I was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and although I have lived in Halifax much longer than I lived on the Island, I still see myself as an Islander at heart. After 2 years of undergraduate studies at Dalhousie, I started my medical education (also at Dal), which continues even in retirement. I received my medical degree in 1979 and then started postgraduate training that included a series of cross-continent moves. Internship was in Edmonton, internal medicine residency back in Halifax, infectious diseases fellowship in Los Angeles, and finally hospital epidemiology fellowship in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In 1987, I returned home to Canada and a position in Dalhousie’s Faculty of Medicine and an appointment at the Halifax Infirmary, followed by a transfer to the Victoria General Hospital before subsequent mergers to form the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre. I retired in 2020 as a Professor of Medicine and then took a post-retirement appointment, extending my working life another 2 years (due COVID-19). My clinical activities over the years focused on inpatient and outpatient consultations for infectious diseases and hospital infection prevention and control. My early years in medical training and work saw the beginning of the HIV epidemic; my middle years the appearance of SARS CoV-1, the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, and the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistant microorganisms; and my last years the largest Ebola outbreak to date and, finally, the once in a century pandemic. In 2015 I spent 3 months in Sierra Leone as a consultant in infection prevention and control as part of the WHO’s Ebola response. Life was never boring. I remained active in undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing medical education throughout my career and was the Division Chief for Infectious Diseases for 12 years and HIV Clinic Director for 30 years.

Over the years I have had the privilege of volunteering with a number of organizations, which introduced me to colleagues throughout the country and provided me a greater education than I could ever have imagined. These have included the Public Health Agency of Canada Steering Committee for Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines, the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program, the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Just a little over a year into retirement, I still feel as though I am catching up on rest! I enjoy getting out for a long(ish) walk most days and have done two things I never thought I would: started yoga and took pickle ball lessons (thanks ADRP for the pickle ball). I have embarked on exploring my family’s geneology and learned that I am Irish, not Scottish. I am relearning my love of reading. And most importantly, I am renewing old friendships and making new ones and spending more time with family. I look forward to serving as a director at large for ADRP.

Lynn Johnston

May 8, 2024