John Zen Jackson, Esq: Osler's Eccentric Patient

John Zen Jackson, JD, FACTL, is Of Counsel to the Healthcare Department of the law firm of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis, LLP in Woodbridge, NJ. He received his BA from Tufts University in 1972 and his JD from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1975. He served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Richard J. Hughes of the New Jersey Supreme Court for the 1975-76 term before entering private practice. His practice has emphasized various aspects of health care litigation.  He is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a civil trial attorney and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

 John has been a member of the Editorial Board of MDAdvisor since 2007 and has authored multiple articles on medical history and other medical or bioethical topics. As a member of the Medical History Society of New Jersey, he has made several earlier presentations to the MHSNJ, including one concerning Walt Whitman's involvement in the care of wounded soldiers during the American Civil War.

Sir William Osler was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania between 1884 and 1889. During that time, he made house calls to a patient in New Jersey. That patient was the poet Walt Whitman. This MHSNJ presentation examines the Osler-Whitman physician-patient relationship, their converging world views resulting from involvement with injured soldiers and death during war, and a shared unusual post-mortem experience.