Martin
A Shearn, MD
1923-2002 |
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By
Arthur L Klatsky, MD,
Associate Editor, Clinical Contributions
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One of
the most distinguished and creative physicians of the Kaiser Permanente
Medical Care Program (KPMCP), Dr Martin Shearn played a major role at
the Oakland facility starting in 1955. He developed the first KP House
Staff Training Program (Residency), which flourished under his direction
for the next 25 years. Many of the hundreds of physicians it graduated
became Staff Physicians in the KPMCP. He served as Chief of Medicine
at Oakland for four years, from 1982 until his retirement in 1986, during
which he instituted a Personal Physician program that was later adopted
program wide. He authored or coauthored more than 80 articles or book
chapters, regarding disseminated lupus erythematosis or Sjogren's syndrome--subjects
on which he was known internationally as an expert. Other (usually in
collaboration with his wife Lori) concerned topics of medical historical
interest, with titles such as "Madame de Pompadour--Impaired Courtesan"
and "Doctor Joseph Guillotin--Saint or Villain?" A partial
list of his honors includes several elections as an outstanding teacher
at KP Oakland and University of California hospitals; honorary Brazilian
citizenship (awarded during a year of service as Chief of Staff of the
USS Hope); selection as a Distinguished Practitioner of Medicine of
the National Academies of Practice; and the respect and affection of
thousands of colleagues, students, and patients who benefited from his
knowledge and wit.
A graduate
of Ohio University and New York Medical College, Dr Shearn trained at
Bellevue Hospital in New York, where he practiced and taught for several
years. He did a Cardiology Fellowship at Stanford University Medical
Center. He was a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He married
Lori in 1951; they have three children and five grandchildren. Two of
their three children (David, Director of Physician Education and Development
at Oakland, and Wendy, an Internist at Terra Linda) are KP Physicians;
the third (Bobbi) teaches music. Dr Shearn died September 23, 2002,
several weeks after the "Living with Alzheimer's"
article was written.
