Title
Dr. John Francis Burnum, 1923-2005
Subject
Physicians
University of Alabama
Description
Dr. John Francis Burnum was a native of Tuscaloosa and a graduate of the University of Alabama. He served as a combat infantryman in the Battle of the Bulge.
Upon his return from service he attended the University of Alabama School of Medicine at Birmingham for two years. He then attended Harvard Medical School graduating cum laude. He completed an internship and residency at New York Hospital, Cornell University's teaching hospital and a fellowship in cardiology at Duke University.
Returning to Tuscaloosa he began an internal medicine practice that lasted for 45 years. In 1953-54 he became the first Chief of Medicine at the Medical College of Alabama and from the early 1970s served as a faculty member of UA's College of Community Health Services (CCHS). He played a major role in the creation of this college by helping to secure funding for the medical program in Tuscaloosa and worked tirelessly to increase support for it.
Dr. Burnum won many prestigious awards including the 1982 Teacher of the Year Award from CCHS. In 1992 he received the Ralph O. Claypool, Sr. Medical Award given to only one person in the nation each year by the American College of Physicians to recognize the outstanding practitioner of Internal Medicine, and the Laureate Award from the American College of Physicians, and was also named Internist of the Year by the Alabama Society of Internal Medicine.
His publications centering on humane standards of doctor-patient relationships and the responsibilities of the physician amidst the commercialization of medical care appeared in several prestigious medical journals.
With his wife, Celeste, Dr. Burnum founded and endowed the University of Alabama Burnum Distinguished Faculty Award. It is UA's highest award for research and excellence in teaching.
The Burnums had three daughters, Susan Burnum Wade, Celeste Burnum Burford and Fances Burnum Griffin.
Upon his return from service he attended the University of Alabama School of Medicine at Birmingham for two years. He then attended Harvard Medical School graduating cum laude. He completed an internship and residency at New York Hospital, Cornell University's teaching hospital and a fellowship in cardiology at Duke University.
Returning to Tuscaloosa he began an internal medicine practice that lasted for 45 years. In 1953-54 he became the first Chief of Medicine at the Medical College of Alabama and from the early 1970s served as a faculty member of UA's College of Community Health Services (CCHS). He played a major role in the creation of this college by helping to secure funding for the medical program in Tuscaloosa and worked tirelessly to increase support for it.
Dr. Burnum won many prestigious awards including the 1982 Teacher of the Year Award from CCHS. In 1992 he received the Ralph O. Claypool, Sr. Medical Award given to only one person in the nation each year by the American College of Physicians to recognize the outstanding practitioner of Internal Medicine, and the Laureate Award from the American College of Physicians, and was also named Internist of the Year by the Alabama Society of Internal Medicine.
His publications centering on humane standards of doctor-patient relationships and the responsibilities of the physician amidst the commercialization of medical care appeared in several prestigious medical journals.
With his wife, Celeste, Dr. Burnum founded and endowed the University of Alabama Burnum Distinguished Faculty Award. It is UA's highest award for research and excellence in teaching.
The Burnums had three daughters, Susan Burnum Wade, Celeste Burnum Burford and Fances Burnum Griffin.
Source
Celeste Evans Burnum
Publisher
On Rounds, The University of Alabama College of Community Health Science, School of Medicine Tuscaloosa Campus, Fall 2006
Contributor
Elizabeth Bradt (Description)
Type
Photograph
Identifier
1037
Coverage
Tuscaloosa (AL)
Original Format
Photograph