Each June, San Francisco celebrates Pride Month to celebrate LGBTQ+ history, community and life. As an orthopaedic practice located in the Bay Area, California Pacific Orthopaedics is delighted to recognize Pride Month and thank our team and patient population who contribute to equality. Diversity and inclusion are critical in the workplace and have become a high-priority for organizations and businesses, including healthcare organizations.
Johnna Walker, PA-C
Physician Assistant Johnna Walker (she/her), works alongside Dr. Peter Callander in clinic and surgery where she sees patients with a variety of orthopaedic injuries. She has been a part of our team for seven years and enjoys the commitment to excellent patient care at California Pacific Orthopaedics (CPO). “We have experts in all orthopaedic sub-specialities,” Johnna says. “It’s an amazing group of physicians and medical staff who really care about the patients and their recoveries.”
Johnna’s involvement in athletics motivated her to pursue a career in sports medicine. Her first goal was to become an orthopaedic surgeon, but an experience with an orthopaedic physician assistant while she was a patient encouraged her to change her career path. “I was always very involved in sports growing up and spent a lot of time in my orthopedic surgeon’s office. When I was a pre-med student at university, aiming to become an orthopedic surgeon, I injured my hand and was seen by an orthopedic physician assistant,” Johnna said.
The field of orthopaedic medicine is fascinating to Johnna, but she says that the best part of being a physician assistant is working hands-on with patients and educating and advising them about their injury, surgery, and journey to recovery. “As a physician assistant I get to cultivate a relationship with patients and am there every step of the way pre-operatively, during surgery, and post-operatively,” Johnna stated. “It’s really amazing when patients tell me that they are back to living a normal life after surgery and are back to the sports or activities that they love doing.”
As a physician assistant, Johnna not only advocates for quality patient care, but is also a strong supporter for LGBTQ+ rights, and actively supports organizations, programs and legislation aimed at uplifting LGBTQ+ communities for equality on a global and local level. Johnna says, “It’s amazing to me that 52 years after the Stonewall Riots we are still struggling for LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S. I grew up in Texas and didn’t feel comfortable being out at work until I moved to a more liberal San Francisco.”
To celebrate this year, she will be marching at the People’s March & Rally and says, “Pride is about being proud of being part of the LGBTQ+ community and being proud of being able to live my life the way I want, but also about showcasing inequalities in the LGBTQ+ community.”
Leave a Reply