Top achiever ready to make his mark in medicine

Being a trailblazer was always part of Joseph Johnston’s path. A former head boy at Auckland’s Saint Paul’s College (Te Kura o Hato Paora), Joseph followed in the footsteps of his father and uncles, all former head boys, carrying forward a family legacy of education and excellence.

But medical school, he says, was a new path – for him and for his family.

“I’m one of five siblings. They all have solid and set careers; a couple of them work with my dad in our family business, so I had a lot of great inspiration growing up,” he says. “Coming through school, I knew I had a passion for science, and I knew I wanted to do something where I could make a meaningful, direct impact every day.”

Hailing from the villages of Safotu and Lalo Vaea (Sāmoa), also with Italian heritage, Joseph graduated with a MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery) from the University of Auckland on 9 December. The day before, he took part in the MAPAS Completion Ceremony.

He credits much of his journey to the Māori and Pacific Admissions Scheme (MAPAS).

“I think if I’ve struggled with anything along this journey, it’s definitely been imposter syndrome and asking myself: do I deserve to be here?

“You speak to classmates whose parents or grandparents are doctors, or who were just destined to be a doctor. For me, not having anyone ‘medical’ in my family made me question whether I could do it, whether I was worthy of doing it.”

He says the guidance in the MAPAS programme helped with that. 

Leaving high school, Joseph thought medical school was a natural next step, combining his passion for science with a desire to help people.

“I thought if I married the two, it would make sense to become a doctor.”

But the path wasn’t without doubters.

“St Paul’s was a very different school when I first started – it has improved a lot over the years. However, being a small, low-decile school with limited resources, people warned that it would limit my future career prospects.

"That ignited a drive in me to prove them wrong.”

Joseph says being part of the MAPAS programme helped him connect with like-minded students with similar cultural experiences.

“At times, it can feel like this isn’t a place where we belong because of our cultural differences and upbringing. But that’s why MAPAS is important, to combat those narratives.”

Being of Samoan heritage, Joseph has seen first-hand the struggles his people face when it comes to poor health outcomes.

“Often that is a result of wider societal determinants of health, but it also stems from the way clinicians interact with Māori and Pacific patients, and the way we deliver information.”

His Nana has been an inspiration for him to spark change.

“She’d often come home from appointments having not understood a lot, due to cultural and language differences. That ignited a passion in me to change that reality for our Pacific patients.”

Joseph received a University of Auckland Top Achiever Scholarship in his final year of school, which helped with his first year. By his second year, that faith in him was proven: he became a tutor, building networks and helping students navigate placements.

By his final year, his abilities and academic strengths were clear. At the MAPAS Completion Ceremony, he was presented the MAPAS Academic Excellence Award for demonstrating exceptional academic performance throughout his studies. He has also been awarded the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences' J D K North Prize in Clinical Medicine for sustaining the highest marks in his final year of study. 

The power of empathy

During training, Joseph had an experience that reaffirmed his motivation to become a doctor. 

“We had this exam with a real patient. You examine them and then answer questions while the patient listens. But there’s so much jargon; they don’t understand a lot of what’s being said. It taught me about the inequities that we face. 

“It wasn’t until hours later I thought, 'that person I just examined was a real person with a serious, even terminal, condition'. It’s easy to forget that the patient in front of you has their own story, life and condition.

“And so, while we aim to close the gap on health inequities, we must never forget the individual patient in front of us. You can’t close the gap unless you focus on that person."

He says he has realised how much impact doctors can have, both positive and negative.

"Every day, we have the ability to contribute to Māori and Pacific health by impacting that patient directly.

“Before medical school, I met some doctors who had hardly any empathy. Now, as I start as a doctor myself, I see what contributes to that loss of empathy. Medical school does a great job of helping you identify those things, building resilience, and developing strategies to cope.”

Joseph will start out as a junior doctor in 2026 at North Shore Hospital, and he says he’s excited to see where the journey takes him.

He says MAPAS also gives hope for change.

“I have so much confidence in us MAPAS students and look forward to working with all my colleagues, I know they will make a difference – it’s so inspiring.

“We do have to work harder but take that as motivation. With the support of our communities, we can get through medical school.

“Sometimes we don’t realise we have such a superpower. That really comes out on placements – the ability to connect with patients and people from diverse cultural backgrounds, that connection is powerful.”