also loves his family—”La famiglia è tutto—family is everything,” he says, noting his Italian American background.
After many years in medicine—treating patients, running clinics and more, Bucco knows he could retire and focus on the other loves in his life. “I just consider it a privilege to be a doctor,” he says. “Anyone can do 95% of what doctors do. It’s the 5% that counts. If you love your patients enough to be ready for that 5%, it makes you a good doctor.”
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