Talking to the Children Who Followed Their Parents into Otolaryngology

Michael M. Johns III, MD (right), decided to follow his father Michael M.E. Johns II, MD’s, footsteps into medicine instead of economics, as he found business boring and felt medicine was a “noble profession.”

Q: What has been the most challenging part of sharing the same profession?

Dr. Johns III: Well, my dad is considerably more well-known and, by objective standards, has made a greater contribution to the world, so there’s a sense of my having to prove myself. And people have judgments, of course. They would parse me into either “the chosen one” who has this greatness embedded in my genes or an idiot who got to where I was because of who my father is. But, in the end, it was a powerful driver for me to perform and prove myself.

Q: What have been the benefits of being father–son otolaryngologists?

Dr. Johns III: Having an otolaryngologist as a parent, especially an academic otolaryngologist, gave me early exposure to the people, societies, and structure of otolaryngology. In the early years, our family vacations were typically paired with a Triological Society meeting or some other conference. I grew up going to a lot of otolaryngology conferences. Sometimes when my mom was busy, I’d be parked at my dad’s office, and I would see him wearing the head mirror and gain an understanding of what he did. As a physician, he has served as a fabulous mentor and motivator for me.

Dr. Johns II: It’s kind of fun to see him grow and be successful in the field. He’s such a thoughtful and creative guy. He sees a lot of different things. In terms of research, he always applied it both in the lab and then clinically. He’s a superstar.

Linda Kossoff is a freelance medical writer based in Woodland Hills, Calif.