Seeing ALS From All Angles with Dr. John Goodson

CCALS Cultivating Compassion Education Series: Recorded on December 17, 2023. Dr. John Goodson, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, was diagnosed with ALS in Jan. of 2022.

Doctor Goodson discusses his pathway to medicine and the doctor's side of the doctor-patient relationship. He describes his 25 years as a healthcare advocate. Finally, he discusses the transition from doctor to ALS patient and considers the various perspectives of all those involved with ALS care and the importance of Compassionate Care ALS in his life.

About Dr. Goodson
Doctor Goodson comes to this discussion as a patient with ALS with over 45 years in primary care internal medicine practice. A graduate of Stanford Medical School, he came to the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) for his residency in primary care internal medicine in 1975. He joined the staff of the MGH in 1978 and continued to see patients through May 2023. At that time, he had no choice, so began the process of passing off each patient to a colleague. He had a panel of over 1000 patients. As an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, he focused on the clinical education of students and residents. He directed week-long continuing education courses for his peers. Concurrent with his clinical work and teaching, Doctor Goodson was deeply involved with the expansion of healthcare access in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. More recently, he has focused on rebuilding the primary care workforce and saving primary care.