Meet Lucia Buckley, CRNP

Hello! My name is Lucia and I am the Nurse Practitioner who has the great pleasure of working at Pittsburgh Center for Functional Medicine to further change the health and vitalization of our patient population. I am a mother and life-partner to my husband, Dan, and lovely daughter, Darby. I live in Bethel Park, on the same street as my mother-in-law, aunt-in-law, and sister-in-law (“it takes a village" and we live in the “village”). When I’m not at PCFM, I love spending time with my family. We enjoy hiking, being outdoors, gardening, and cooking at home. I am an avid reader and am always looking for suggestions! I have lived an alternative medicine and functional lifestyle since the age of 16. Over the years, I have diligently worked on my diet, stress, and lifestyle to emulate the ethos of a functional medicine practitioner.

My Education

I attended St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia where my love for serving others was ingrained at day one. I was taught by the Jesuits to respect the human body and its spirit. My degree in Interdisciplinary Health Services was health oriented but introduced the emotional components of living with a chronic disease. While away at school, my family experienced a very stressful hardship. I battled alone emotionally and mentally at school. I fell into an acute depression and saw no way out. My exit strategy from this struggle was through a Vinyasa Hot Yoga Teacher Training. I completed this in my senior year at St. Joe’s. It was my first physical awakening that connected me with my mind and body. Being able to calm my mind, tap into a stable breath and be in sync has helped me with countless situations since. Overcoming this challenge and my education at St. Joe’s ignited a fire to do more.

After graduating, I worked for a short time in pathology as a surgical technician for Magee Women’s Hospital. My deeper yearning to help others directly drove me to attend Duquesne second degree nursing program. This was a love I never knew. Caring for people and their families was a niche in life I finally attained, but I knew I could do more for those I served. After completing my BSN, I worked as a medical/surgical telemetry nurse and then in labor and delivery, all the while searching for that next step. I initially started a Midwifery graduate program, but after one semester I knew I wanted to expand my scope and serve the entire lifespan thus I enrolled in Duquesne’s family nurse practitioner program. I started the program with my daughter only 2 months old. She was my primary driving force through graduate school - I want her to know a mom who pushes and strives for a goal - a goal to serve others.

While engaging with the family nurse practitioner program, I worked as a labor and delivery nurse. This job was a joy and a place where I could turn my school brain off and assist mothers with their babies and families. Monday-Friday I hustled through schoolwork, clinical rotations, and cared for my growing daughter. Throughout the program, I sought out many alternative, integrative, and functional clinical opportunities and experiences. When I graduated from the FNP program I was ready to align my career with my personal ethos-I want to OPTIMIZE the health of my community. I was welcomed with open arms to Pittsburgh Center of Functional Medicine, where Dr. Lobur has mentored and coached me and I also engaged with the Institute for Functional Medicine’s extensive training courses.

Functional Medicine’s Impact

I come from a large family of 7 children, 35 cousins, and 17 aunts and uncles. Family and stability were ingrained early on to be of the utmost importance. I must accredit my initial motivation towards functional medicine to my sister. She was diagnosed with an idiopathic rare autoimmune disorder at the age of 27. She had been a healthy and active person and was blindsided by her diagnosis. It was devastating to watch, and I encouraged her to seek every conventional avenue possible. Her search for answers and a clear treatment plan fell short every time. Her diagnosis was made based on the pure fact she responded to one medication, but all labs and tests came back negative despite her being very symptomatic. I did everything I could to support her through this tough time and helped her search for another way. We came across Pittsburgh Center for Functional Medicine in our search. I sought out a clinical rotation with Dr. Lobur during my graduate nursing program with Duquesne University so that I could learn more and help her. There I learned the initial foundational pieces of functional medicine. This sparked a true yearning and interest in how to optimize my community’s health, in additional to my sweet sister’s. Since joining PCFM, my sister has instilled many of the functional medicine practices and has worked on her diet, stress, and lifestyle choices. She now remains symptom free and off medications thanks to functional medicine!

Just because you have been branded with a diagnosis does not mean that defines you. This is merely a condition, and it is worth striving to change the conditions you’re in. This is done by setting realistic goals, making a promise to yourself and striving for a life that is optimal!