Hybrid OR Vascular/CT, EP lab, Cardiac Cath lab Services, Duke University Health Systems
By Matt Skoufalos
Growing up on a farm in Halifax County, North Carolina, Kelvin Johnson learned all about hard work, improvisational engineering and caregiving – three elements that would come to underpin his successful career as a cardiovascular specialist.
From 1985 to 1996, Johnson’s world involved the care and cultivation of livestock, figuring out ways to complete his chores with equipment that intermittently failed or only partly worked, and dedicating himself to supporting the family members that he shared his days with. After school, he was an athlete, finding his outlet in sports like track and field and wrestling, while also working on a competitive engineering team that converted gas-powered vehicles to run on electricity.
Although Johnson never believed in himself as an academic – he described feeling shy as a youth, and didn’t derive confidence from his grades – he did embrace his identity as a hard worker. And much of that came from being brought into life on the farm.
“It was hard work, but it made me who I am today,” Johnson said. “I could have been a person who was a nobody; in my hometown, there’s nobody pushing us to be greater. But in my travels, what people saw in me was my work ethic. They knew that if something needed to get done, I would get it done. I would be there for my team.”
The first instance Johnson can recall of being recognized for his efforts came in the late 1990s, when he was working as a security officer at the human resources facility for UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. At the behest of a colleague there, he decided to “take a leap of faith into nursing assistance.” Along that path, Johnson discovered that the hospital environment provided a continually unfolding backdrop that stoked his curiosity.
“I found everything around me intriguing,” he said. “While I was learning from a position that was created for me to help coordinate patients for testing, I was falling in love with X-rays and ultrasounds.”
A few years later, Johnson applied to be a lab tech in the cardiac center at WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina, and then began schooling to become a radiology technologist. When the facility pulled its support for their program before his clinicals could be completed, Johnson was grandfathered into the program based on his work ethic and his prior accomplishments within the facility.
Around the same time, Johnson also spent years working as a caregiver in group home settings. He said that those experiences helped him learn how to compassionately address the needs of people in vulnerable circumstances, and bolstered his bedside manner in the hospital environment.
“When you take care of people years on end, you treat everybody the same,” he said. “It’s almost like caring for a family member.”
Johnson also learned to trust his intuition as a student by pursuing additional schooling. While now standing as team lead of a specialized hybrid OR vascular team, Johnson seeks to challenge himself and pursue a degree in electronics engineering and technology (EET), at ECPI University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has found positive reinforcement for his academic achievements from his instructors, and carried that momentum forward into his career as well as his personal life.
“I was always the kid in school that was smart, but I never gave myself credit for it,” Johnson said. “I would always have the answers, but never raise my hand. It was only when I went to college that I could see how smart I was.”
“My EET instructor said, ‘You’ve got the highest grades in here, but you’re always the last one to leave on test day because you’re detail-oriented,’” Johnson said.
“I regret not pushing myself as far on the education part,” he said. “I got geared to go to school because I needed to show myself that I can do it, and give me something to show my parents that they can be proud of.”
At WakeMed Raleigh, Johnson spent 11 years as an electrophysiology tech, but he also endeavored to learn “everybody’s position, not just mine.” He learned how to be a specialist in the invasive cardiac lab, and upgraded his knowledge base to contribute to hybrid procedures. When a clinical nurse manager and former coworker from Wake Medical reached out to Johnson to join them at Duke University Health Systems, saying, “they need somebody with your work ethic,” he turned the offer down once, and then finally said yes in 2012.
“In the OR, I support cardio thoracic, vascular and orthopedic services, interventional radiology, the cath lab, electrophysiology lab, and labor and delivery,” Johnson said. “I’m a high-demand employee here, on-call with the surgeons in the hybrid OR team. When they get called, I’ve got to beat them here to help save a life. I’m probably one of the most experienced techs in the hospital, and I take good pride in having all the knowledge I have.”
“It’s a high-tempo, rewarding job; definitely a job that can push you to your limits, but it’s all into getting it done for the patient,” Johnson said. “I’m going to continue doing what I’m doing, and if I can take steps to do the next thing, I’m always thinking of ways we can make health care better here in the OR.”
After more than 20 years in the profession, Johnson isn’t sure whether he will ultimately continue working in a hospital environment, or leverage his broad skill base and passion for engineering and problem-solving into a position in the medical device industry. At 46, he describes himself as “generally a happy person at the core,” and still working “to push myself to do great things.”
In his time away from work, Johnson said he enjoys travel, live entertainment and high-quality spirits. He is in a loving relationship, deeply devoted to his nieces, friends, and family, and continues to explore the best of what life has to offer him.
“I’m not the easiest person to bore or quit,” he said. “There’s so many windows of opportunity open for me to take, but also all the right reasons to love my career as an invasive cardiovascular specialist.”
Professional Spotlight Nomination
The post Spotlight On: Kelvin Johnson, CVIS appeared first on OR Today.