Dr. Nilan Schnure is an internal medicine physician and was drawn to primary care by the emphasis placed on a patient’s overall health and quality of life over the long term. His career in the sciences began when he worked in a pediatric oncology research laboratory over his summers in high school and college, and continued as he experienced global health research in Sri Lanka and clinical research in breast cancer after college. Throughout all these experiences, he found that he most valued individual patient relationships, and the chance to hear someone’s story and guide them through their own health challenges.

Dr. Schnure has a special interest in communication and how to translate testing and treatment probabilities into understandable language for both patients and medical trainees. He values these challenging decisions in primary care — when does it make sense to get a screening test? When could medicines or tests do more harm than good for a specific patient?

Before joining OHSU’s faculty, Dr. Schnure also completed a fellowship in point-of-care ultrasound. This is when a primary doctor, rather than a radiologist or sonographer, performs an ultrasound at the bedside to gather more information about a patient’s condition. Dr. Schnure has come to appreciate how point-of-care ultrasound can allow him to spend time with patients, strengthening their relationship while creating a shared understanding of their disease process and potentially expediting diagnosis and management.

Outside of work, Dr. Schnure enjoys exploring the outdoors with his wife and dog. While he grew up on the East Coast, he has come to appreciate the mountains, forests, fresh air and local foods of the Portland area.