John Henning Schumann
John Henning Schumann, M.D., is an internal medicine physician and writer (http://glasshospital.com). He has contributedto Slate,The Atlantic,Marketplace, and National Public Radio’s health blog,Shots.
Schumann serves as guest host forStudio Tulsa on health-related themes. You can hear his segment Medical Monday every Monday at 11:30 a.m. on KWGS.
Dr. Schumann is the President of OU-Tulsa. You can find him on twitter@GlassHospital.
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A young doctor put on a protective suit so he could examine a man who might be sick with SARS. It was hard to tell who was more frightened: the doctor or the patient. -
In everyday medical care, the practice of reflection is too often overlooked. Remembrance is what makes us human. Keeping tabs on who has died over the years keeps one doctor humble. -
A healthy man paid $150 for a battery of tests at his church. The findings frightened him and didn't give his doctor any information that changed the man's care. -
Back pain is common. Nearly all of us have at least one episode in our lives, and two-thirds of us will have it repeatedly. Exercise, though it may seem counterintuitive, is often the best medicine. -
No single concept has permeated American medical culture to the extent that our anxiety about cholesterol has. Old or young, man or woman, rich or poor — everyone wants a cholesterol test. -
Of the 32 states that currently allow capital punishment, all rely on lethal injection as the means. Seventeen of them require a doctor to be present during the injection. -
Medicine's shift from paper to computers has been painful and expensive. But now doctors can easily write and transmit prescriptions by computer, saving money and improving the quality of care. -
Patients feel more satisfied with their care when their doctors take a minute to sit down beside them. But harried doctors often fail to remember niceties like that. All the memorization of medical school seems to crowd out common courtesy, especially for interns just starting to see patients. -
By the end of December, interns are nearing the midpoint of their first year of intense, hands-on work with patients. That's long enough for the young doctors to feel committed to their chosen career but not nearly far enough along to see the finish line.
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Unlike airlines, hospitals don't offer perks or first class upgrades to people who frequently visit the emergency room. In fact, patients like these often get worse customer service, like the apocryphal boy who cried, "Wolf!"
