Surgeon Answers Call of Duty

by Jan Arrant

Surgeons like Dr. Stuart Johnston must be problem solvers with a knack for keeping calm under pressure – skills that have also distinguished Dr. Johnston as a U.S. Army Reserve colonel who’s served in combat zones around the world.

Currently the Medical Director of Trauma at Methodist Richardson Medical Center, Dr. Johnston always knew he wanted to be a surgeon for one reason.

“I saw it as a hands-on way to help people,” he said.

Three decades ago, Dr. Johnston enlisted in the Reserves to help pay back the expenses for his medical education. He wasn’t supposed to be called to active duty, but that all changed on Sept. 11, 2001, when the U.S. was attacked by terrorists.

“Since then, I’ve been deployed eight times,” Dr. Johnston said. “I’ve been to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Bosnia when they were all combat zones.”

Healing War Victims

In Afghanistan, he was based just 6 miles from the Pakistan border. He said they took daily rocket fire from terrorists.

“The injuries we saw were from heavy military trauma,” he said of the MASH-like surgical hospital where he was stationed.

With two operating rooms set up inside a shared space, he found the close quarters challenging at first, but he soon discovered he and the other surgeon could talk and collaborate when needed.

During that deployment, one of his roommates was killed in the line of duty. That colleague, a nurse, had cared for an Afghan burn patient who made a touching tribute that sticks with Dr. Johnston to this day.

“He was barely able to hold a pen because of his burns, but the patient wrote a note to the fallen soldier’s family to thank them for everything the nurse had done to care for him.”

Humanitarian Help

The last deployments, at a base in Honduras, were quite different. Dr. Johnston took part in a humanitarian mission in Central America, working with physicians to provide surgical help, along with equipment and supplies.

“That was the best thing the army’s ever done for me,” he said. “I learned a lot from them. It gave me a whole new perspective on how spoiled we are here in the U.S.”

Dr. Johnston said it was his most gratifying deployment because the people were so appreciative.

Benefits of Service

Dr. Johnston credits the Army with advancing his education and leadership skills, while also introducing him to a network of surgeons and providers from around the world on whom he can call at any time.

He’s also grateful to his practice partners, who had to take extra calls and cover his patients while he was away, and to Methodist Richardson’s administrators for seeing the value of his service and allowing him to do it.

But Dr. Johnston said the most credit goes to those back home. He said he would never have been able to do this without the support of his wife.

“The one back home worrying has the harder job,” he said.

As for what the future holds, Dr. Johnston said he may get out of the Reserve in the next year or so, but right now there’s a critical shortage of trauma surgeons. He is a true servant leader who answers the call of duty, whenever it comes. •

Texas law prohibits hospitals from practicing medicine. The physicians on the Methodist Health System medical staff are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Methodist Health System.