Craig Johnston, DO, of Erie, Pennsylvania, the PAFP’s 2014 Family Physician of the Year, earned his Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from the University of Pittsburgh. He received a Master of Arts degree in pharmacy from the Ohio State University, where he completed a residency in clinical hospital pharmacy at the university hospitals, and graduated with a DO degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Johnston also completed an internship at Metro Health Center and family medicine residency at Hamot Medical Center. Johnston holds fellowships with the American Academy of Family Physicians and other organizations, is certified as a medical director by the American Medical Directors Association, and has several subspecialties.

He currently practices with the Erie Physicians Network – University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Johnston is married to the love of his life, Deborah, and has five children and six grandchildren.

Patients and colleagues of Johnston laud his gentleness and his compassion, and they are quick to recognize that he is a consummate expert in his field.

“[He] is a very competent and caring physician that is always available for emergencies and for routine care and physical exams,” said a husband-and-wife couple, who have known Johnston for 40 years and have had him as a family physician for more than two decades.  “His gentle and thorough manner has endeared him to us as well as to his many patients. Dr. Johnston takes a personal interest in all of his patients.

“We know that he is highly respected by his colleagues as a highly competent and caring physician,” they continued. “One physician described Dr. Johnston to me as ‘The kind of doc I would like my patients to have.’”

“I have known and have benefited from Dr. Johnston’s care for a decade,” said another patient. “I can truly boast that my wife and I are treated by the best. Many letters of this nature are routine or perfunctory. Dr. Craig Johnston is neither routine nor perfunctory. He is a standout, caring, highly competent practitioner of family medicine who always gives the extra effort.

“In honoring him, you would truly be honoring yourselves and your profession,” he said. “As a retired US Air Force officer with twenty years of active duty service, I emphatically tell you he is the best doctor I’ve ever had. Award him now!”

(Note: All emphasis above is original; nothing has been altered.)

“He establishes a rapport when visiting his office and puts his patients at ease,” said yet another patient. “He is interested in our lives, hobbies, and talks at our level, even humorous stories and anecdotes.”

Patrick McManus, MD, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the PAFP’s 2014 Exemplary Teacher of the Year, studied at the University of Notre Dame, where he earned his degree in English. He attended medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina and completed his family medicine residency at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

Between 1993 and 1994, McManus served as Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s chief resident; he was awarded the university hospital’s Faculty Development Fellowship, Family Medicine in 1994. McManus has held numerous faculty appointments, including the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians’ Assembly of Program Directors and Chairs as chairman between 2010 and 2012; he currently also holds roles of program director of the Jefferson Medical College Urban Underserved Program and faculty director of the Move4Health exercise and education program, among others.

McManus serves as the program director of the Jefferson Medical College Family and Community Medicine Residency.

Those who know McManus praise him for his caring nature, his clinical acumen, and his ability to make each person he’s talking to feel like the most important person in the room.

“He is an astute clinician, a gifted teacher, and an incredible listener, said Nicholas Shungu, MD, Chief Resident at the Thomas Jefferson University Family Medicine Residency, "while maintaining a humility and joy that makes others at ease to approach him.

“Dr. McManus is a physician whose example will guide my clinical approach for the rest of my career,” Shungu continued. ”I aspire to empower patients, student, and residents, much in the same way that he has empowered me.”

One student had never heard of family medicine before she met Dr. McManus at a family medicine conference.

“During my residency interviews, when the inevitable ‘Why family medicine?’ question is asked, I need to constantly stifle my immediate response of ‘Because I want to be like Dr. McManus,’” said Danielle Dang, fourth-year student at Jefferson Medical College. “I’m sure [McManus] would advise me [that] is not quite the answer that program directors are looking for. I can say with absolute certainty that any success I may hopefully accomplish in the field of family medicine has been directly due to his guidance and support.”

“Sir Isaac Newtown once said, ‘If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants,’” said Roma Amin, a third-year medical student. “Dr. McManus is my giant. He saw my potential and understood my passion even before I did, as he does with so many of his students.

“He teaches us to be compassionate, genuine, and dedicated physicians through his own actions and is without a doubt the most influential person that I have encountered in my life,” Amin said. I aspire to embody his contagious charisma throughout the rest of my career and know that no matter where my career takes me, he will always be there for me.”

Congratulations, Dr. Patrick McManus, for earning the PAFP’s 2014 Exemplary Teacher of the Year Award!