Paul Johnson, MD speaks during the President’s Dinner at the WMS Annual Meeting, June 4 in Moran, Wyo.
By Tom Lacock
Wyoming Medical Society
CHEYENNE – Cheyenne ENT Paul Johnson, MD, FACS began his one-year terms as president of the Wyoming Medical Society (WMS) July 1. Johnson is a partner at Southeast Wyoming Ear, Nose and Throat in Cheyenne where is a head and neck surgeon.
The Wyoming Medical Society was founded in 1903 to provide representation, advocacy and service to Wyoming physicians. The president of the WMS serves a one-year term as the head of the 23-person Board of Trustees, which is made up of Wyoming physicians and one Physician Assistant.
“I am very excited to take the helm of the Wyoming Medical Society,” said Johnson. “We have an energized and capable Board of Trustees. We do face some challenges in Wyoming medicine this year, given our state budget cuts, which are influencing communities, hospitals, and payers. We hope to contribute in a meaningful way to decisions made at the state level.”
Johnson is no stranger to the WMS having been a member since 2010 and a member of the WMS Board of Trustees since 2011. He has held the office of secretary-treasurer in 2014, and in 2015 was the organization’s vice president.
“We are very fortunate to have a physician of Dr. Johnson’s calibre bring his energy to leading the WMS Board of Trustees this year,” said WMS Executive Director Sheila Bush. “We all are keenly aware of challenges in our state related to the economy. With Dr. Johnson’s leadership, WMS will remain vigilant on issues important to physicians, such as reimbursement, insurance regulation, and protecting the ability for Wyoming doctors to care for their patients without unnecessary government interference.”
Johnson earned his undergraduate degree in biology at Baylor University in Waco, TX before attending the University of Washington through the WWAMI program for his Medical Degree. His postgraduate training included time at Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia and Cornell Universities in New York, where he was an intern, resident and chief resident of the Otolaryngology department.
He remains active in medical training as a clinical instructor through the University of Washington’s Department of Otolaryngology and an adjunct clinical faculty member of the University of Wyoming’s Family Residency Program. He also currently sits on the Dean’s Advisory Board for the University of Wyoming’s College of Health Sciences, and the WWAMI Advisory Board.
“It’s really great to see WMS support efforts come full circle with regard to the Wyoming WWAMI program,” Bush said. “Dr. Johnson will make history by serving as the first WWAMI Medical School graduate to serve as WMS President.”
Johnson is Board Certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology, a Fellow with the American Academy of Otolaryngic, A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the American Rhinologic, The American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Otolaryngology.
“I’m eager to continue working with the WMS board on some very exciting and timely projects, and can’t wait to see what this year will bring under Dr. Johnson’s enthusiastic and capable leadership as President.