John Norbury, MD, Receives 2025 AANEM Ernest Johnson Outstanding Educator Award

Dr. Norbury has taught EDX medicine, practice building, and NMUS at AANEM 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, “We take our work seriously, but we don’t take ourselves seriously.”

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

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’s 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. “Starting a new residency program is not for the faint of heart,” he said. “A lot of the work was building an airplane while flying it.” Though incredibly challenging, Dr. Norbury expresses his fondness for this time. “Working 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.”

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. “Residents may make career choices before they learn how much fun it is to care for patients with neuromuscular disorders!” To mitigate this, Dr. Norbury implemented NM education across all residency years.

A longtime AANEM 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 “neurophobia”—the concept of medical students feeling less comfortable with neurology topics than other areas in medicine—and has increased accessibility to NM knowledge for primary care providers. “The task force set out to bridge the educational gap so that we could get the right patient the right test at the right time,” he said.

Dr. Norbury’s teaching philosophy emphasizes adaptability and learner feedback. “It’s crucially important to meet learners where they are,” he said. “I 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.”

Reflecting on what motivates him, Dr. Norbury credits the quality mentorship he received as a student and resident. “My mentors were able to help me realize that I could do things that I never thought I could,” he said. “In 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.”