When Paige Johnson, MD, sees a patient, delivers a baby or mentors a resident or medical student at UT Medical, she is putting the mission and vision of the University of Tennessee Health Sciences into action.
Dr. Johnson completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency through UT Health Sciences in 2003 and is one of hundreds of UT Health Sciences faculty physicians, medical residents, fellows and staff working at UT Medical providing expert care for the people of East Tennessee.
Since 1963, a partnership between UT Health Sciences and UT Medical means that East Tennesseans benefit from having the “the region’s only academic health system” in their city.
“It’s in our blood, it’s in our heritage, that we train people to be healthcare providers in our community,” said Dr. Johnson, who has been a physician at UT Medical for 27 years and is the assistant dean for undergraduate medical education in the UT Health Sciences College of Medicine – Knoxville. “It’s that we very much identify with the UT Health Sciences mission. We feel, as the state’s institution, it’s our job to take care of the residents of the state, and we work really hard across the state to make sure that happens. It’s what makes UT Health Sciences impactful.”
Consider the following numbers. They illustrate the presence of the UT Health Sciences College of Medicine – Knoxville at UT Medical.
- 263 regular paid faculty members
- 282 medical residents and fellows
- 210 staff
With approximately 500 providers at UT Medical Center, UT Medical’s main campus, UT Health Sciences College of Medicine – Knoxville faculty account for roughly half of that provider group, not to mention the medical residents also providing care. In fact, if you receive care there, the chances are good that a UT Health Sciences College of Medicine physician, resident or fellow will be the provider, and students will be learning from them to provide the best care in the future.
“I think one of the things I love about being an academic faculty and being part of UT Health Sciences is that it really helps me be the best provider I can be, as well as to take excellent care of my patients, and then pass on the tradition that I hold dear to my heart, which is that everybody needs good mentors and good educators,” Dr. Johnson said. “And you know, we are not the healthiest state, so being able to know that I’m doing my small part and bridging that gap is really meaningful.”
Across Tennessee, healthcare professionals from UT Health Sciences are doing the same for their communities in partnership with major hospitals, rural clinics and community care settings.
In Memphis, UT Health Sciences physicians, residents, fellows and other healthcare professionals are a significant presence among the staff at Regional One Health, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Baptist Memorial Health Care, LT. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center and Saint Francis Hospital.
Statewide, they represent a major presence among the staff at UT Medical in Knoxville, Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Erlanger in Chattanooga and West Tennessee Healthcare – Jackson Madison County General Hospital in Jackson. Residency programs at three new partner hospitals, Maury Regional Health, Starr Regional Medical Center in Athens and Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital in Knoxville, further extend UT Health Sciences’ educational and clinical reach.
The new pediatric residency partnership with Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital is the region’s first pediatric graduate medical education program in nearly 25 years.
Additionally in Knoxville, the new University Honors Health Fellows Program in partnership with UT Knoxville creates a structured pathway preparing highly qualified honors students for future admission to health professions programs at UT Health Sciences. Increased pre-health advising programs strengthen support for students of all majors to consider careers in healthcare. Both programs embody the Be One UT values and stand to increase the healthcare workforce in the region.
UT Health Sciences’ statewide footprint will grow with the new $350 million College of Medicine Interdisciplinary Building. Set to open in 2030, the building will transform how students learn, train and collaborate, while expanding the number of future physicians, physician assistants and other healthcare professionals prepared to serve communities throughout the state.
“With six colleges — Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy — UT Health Sciences is the primary provider of the healthcare workforce for Tennessee,” Chancellor Peter Buckley, MD, said. “It is our honor to serve the people across the state in collaboration with our vital hospital partners, bringing the benefits of academic health sciences to clinical care, as we work together to fulfill our vision: Healthy Tennesseans. Thriving Communities.”
At UT Medical, Dr. Johnson is on the frontlines of fulfilling UT Health Sciences’ vision in Knoxville.
“The community benefits from the fact that UT Health Sciences is there and we’re all working toward similar goals, which is to provide the best care we can,” she said.
Source: news.uthsc.edu
