Jeffery Johns, MD, associate professor and vice chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), has been elected to serve as the chair of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) for a three-year term, beginning Aug. 1.
Founded in 1947, the ABPMR is the national medical certifying board for the specialty of PM&R. It is one of 24 medical specialty boards that make up the American Board of Medical Specialties.
The ABPMR board of directors is a group of distinguished leaders in the field of PM&R and its subspecialties: pediatric rehabilitation medicine, spinal cord injury medicine, brain injury medicine, pain medicine, sports medicine and neuromuscular medicine.
“It is a true honor to be chosen to lead ABPMR as its next chair as we continue to optimize professionalism and high-quality care for the patients PM&R physicians serve by ensuring that we have a meaningful and valuable PM&R certification process,” Johns said.
Johns is the medical director of Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital and the executive medical director of the Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine Patient Care Center at VUMC. His clinical expertise includes spinal cord injury medicine, brain injury medicine, spasticity management, burn rehabilitation and amputation rehabilitation.
He holds subspecialty certification in spinal cord injury medicine, and he previously served as president of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals, which is the nation’s largest multidisciplinary professional society in the field of spinal cord injury.
“Congratulations to Dr. Johns,” said D.J. Kennedy, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. “His exemplary dedication to the field and outstanding leadership skills have made him the perfect fit for this prestigious role. I am confident that under his guidance the ABPMR will continue to set high standards and advance the practice of PM&R.”
Johns holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a medical degree from Duke University. He completed an internship at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga and his PM&R residency at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he was also chief resident.
Johns came to Vanderbilt in 2013. He has served as a director on the ABPMR board of directors since 2018, and he is currently completing his third year as vice chair of ABPMR.
