Dr. Bufkin was born and raised in Texas. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Texas Tech University before graduating from Baylor College of Medicine with honors in 1990. In Atlanta, Georgia he completed his General Surgery residency at Emory University in 1996 and finished his Cardiothoracic Surgery residency training at Emory University in 1999. His training at Emory University included two years of cardiothoracic surgery research which produced numerous publications in the field. He began private practice in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1999 and spent nine years at Fort Sanders Parkwest Medical Center, a seven-time Top 100 Heart Hospital since 2000. Dr. Bufkin moved to the Tampa Bay area to join Cardiac Surgical Associates in 2008. Dr. Bufkin is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and he is committed to providing the highest quality state-of-the-art cardiac surgical care for his patients. His free time is spent with his wife and two children.