John Norbury, MD, Receives 2025 缅北禁地 Ernest Johnson Outstanding Educator Award

Published July 28, 2025

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John Norbury, MD, associate professor in the PM&R department at Virginia Commonwealth University, has been named the 2025 Ernest Johnson Outstanding Educator Award recipient. The award honors individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to NM and EDX medicine education. 鈥淓MG education is my passion,鈥 said Dr. Norbury. 鈥淚 like to tell folks I鈥檓 a 鈥榯eacher who accidentally went to doctor school.鈥 I鈥檓 beyond grateful to see my two professional loves鈥攏euromuscular medicine and medical education鈥攔ecognized this way.鈥


Dr. Norbury has taught EDX medicine, practice building, and NMUS at 缅北禁地 Annual Meeting sessions for more than 15 years, directing NMUS boot camps and contributing to national educational efforts. His engaging, learner-centered style emphasizes creating clinical spaces where, as he says, 鈥淲e take our work seriously, but we don鈥檛 take ourselves seriously.鈥

He completed his residency at Thomas Jefferson University in 2010, training under Gerald Herbison, MD, and Channarayapatna Sridhara, MD. 鈥淏oth were so respected by their patients and referring physicians,鈥 Dr. Norbury recalled. 鈥淭hey also had very different approaches to patient care. That gave me an appreciation for the fact that there are many 鈥榬ight鈥 ways to provide care and cultivated a sense of humility and a desire to learn from my colleagues.鈥

Early in his career, Dr. Norbury developed expertise in NMUS, training alongside East Carolina University (ECU) experts, where he later led a lab that integrated EDX and NMUS technologies to elevate clinical care. At ECU, he also introduced NM topics into undergraduate medical education, earning the institution鈥檚 highest teaching honor, the Master Educator Award.

He continued that trajectory at Texas Tech, serving as division chief and residency program director. In under 15 months, he launched a fully accredited PM&R residency program. 鈥淪tarting a new residency program is not for the faint of heart,鈥 he said. 鈥淎 lot of the work was building an airplane while flying it.鈥 Though incredibly challenging, Dr. Norbury expresses his fondness for this time. 鈥淲orking alongside our resident trailblazers to improve the care of persons with disability in West Texas has been the greatest joy of my career so far.鈥

Noticing how many PM&R residencies are structured with a heavy focus on inpatient care during the first years, not exposing residents to EMG training until the fourth year, Dr. Norbury took action. 鈥淩esidents may make career choices before they learn how much fun it is to care for patients with neuromuscular disorders!鈥 To mitigate this, Dr. Norbury implemented NM education across all residency years.

A longtime 缅北禁地 member and former board member, Dr. Norbury has held leadership roles including chair of the Primary Care Task Force and multiple educational committees. He contributed to the development of educational resources to reduce 鈥渘europhobia鈥濃攖he concept of medical students feeling less comfortable with neurology topics than other areas in medicine鈥攁nd has increased accessibility to NM knowledge for primary care providers. 鈥淭he task force set out to bridge the educational gap so that we could get the right patient the right test at the right time,鈥 he said.

Dr. Norbury鈥檚 teaching philosophy emphasizes adaptability and learner feedback. 鈥淚t鈥檚 crucially important to meet learners where they are,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 think as educators, it is very important that we actively solicit and respond to feedback from our learners. Many of the habits that helped me succeed as a medical educator were originally suggested by resident physicians who wanted to improve the learning experience.鈥

Reflecting on what motivates him, Dr. Norbury credits the quality mentorship he received as a student and resident. 鈥淢y mentors were able to help me realize that I could do things that I never thought I could,鈥 he said. 鈥淚n my work at VCU, I hope to contribute to ensuring the next generation of neuromuscular specialists can find the same joy in their work that I have enjoyed for the past 15 years.鈥