Jerald (Jerry) R. Schenken, MD, left an indelible mark on the lives of those who knew him and on his community. He loved teaching and was a lifelong learner.
The son of Rudy Schenken, MD, a Founding Fellow of the College of American Pathologists (CAP), Jerry grew up in Omaha, Neb, prior to entering Tulane University in New Orleans. He received his BS and MD and remained with the Tulane Department of Pathology and Charity Hospital for his residency training.
Jerry was as adept in surgical pathology as he was in the chemistry, hematology, and microbiology laboratory sections. His fellow residents and faculty recognized his leadership. Subsequently, he served on the Board of Governors, Tulane University Medical Center, from 1989 until his death.
He took his American Board of Pathology (ABP) examinations while the senior Dr Schenken was a member of that certifying body and on the weekend of the Kennedy assassination in Dallas. In later years, Jerry succeeded his father as a member and then president of the ABP. They are the only father and son to share this honor.
Jerry joined his father's practice at The Pathology Center, P.C. at Methodist Hospital in Omaha. He was appointed clinical professor of pathology at the University of Nebraska and Creighton University Schools of Medicine. Jerry was soon appointed to the Council on Clinical Chemistry of the American Society of Clinical Pathology. His interest in blood gas and acid base analyses later was shared in lectures to the annual University of Nebraska College of Medicine Family Practice Review Course.
Within the CAP, Jerry was best known for his work in the legislative arena. He chaired the CAP's Council on Government and Professional Affairs. He understood the language of the Federal Register and reported on numerous health-related bills.
In 1983, Jerry received the CAP's Pathologist of the Year Award. In accepting this award, he said, “To my family: Charlotte, John, Busy [Elizabeth], and Parker who have understood and tolerated me when I was gone more than I was at home and without whose love and support I would have had trouble going on. And to my Dad who aimed me in the right direction all these many years.” In 1989, he received the Frank C. Coleman Award for Public Service, 1 of only 3 Fellows so honored.
In 1978, Jerry became CAP's alternate delegate to the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates. Soon he was elected member, vice chair, and chair of AMA's Council on Legislation. By 1988, he was reelected to the AMA Board of Trustees and as secretary-treasurer. This marked a transition in his responsibilities to the CAP. In his oral history, recorded in 1987, Jerry stated, “Once you get elected or appointed to an AMA position, it's implicit that you no longer represent any specialty or any group. You represent all doctors on all issues.” Jerry also expressed dismay at the declining national autopsy rates. He viewed the autopsy as a cornerstone of quality medical care. When asked about watershed changes in the practice of pathology, he replied, “By far the biggest thing happened in the late 1950s and that was the automated chemical analyzer.” This instrument inexpensively provided a mass of quite accurate data “And nobody knew what to do with it.”
In his final decade, Jerry's interests and concerns went far beyond pathology, medicine, and politics and entered into the realm of a humanitarian citizen. He directed his huge intellect and knowledge base to discussions of taxes and economic development, federal mandates, technology development, and health insurance costs and quality. In 2000, physicians and their organizations were so fed up with managed care that they called for class-action suits against health maintenance organizations. Jerry took a broader view. He noted that if managed care was put out of business, only the trial lawyers would win. Jerry commented that the void created by the demise of managed care would be filled with the federal government's plans.
In a handwritten note dated May 25, 2000, Jerry wrote of his physician's report on his illness. They told him, “He had widespread bony metastases, low grade adeno ca, probably primary in the lung.” He confided, “Pretty long odds, but I've tried to play the ball where it lies and will try to do so now.” A lifelong athlete and golfer, he was quoting Bobby Jones, one of the game's heroes, when Jones was told he had syringomyelia.
Jerry Schenken passed away on December 18, 2001 at the age of 68. He was one of our own heroes and we remember him with warmth, admiration, and good will. The depth of his intellect and the generosity of his spirit live on.
The author thanks Sherrie Rice and Tom Williams, MD, for their helpful advice in the preparation of this manuscript.
