Leslie J Blackhall, MD
Hospice and Palliative Care
Bio & Overview
Leslie Blackhall, MD, is the section head for palliative care at UVA. She grew up in Upstate New York and attended Yale University. After earning her medical degree from New York University, and she completed residency and fellowship training in internal medicine and medical ethics at Boston University. She also earned a master of theologic studies from Harvard Divinity School, with a concentration in biomedical ethics, history and philosophy.
After a decade of work at the University of Southern California, Dr. Blackhall joined UVA in 2001 as an associate professor, research coordinator at the Center for Biomedical Ethics, and medical director of palliative outpatient clinics. She has led the palliative care division since 2012.
Academic Information
- Department
- Medicine
- Academic Role
- Associate Professor
- Division
- General Medicine - Palliative Care
- Research Interests
- Medical Ethics | Palliative Medicine
- Gender
- Female
- Languages
- English
- Age Groups Seen
- Adults (21-65)
Older Adults (65+)
- Primary Education
- New York University School of Medicine (1984)
- Residency
- Boston Medical Center (1987)
- Fellowship
- Boston Medical Center (1989)
- Certification
- American Board of Internal Medicine (Hospice and Palliative Medicine), American Board of Internal Medicine (Internal Medicine)
Highlights
Dr. Leslie Blackhall video profile
My name is Leslie Blackhall, and I'm the section head for palliative care here at UVA. I work with people's oncologists and radiation oncologists, surgical oncologists to help people who either are having symptoms from a cancer itself like pain or nausea or symptoms from the treatment of the cancer. People can get nerve damage in their feet or pain from surgery. We have a big multidisciplinary team we work with on the in-patient and out-patient side including their primary docs. When I was a medical student, there was no such thing as palliative care. I think for me probably because my dad had cancer, I just felt like people were not getting the help they needed. What I love is when somebody comes back into the office and says "I was able to go golfing last week," whatever it is that they wanted to do. I mean that may seem like nothing to most people when they're healthy, but if you've been too nauseated or too tired to go out with your friends and just go to a restaurant, it can seem like a miracle. For me when somebody comes back and they actually sort of were able to do something normal, I mean go to work for a little bit or whatever, then to me that's a great day.
Awards
- 2019 Best Bedside Manner Awards, OurHealth Charlottesville and Shenandoah Valley Magazine; Third Place, Palliative Medicine
- 2018 Best Bedside Manner Awards, OurHealth Charlottesville and Shenandoah Valley Magazine; Honorable Mention, Palliative Medicine
- 2015 Bedside Manner Award, Our Health Magazine; Second Place
Reviews
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