Dr. Jeffrey Johnston: Working, Spending Time with Family
Dr. Jeffrey Johnston, an orthopaedic surgeon with Mercy Health, is hanging tough with his family, including his two daughters, Mary and Violet. You can read more about Dr. Johnston at his bio on Mercy’s website.
What are some ways the COVID-19 outbreak has changed your work life?
As an orthopaedic surgeon, my typical day pre-pandemic would involve a full schedule of either surgery or seeing patients in the office. I am still doing both, but on a much more limited scale. Like other professions, we are practicing social distancing as much as possible, reserving in-person office visits for post-operative patients or those with urgent/emergent problems such as fractures and other acute injuries. Similarly, the only surgeries currently being performed are for emergent problems, for which delay would be detrimental. All elective surgeries are currently on hold, such as knee/hip replacement, shoulder surgeries such as rotator cuff repair, etc. These changes have been important not just in limiting person-to-person contact, but also in preserving medical supplies and resources for nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers dealing directly with patients affected by the virus.
Fortunately, adversity often breeds innovation, and like other professions we have been able to adapt how we typically do our job to still maintain some normalcy. This has been in the form of converting many of our office visits to virtual visits, where we are seeing patients via phone/laptop/tablet rather than in person.
How about your personal life?
Normally when I am not working, I am spending time with my family including my wife Jacque and my two daughters, Mary and Violet, who are 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 years old. Not much has changed, aside from being able to spend more time with them, which has been great. Our girls are at a really fun age and watching them interact, dress up as Disney princesses, and play in their bounce house (that is inflated in our living room), as well as all the other stuff they like to do, is something I really enjoy and I’m taking advantage of this extra time with them. Going out to eat has been replaced by ordering in. We are blessed with many great local food options in the Mahoning Valley, and we try to support as many as we can. We are staying in contact as much as possible with our families and friends via Zoom or FaceTime.
What steps are you taking to hang tough?
I think it’s important to try to maintain a routine. Mine hasn’t changed much; I am still going into work but also working from home, and I try to get a workout in daily (JTJohnston for anyone who has a Peloton and wants to ride). Increased downtime has allowed me to do more reading and also to devote time to completing tasks I had been putting off, including things around the house/yard.
What advice are you sharing with the people you love?
My advice to not only the people I love, but everyone who is feeling scared, anxious and uncertain: Hang in there. We will overcome this. It’s more important now than ever to maintain our current course, continue social distancing and stay home as much as possible. Take advantage of this time at home with family. Learn something new. Above all, maintain a positive attitude. Throughout history, during difficult times, people have always come together and overcome, and I think that is what we are witnessing now.