A Doctor in the House? Yes, 3 of Them : Triplets With Parallel Schooling Now Plan Separate Paths

Calling Dr. Johnson, Dr. Johnson, Dr. Johnson.

Triplets Philip, Perry and Paul Johnson together received degrees Sunday from the University of Kansas Medical School.

“Everyone thinks our dad would be a doctor, but he’s not, he’s a building contractor,” Philip said. “But he had high hopes for all of us, and he taught us our work ethic.” Their brother, David, is in his second year at the same medical school.

Despite sharing looks, medical interests and nearly identical academic records, the 25-year-olds say friends and family can tell them apart.

“We usually just do our own thing. In a classroom we don’t sit together, and we don’t make a spectacle of ourselves,” Paul said.

But Perry admitted that the three sometimes have identity problems.

“The most typical thing is that someone will say ‘hi’ to you in a hallway, for instance, and you just say ‘hi’ back to them because you don’t know if you really know that person or if they know one of your brothers,” he said.

The brothers attended the University of Kansas as undergraduates and medical students, but now plan separate paths. Philip plans a career in radiology, Perry as a surgeon and Paul is focusing on internal medicine.

The Walt Disney Co. had hoped to film them graduating from medical school and shouting “We’re going to Disneyland!” they said.

The idea was scuttled when the school refused to change its graduation ceremony to accommodate the camera crew, and the Johnsons seemed a little relieved.

“We all feel a little bad about the hype we’ve received,” Philip said. “We really haven’t accomplished anything our classmates haven’t.”