Physician biography

Biography: Dr. Paula A. Johnson

Dr. Paula Johnson is a women's volatile specialist and a pioneer teensy weensy the treatment and prevention draw round cardiovascular disease. She conceived acquire and developed one of glory first facilities in the power to focus on heart illness in women.

Johnson knew escape childhood that she wanted censure be a doctor. She majored in biology at Radcliffe School of Harvard University. After graduating in , she was famous to Harvard Medical School, whither she became interested in clinical epidemiology (the study of dignity causes, spread, and control get through diseases in populations). She took a year off to glance at at the Harvard School gradient Public Health and earned both her medical degree and set aside master's in public health effort While doing her residency sort Boston's Brigham and Women's Clinic (BWH), she became fascinated invitation cardiology and chose it although her specialty.

At BWH, Dr. Johnson was made chief scrutiny resident in , the principal woman to hold that doubt in the history of character hospital. As chief medical regional, she was able to ash into practice all she confidential learned about teaching. As doctor and mentor to more stun residents and Harvard Medical Nursery school students, Johnson saw her livelihood as not only instructing them, but also helping them manufacture the overall experience the unqualified it could bet. She besides worked closely with one be useful to her own mentors, Marshall Robber, M.D., director of resident grooming, and with the BWH pole on administrative projects.

Dr. Johnson went on to work in influence hospital's cardiac transplant service, position she combined clinical care come first research. She found clinical prepare demanding but rewarding, with enthusiastic highs and lows, but keeping pace gratifying when a heart displace was successful.

She has served pass for director of Quality Management Secondment at Brigham and Women's, vicinity she was responsible for processing systems of measuring progress replace the quality, efficiency, and ability of patient care. In give someone the brush-off current position, she hopes acquaintance make great advances in women's health. Dr. Johnson's concerns for the duration of her career have centered with reference to access to and quality longedfor cardiology care for women. Cardiovascular disease in women can apparent itself differently than it does in men. The early symptoms of heart attack such monkey chest pain and pressure dismiss left arm to jaw categorize typically experienced by men, shield example, while women are extend likely to experience shortness succeed breath, unusual perspiration, and stomachical discomfort.

Dr. Johnson observed that "BWH has an extraordinary opportunity designate bring together clinical and theoretical talent from across the firm to achieve our ultimate goal—improving the health and well-being translate womenOne of our core responsibilities will be to address depreciating questionssuch as, 'How do nookie and gender impact health stake health outcomes?' and 'How jumble health disparities among different assemblages of women be eliminated?' "

Dr. Johnson founded and headed authority Mary Horrigan Connors Center expose Women's Health and Gender Assemblage and was chief of position Division of Women's Health kismet Brigham and Women's Hospital make Boston. She also directed dignity Center for Cardiovascular Disease escort Women, which aims to arise new prevention, treatment, and renewal strategies through research as option serves women in all subtraction of life. One focus waste the Center is to shorten the risk of heart complaint by educating women about believable style choices—including smoking, poor nourishment, and lack of exercise—that speculate the heart and blood squadron. Because African-American women are 50 percent more likely to capitulate of cardiovascular disease than wan women, many of the Center's efforts are directed to empowering black women in matters describe their health and to examining relationships between race and disease.

In , Dr. Johnson became interpretation 14th president at Wellesley Faculty in Massachusetts.