Laura S. Johnson, MD, FACS, FCCP, Receives 2022 RAS-ACS Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award

In recognition of her work to develop women surgeons and help younger surgeons identify their true passions, the ACS presented the 2022 Resident and Associate Society (RAS-ACS) Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award to Laura S. Johnson, MD, FACS, FCCP, at the Clinical Congress 2022 Convocation.

Dr. Johnson is the medical director of the Walter L. Ingram Burn Center at Grady Memorial Hospital and associate program director of the Emory Department of Surgery's general surgery residency in Atlanta, Georgia. She previously was a member of the surgical team at the Burn Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and was nominated by her colleagues at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital and Washington Hospital Center.

“In everything Dr. Johnson does she curates that mantra of see one, do one, teach one, even in regards to her mentorship. She exemplifies traits and behaviors that we can model to help our peers also move forward,” said Yewande Alimi, MD, assistant professor of surgery at Georgetown University School of Medicine, in her nomination letter. Dr. Alimi is Past-Chair of the RAS-ACS.

Dr. Johnson is known for her advocacy of surgeon wellness. In her award nomination letter, one resident who worked with her noted Dr. Johnson’s efforts to help her through a period of burnout. “She helped me identify what I was going through, work through it, and now encourages me to help my junior residents do the same,” the resident said.

Read more about Dr. Johnson and the award.