We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful SHAWN JOHNSON, MD. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with SHAWN below.
Alright, SHAWN thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
My defining moment in my professional career came in November 2022. I received a letter in the mail from my employer at the time stating that they would no longer need my services after 90 days. I was taken aback. I’m an orthopedic surgeon with years of experience. I built the hospital’s orthopedic department from scratch because they had not had an organic orthopedic practice for more than ten years before hiring me in 2020. Per the CEO, my patient census was 1100, and the department was seemingly doing well. I and my peers later found out that another healthcare system had purchased the hospital, which decided to terminate several employees’ contracts without any explanation, including my entire department.
This was the second time in my professional career that an institution left my family and me without financial security. The first time, I accepted a contract position at another hospital in Greater Houston that, due to mismanagement, paid me $3500 for six months of work. I remember saying, “This is how people end up homeless.” Unfortunately, I did not heed my intuition and was in another situation threatening my family’s livelihood.
That led me to make a decision I never thought I would make at age 46. I decided to open my own business. It is a one-woman show with the help of God and the people He placed in my life to see this through. I named my company Intuition Orthopaedics, LLC (Yes, the Latin spelling). I will never go against my intuition again. All things happen according to God’s timing and His will. So, here I am, now 47, opening my private practice, Austin County Orthopedics – “A Direct Orthopedic Care Clinic.”
If there is ever going to be a time that my financial security, freedom, and my family’s livelihood will be at risk, there will be no one else to blame. I am now my own boss. The uncertainty in the healthcare industry is at an all-time high. The overwhelming expenses and decreasing reimbursements for the same, if not more challenging, services doctors provide lead to their burnout. All these issues can lead to subpar healthcare for the one constant…THE PATIENT. I will continue to work with healthcare organizations, but not FOR one. I am practicing orthopedic medicine on my terms and that of my patients.
SHAWN, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a Houstonian through and through. Growing up in Houston, TX, I attended two historically black high schools, Booker T. Washington and graduated from Jack Yates High School. I then studied in San Marcos, TX, and graduated with a dual degree from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State). I obtained my medical degree at the respected UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. At that time, I became a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army and completed my orthopedic surgery residency at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso. I served our country as a staff orthopedic surgeon in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, including two combat tours.
I’m really into sports. My time with the military felt like I was treating “America’s sports team!” After all, its members are expected to be in their best physical condition when charged with serving our country. It is the responsibility of active-duty medical staff to maintain that condition at all times. After ten years of military service, I chose to advance my career with a Sports Medicine fellowship at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, LA. I remained on staff as a surgeon there following my fellowship.
In 2018, after 24 years, I decided to return home to the Houston area near my family and friend base. I now reside just west of Houston with my husband, Christopher Burrell, and my mother is only a few minutes away.
My vision is to provide Greater Houston and its surrounding communities with state-of-the-art, direct orthopedic care using a patient-focused approach that prioritizes the patient-surgeon relationship, open communication, and superior accessibility to optimize patient outcomes. I will focus my time on thorough and compassionate service with collective treatment plan development while ensuring the most efficient process for the patient. Direct care allows extended visits with the patient and more access and time with me, their surgeon.
My previous work experiences have taught me how to manage orthopedic diagnoses better, interact with patients, and develop the best surgeon-patient relationship to optimize care. Those traits have led me to open Austin County Orthopedics, “A Direct Orthopedic Care Clinic,” when I began to feel that the traditional healthcare model was robbing me of my time with patients and thus robbing my patients of the best care.
As a surgeon, I believe in the prevention of injury and maintenance of overall health in the management of musculoskeletal ailments. Open, honest, direct, and timely communication is paramount in the patient-physician relationship. This optimizes patient outcomes and educates patients on their diagnosis, prognosis, treatment options, and expectations. I emphasize conservative treatment options when indicated and work to ensure the patient is involved in the treatment plan. I hold myself and the patient accountable regarding those agreed-upon treatment plans and work to ensure the patient and family members adequately understand all aspects of their care. Patient communication with the office staff is encouraged during appointments via phone, e-mail, or patient-centered computer applications. To achieve these goals, I need time with my patients.
The ACO direct-pay orthopedic care experience educates patients about their diagnoses and a comprehensive plan for resolving their symptoms while being financially transparent. Further, ACO can bring orthopedic care directly to the patient, whether their place of employment, primary care doctor’s office, physical therapy location, assisted living, or independent living community.
I am most proud of the work I have put in this year to make my practice come to fruition. 2023 has been an actual test. My faith in God and His ability to guide me have been paramount.
I look forward to providing stellar services to my community in 2024. “It’s about time with your surgeon!”
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
As of the most recent census performed by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in 2018, the field of orthopedic surgery is 5.8% female and 1.9% African-American. Let that sink in… look at my picture, and let it sink in again. Although the landscape is changing within the realm of orthopedics, we are not on the brink of having equal representation in my beloved field of expertise. I applaud the efforts being made by those in leadership.
If I had to say what is necessary to help succeed in my field other than training and knowledge, focus. The training and expertise are complex, and they are a constant in medicine. However, with extreme focus throughout my years of education and training, I got past the fact that I was sometimes the only woman in the room. I was able to get past the fact that I was sometimes the only African American in the room. And even further, the only African-American woman in the room. I had just experienced that when I was well along my path to becoming an orthopedist. I was taken aback, of course, but my focus prevented me from being overwhelmed by being underrepresented. Compartmentalizing comments and actions men took toward me as an under-represented person helped tremendously. There were times when I thought, “Why is it like this? It sure would be nice to have someone that looks like me when I walk into a room of peers.” I did have residency peers who allowed me to feel comfortable, but no one with whom I thought I could share any vulnerability.
Nevertheless, I continued on the path God chose for me. The ability to manage the expectations of an orthopedic residency and fellowship and feel alone most times is to be recognized. My ability to focus is one of the reasons why, when I started my residency, I was the only woman. When I ended the program, it had accepted several female residents. I knew my ability to manage would set the tone for those behind me. So, I rocked on and achieved my goals at each level.
Being “the only” was worth it because it prepared me for another period when I was one of the few female surgeons on combat tours when I served in the Army. I worked with surgeons from our ally countries, all men. I had to report to commanders of field units/combat units that were most often men. However, I knew by then how to manage being in the room when everyone around me didn’t look like me and was not dealing with the same stressors that I was. Had I not experienced some of the situations in residency, I am sure it would have been more challenging to manage on an international stage.
I encourage people of walks to develop an intense focus to reach their goals. That skill will allow them to move past obstacles meant to deter them from their goals. Marginalized people within their work or peer communities will especially benefit from honing this skill.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Just when I thought I had performed the ultimate pivot in my career, from employed to self-employed, another reality came. I hoped to open my practice in a new building where I served patients. I wanted to be near the rural areas surrounding Houston. My time working over the last two and half years showed me how much of a need was present for those underserved and under or uninsured. I wanted to get the funding and the resources I needed to offer my orthopedic services to some of my previous patient population and new patients who needed solid orthopedic care. Well, that lasted about five months after doing everything necessary to have a business. Then, after hunting for spaces for my practice and subsequently hunting for funding, I found nothing. My best opportunities to get up and going would be in Houston proper. But that was not my plan, and I felt like I would be abandoning the patient population in the community from my previous employment. I wanted to be close to them and bring care to them.
Luckily, I had been working with someone who told me to pause and step back. My coach, Dr. Abby, walked me through the fact that I was not abandoning my hopes of being able to provide for the rural areas but that I needed to prioritize my financial stability and freedoms to give me more options to serve that community. Once I can solidify my financial future, I can give back more. What I can’t do is GIVE what I don’t HAVE!
I returned to the drawing board, determined to re-work my business model. Direct care is still the focus, but now, I will make myself mobile. I can go to patients and close the distance gap that keeps them from seeking the care they need. I can provide constant and compassionate care for my patients that catapults me into a space where I am earning what I need, what I want, and more to give back to my community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.drshawnmdortho.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austin.county.orthopedics/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/austincountyorthopedics/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-johnson-aa928a183/
Image Credits
Simone Orjiako Smith Shutterstock