SPECIAL HONORS: Pulmonologist
Johnny Wong (Photo by Jay Paul)
Pulmonologist Johnny Wong wants each person he treats to feel as if he or she is Wong’s only patient. “The challenge is establishing some kind of rapport as soon as you can,” he says.
Wong, a senior partner at Pulmonary Associates of Richmond, works with both pulmonary and critical care patients. “In the ICU you have to have conversations about tough subjects. Sometimes those conversations are when folks are not doing well or don’t make it. You have to be very delicate,” Wong says. “I saw a lot of doctors that had those conversations when I was in residency, and they inspired me.”
Oncologist Kelly Hagan covers Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center in Mechanicsville, where Wong also works with patients. “He is an extremely conscientious, kind and considerate physician that will spend an incredible amount of time with patients at a critical time in their lives,” she says of Wong.
Wong displays an abundance of patience and is held in high regard by his peers, she adds. “He is one of the nicest physicians I know. If someone is handing out gold stars for behavior, he gets them on all counts.”
Growing up in Washington, D.C., and Norfolk, he admired people who took care of sick people. Says Wong, who was painfully shy as a child, “They were my early mentors.”
He attended the University of Virginia for an undergraduate degree in biology and for medical school. He completed his residency at Medical College of Virginia (now VCU Health) and a fellow-ship at Vanderbilt University. “My sister and I were the first in our family to finish college,” he says.
As a senior partner at his practice, he covers four hospitals: Bon Secours’ Memorial Regional Medical Center and St. Mary’s Hospital, and HCA’s Henrico Doctors’ Hospital and Parham Doctors’ Hospital. His practice is also on call at Bon Secours and HCA hospitals south of the James River.
Trying to provide information to the patient and multiple family members can be difficult. “It’s always easier to communicate with family members when they are on the same page and engaged. It can be challenging if they are out of sync with each other,” he says, adding, “Sometimes the patient does not want the information shared with everyone in the family.”
Time or the lack thereof can be challenging as well. “Our schedules are tight and tougher than ever,” Wong says. “Sometimes we are tired mentally and physically, but we have to try to be up to the task. I am not infallible. Sometimes I come across as too tough, but it depends on the family in the room. Knowing how and when to give them the news you want to give is very tough.”
Showing empathy is important to him. “Sometimes families express their stress in ways that look like they are disrespecting us, but we have to pause and remember they are under stress, too,” he says. “We need to have mutual respect for each other.”
