About Shane Johnson
Born and raised in Red Deer, Dr. Johnson developed a passion for medicine at an early age. When he was 6 years old he helped care for his grandfather, who’s health was ailing due to mustard gas exposure after being in WWII. Dr. Johnson would help him in and out of bed, bring him food, and listen to his stories to keep him company. This experience of helping his grandfather and the bond they developed had a significant impact on Dr. Johnson personally and in his future career choice.
During his undergraduate degree at the University of Calgary, Dr. Johnson jumped at the opportunity to job shadow a Medical Doctor. Walking into the clinic he was excited to take his first step into the world of medicine. Unfortunately, he left the experience feeling disillusioned; “How can you get a patient’s whole story in 8 to 10 minutes?” he thought. This was not what he envisioned medicine to look like and was very disappointed. At a crossroads as to what his future career was going to be, he began researching other medical professions.
Mother Knows Best
On the advice of his mother, Dr. Johnson decided to job shadow a Naturopathic Doctor (ND). The amount of time that the ND spent with her patients, hearing their story, and getting to the root cause of the patient’s issues, were the main things that drew Dr. Johnson to pursue a Naturopathic medical degree.
Dr. Johnson completed his Naturopathic medical program at Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington.
One Of The Few ND’s In Alberta
Dr. Johnson is one of very few ND’s in Alberta to be accepted into a competitive certified 1-year residency in family practice, which he completed at the Southwest Naturopathic Medical Center in Tempe, Arizona. He saw more patients in 1 year of residency than most ND’s see in their first 5 years of private practice.
During his residency, Dr. Johnson was able to work as a naturopathic doctor (ND) but with a similar scope to MD’s, as Arizona licenses naturopathic doctors as primary care providers. Thus, Dr. Johnson was able to prescribe medications, worked in hospitals and other community health centers, in addition to his Naturopathic training. This is where Dr. Johnson saw firsthand the value of MD’s and ND’s working on the same team, and where his vision of the “2 Doctor System” developed; which he would later bring to Canada.
Helping So Many People Who Didn’t Have Insurance
Dr. Johnson worked at a make shift community health clinic that was set up in a church one day per week in Phoenix, AZ. This clinic provided free medical care to individuals who had no health insurance. He will never forget his first day when he turned the corner 30 minutes before his shift started and there was already a lineup of at least 50 people around the church waiting for the doors to open. These patients often suffered from common conditions that had been left without medical care for too long, which was really unfortunate to see. This included individuals with years of uncontrolled diabetes, skin infections that were extremely infected and risked serious surgery or loss of limbs, to children who had never seen a doctor and needed basic medical support. Being able to help so many people who so badly needed it reconfirmed Dr. Johnson’s passion for helping others.
He Excels In Complicated Cases
Dr. Johnson is driven by helping people feel better, so they can live their best life possible. He loves finding the underlying cause of each patient’s disease and set of symptoms, and the investigative work that this brings on, especially in complicated health cases.
He is a member in good standing of both the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta (CNDA) and the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors (CAND).
Dr. Johnson integrates herbal medicine, nutrition, IV therapy and lifestyle counseling into his practice. As a result of working with a Gastroenterologist in Arizona as part of his residency, he developed a special interest in digestive issues such as IBS, Crohns, Colitis, GERD, Celiac disease and stomach ulcers. Due to this experience he has a very well rounded education and approach with both natural and conventional medical treatments for intestinal conditions.
High School Sweetheart
Outside of the clinic, Dr. Johnson spends his time with his two sons and his high school sweetheart, Dr. Jennie, a child and teen psychologist. They love spending time as a family outside on the lake, golfing, and playing hockey.
Add Dr. Johnson to your medical team today!
