After graduating with numerous honors from the College of Charleston, Dr. Johnson attended the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Although he spent one year studying in the London University Hospital Systems (under auspices of AUC) in England, he graduated from MUSC in 1990.

Dr. Johnson then traveled to Hong Kong for post-graduate surgical studies with SSI founder Donald R. Johnson, M.D. He completed his internship in the Greenville (SC) hospital system. For his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, he returned to MUSC. He completed a subspecialty fellowship at SSI following his residency.