By Merin C. MacDonald
In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight Terrell Johnson, MD, a physician in the Division of General Internal Medicine, and co-director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice in the Department of Medicine. He joined UMass Chan Medical School/UMass Memorial Health this past August and has enthusiastically dived into a variety of activities across Medicine’s mission areas. In November, we spoke with Dr. Johnson to learn more about what led him to become a physician, what his hopes are as he embarks on a new chapter of his career at UMass, and why addressing the importance of diversity and equity in medicine is of critical importance.
As an undergraduate studying chemistry at Tougaloo College in Mississippi, Dr. Johnson was struck by how much he loved problem-solving. He enjoyed and excelled at working through mathematics problems to get to a solution, but he also longed for personal interaction and wondered how he would make an impact on the lives of others. As a chemistry major with a heavy course load in mathematics, he was indeed able to fulfill his passion for solving problems, but there was little opportunity for him to develop meaningful human connections. His dreams began to shift away from chemistry and math toward medicine, and he decided he would change course and go to medical school.
After earning his medical degree at Boston University School of Medicine and completing his internal medicine residency at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Boston, Dr. Johnson served as a primary care physician at Boston Medical Center for nine years. Additionally, he held roles teaching and mentoring undergraduate medical students. In his role as a teacher, he felt invigorated by his students’ youthful sense of wonder and inquiry. Ultimately, this, and engaging in dialogue with a close friend, led him to examine his own career path more closely. He began to map out his long-term goals and what he aimed to accomplish over the next five and ten years, and then searched for a place that aligned with his goals. Through this process he found UMass. Of this, Dr. Johnson said, “UMass and the Department of Medicine were open [to my ideas] and have the infrastructure and leadership support in place to help me achieve my goals.”
At UMass Chan/UMMH, Dr. Johnson aspires to achieve goals that are of great importance to his professional growth and joy including longitudinal care of patients, engaging in quality improvement projects and clinical research, expanding his role in teaching students, and leadership in diversity and equity in medicine. Finding joy is an essential component of his path. In his clinical work, he is inspired by working with his patients in the primary care clinic and helping them understand how to better care for themselves. “[When I start working with] a patient with diabetes, for example, [they] might not understand how to manage their care at first, but eventually through continuity of care and ongoing dialogue, they do. They begin to understand and take better care of themselves. That is what motivates me and brings me joy.” In education, he is inspired by the youthful approach to inquiry that medical students have. He is already finding great opportunities as a learning community mentor in the Blackstone House, where he is able to work closely with undergraduate medical students. “I really enjoy working with undergraduate students…as they work through problems and things start coming together for them. When you see the lightbulb go on in their heads, that’s joy,” said Dr. Johnson. “That’s joy—and it brings me right back to when I was in medical school, in their position.”
Diversity and equity in medicine is another area that is of urgent importance to Dr. Johnson and his goals. One example of its significance, he explains, is that regardless of their background, whether it is race, socio-economic status, family heritage, or any other reason, every qualified applicant should be able to have an equitable seat at the table when it comes to applying to medical school. One of the ways he hopes to address this is through his new leadership role in the Pipeline for underRepresented Students in Medicine (PRISM) program, a program in the McManus lab in the Department of Medicine that introduces postgraduate students from diverse backgrounds who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM, to clinical research and healthcare opportunities. Many of these students aspire to apply to medical school, and through the PRISM program, are exposed to experiences through mentorship, networking, peer-to-peer support, and their roles as clinical research coordinators. Dr. Johnson is excited to help lead the ongoing development of this pipeline program and hopes that there are additional possibilities to expand beyond Worcester Consortium colleges and universities through future partnerships around the U.S. “I think there is a great opportunity to work with these students to make them so strong that they cannot be missed,” said Dr. Johnson. “Whether it is additional opportunities in research or in educational activities and exposures to experiences in the field, we want them to be prepared and confident.”
The Department of Medicine is excited to welcome Dr. Johnson to UMass Chan/UMass Memorial Health and cannot wait to witness him find his joy as he works to achieve his goals.