David Johnson

David (DJ) is a retired emergency physician and former Owner, President, and Medical Director of Wilderness Medical Associates International. His outdoor pursuits have included wilderness canoeing in Canada, climbing and hiking in North and South America, coastal kayaking in Georgia and Maine, and sailing around 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; for instance, when a student says: “I’ve got it; I didn’t realize it would be so simple!”