Author: David Johnson, MD

In addition to his writing, teaching, and business responsibilities with Wilderness Medical Associates, David (DJ) also works as an Emergency Physician at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Maine His outdoor pursuits have included wilderness canoeing in Canada, climbing and hiking in North and South America, coastal kayaking in the Georgia and Maine and blue water sailing around and across the Atlantic Ocean. DJ is passionate about curriculum development and teaching. His biggest challenge is to try and make apparently complicated concepts accessible and usable for people regardless of where they have to deliver care. DJ states that it is “…often more important to have clarity about the urgency and severity of a problem than it is to have a precise diagnosis. We need to understand what a patient does or does not have and whether or not it is a big deal.” His reward is the light bulb going on in students minds. When one can say “I’ve got it; I didn’t realize it would be so simple!”