Beau Johnson

Beau Johnson (1947-present) spent the first fifty-plus years of his life in South Florida, most of which as a Mental Health professional. Unsure about his career choices out of high school, he spent three years in the Army as a stateside medic (1970-73). Once his enlistment was finished he obtained a Bachelors degree in Nursing and worked as an ICU and general RN in hospitals for three years. Attending Charleston Area Medical Center School of Anesthesia for two years (1977-79), he became a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Helping out during the May, 1980 riots in Miami, he spent three full days and nights providing anesthesia for those who were wounded. Twelve straight hours were spent with one patient who had multiple traumas and stab wounds and stabilized him before being relieved 7am the next morning, the highlight of his anesthesia career. Burning out after approximately 5000 anesthesia cases, he entered Graduate school to better understand burnout and how it develops. While working full-time and going to school at night, ten years later he received a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology degree (PsyD). His dissertation was 335 pages with 95 pages of references, and explored Burnout in Health Professionals. Retiring in 2005, he enjoyed the beaches, bikinis and beer for three years before realizing his brain was turning to mush. Aware that his aunt had died at age 56 from Alzheimer's Disease, and it runs in families, he decided to become a writer in self-defense, to keep the brain synapses firing. So far his plan is working fairly well.