University of New England

A Good Balance: Dr. Ken Johnson, Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs

[Editor's Note: This profile originally appeared in the May 2006 COMmunicator.]

Johnson the Bone Crusher

Dr. Ken Johnson was a bone-crusher as a youth. They were all his bones, mind you. Baseball, hockey, and track did their part to help Johnson develop a good relationship with his orthopedic surgeon. He enjoyed science, and numerous trips to the doctor whetted his appetite to study human anatomy. Nothing captured his interest more than science as applied to people. Decades later, Ken Johnson has built his life on the osteopathic principle of balance and the organizational principle of science as applied to people.

He grew up in Boston, (that’s “Baw-stan”), attended Don Bosco Prep, then went on to St. Mike’s in Vermont for his undergrad work. It was there that he met his wife Lynda, with whom he now has three children. Osteopathy appealed to his sense of balance and holism, so he applied to UNECOM less than ten years after it first opened as an institution. His class was an eclectic mix of traditional and non-traditional students. Plenty had prior experience in healthcare, while others did not. Johnson enjoyed the spice added by a former fighter-pilot, the grace of a dancer, and the serenity of a nun. “There was a rich fabric to that class,” he says.

Those days were comfortable and friendly, Dr. Johnson recalls. Faculty and students were warm, and the surroundings quietly encouraged contemplation and study: “It was a calm, peaceful environment, located on the coast of Maine.” Natural beauty did not always dilute the heavy ointment of medical school stress, so Johnson took it upon himself to loosen up his fellow students, some of whom seemed wound a little tight. “I wore a really ugly tie on test days,” he says with an impish smile, “and then I started a contest to see who could dress uglier than me. The $20 first prize was won by a really hairy guy who wore a woman’s bathing suit, flowered bathing cap, and red lipstick.”

Medicine is serious, Dr. Johnson believes, but you can take it to an unhealthy level. He has played Saturday Night Live skits at the beginning of class before, and he always has a bag of goodies when he meets with children. “Kids don’t want you to walk in and say, ‘Good morning, my name is Dr. So-and-so, and I’m an expert at whatever,’” he says. “They respond to bad knock-knock jokes and high fives and a toy.” A doctor must be competent, Johnson believes, but they must also be down-to-earth and relate to a patient where they’re at. After all, people are what doctoring is all about.

Medical students need to maintain balance, Dr. Johnson advises. “Attend to all things important; don’t become too narrowly focused,” he says, “I can’t tell somebody else to live a healthy lifestyle if I don’t live one myself.” He also advocates setting goals when students begin rotations. “Go into each rotation with clearly identified goals. Attendings respond well to students who articulate goals and ask, ‘What do you think?’” Rotations should also stretch a student to their limits. “Act as if the patient is yours alone,” says Dr. Johnson. This raises the stakes and lends gravity and responsibility that deepen a student’s knowledge at a much faster rate.

Moonlighting and Preparation

Dr. Johnson graduated from UNECOM in 1992, after a year spent as an OMM fellow. He did his internship at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine, then did his residency at UNECOM where he combined OMM and Family Practice. His years at Eastern Maine Med were a challenge, he says, since he worked long hours and his student loans came due. He chose to “moonlight” in local ERs to earn extra money. “I think I topped out at 126 hours a week,” he remembers with a wry smile, “If you do the math, there are only 168 hours in a week. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to sleep.” Still, he benefited from the great teaching opportunities afforded by his work at various clinics or rural hospitals. “Sometimes it’s scary as hell,” he says, “but those same times can be when you learn the most.”

In the past fifteen years, Dr. Johnson has filled a number of leadership positions on regional and national organizations that have prepared him for his current role as Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs (Interim) at UNECOM. He is certified by the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and the American Osteopathic Board of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine. He served as a faculty member of the Eastern Maine Medical Center/UNECOM Family Practice Residency for 9 years, and held several directorships at EMMC over the last decade. He served three terms on the American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO) Board of Trustees and is currently president. Dr. Johnson is also president of the Northeast Osteopathic Medical Education Network (NEOMEN), chairs the OPTI committee, and has served as Chief Medical Officer for the Health Access Network, a federally qualified healthcare network providing medical care to northern rural Penobscot County. 

In the process, he has developed an expert sense of organizational direction and big-picture thinking that he hopes will make the Clinical Affairs division at UNECOM even more successful. “Over the last ten years I have worked with finances, budgets, personnel questions, post-grad training, and student rotations,” he says, “all of which have prepared me for my current role at UNECOM.” Dr. Johnson has extensive personal knowledge of the entire clinical education process. As a clinician, he brings a CEO’s long-term planning perspective to a field usually left to physicians. His responsibilities include all things clinical: Preceptor training, rotations, OPTI and GME, faculty and clinical chair reports, and Continuing Medical Education (CME).

A Good Balance

The list of responsibilities is daunting, but Dr. Johnson brings a boyish enthusiasm to the job. He hopes to look at systems currently in place to see how they can be streamlined or improved. “We want to have effective, efficient, and integrated systems,” he states. “We need to be clear on our mission, values, and goals. Organizations are a little bit like an old house. There may be additions, improvements, or remodels that need to be done. You need to step back and look at the big picture. Really, you can do anything you want, but you can’t do everything you want, so you need to focus on what’s important. Avoid the minutia, focus on the long-term benefits.”

In a recent interview, Dr. Johnson sat casually in his office between meetings, mindful of the time, but focused on the present. It is a balancing act he has learned to perfect. “It takes a lot of planning,” he says in response to a question about balancing home life and professional responsibilities. “I plan and organize to maximize my time. With three young children (Katelyn, Brian, and Eric), mornings and evenings don’t exist for me as a professional. I make sure to spend time with my family.” He gestures proudly at the pictures of his kids on his office wall. His wife Lynda is a clinical psychologist, so the two must plan time together. “We have a wicked busy family life,” he says, “but if I plan, the important things get done.”

Still, in this delicate balancing act, there are times when Dr. Johnson can’t avoid crossing responsibilities. “I’ve been known to make conference calls on the cell phone while out on a run,” the avid runner chuckles. It is a busy transitional time, but Dr. Johnson is pleased with his new role. “I love what I’m doing,” he says genuinely, “and I have a sense of fulfillment as I work. People here [at UNECOM] are great: kind, caring, and thoughtful.” The feeling is mutual, and UNECOM, for its part, is glad to have him.

It is a good balance.

-Steve Smith, RSAS