‘Just Call Joanne’: Librarian Known for Helping Students Wins National Honors

Decades of Dedication

For more than 20 years at MCPHS, Doucette has quietly become the person students and faculty turn to when they feel stuck or overwhelmed by research.

Her work focuses on teaching graduate students how to conduct advanced literature searches and systematic reviews—research that helps guide medical decisions. She mentors students through writing theses, dissertations, and submissions to medical journals, with topics ranging from pharmaceutical economics to drug regulatory affairs and clinical research. Her own scholarly output includes more than 80 peer-reviewed publications.

“Sometimes I’m very popular,” she said with a laugh. “They’re like, ‘Just call Joanne. She’ll help you.’”

Her help often stretches beyond scheduled appointments.

“I never say no to students if they need help,” she said. “If it’s something within my ability, I will do it. Everybody gets an appointment, and I’ll go with them as far as I can.”

Many students treat her like family.

“I don’t have kids, so they’re my kids,” she said. “When I first started, I was their parents’ age. Now I’m their grandparents’ age.”

Over time, she has earned a reputation as the library’s unofficial grandmother.

“They’re very sweet to me,” she said. “Sometimes they’ll take my arm and walk me outside, or sit and wait for my Uber with me.”

An Untraditional Path

Doucette’s path to librarianship was anything but typical.

She began as a physics major, drawn to science from an early age. Summer jobs as a nurse’s aide sparked an interest in medicine, eventually leading to a role at Massachusetts General Hospital as a medical radiation dosimetrist, calculating radiation treatments for cancer patients.

“If you made a mistake, you could really hurt somebody,” she said. “That was hard.”

After nearly two decades in that field, she returned to school to study speech-language pathology and library science. Speech therapy didn’t prove the right fit, but libraries felt familiar.

In fact, libraries had been part of her life since childhood.

Doucette started working at age 14 as a page at the Lynn Public Library, retrieving books and repairing worn volumes.

“My mom worked in the library, and my sisters and I all worked in different departments,” she said with a laugh. “It was massive nepotism.”

She joined MCPHS in 2000, where teaching quickly became one of her favorite parts of the job.

“I was always tutoring somebody,” she said. “My sisters tell me I tutored them. I have no memory of it, but one said, ‘I wouldn’t have passed math if you hadn’t tutored me.’”

That instinct to teach continues today.

“The academic pace here is incredible,” she said. “Sometimes it just takes a simple thing. And students will say, ‘Anything you say is helpful. I can learn from everything you say.’”

Meditation, Mindfulness, and Medical Dramas

Outside the library, Doucette enjoys quieter pursuits like reading, meditation, and learning about mindfulness.

“I’m very involved in learning Buddhism,” she said. “It’s a whole different way to approach life.”

She attends a book club and listens to audiobooks to “rest her eyes.” She recently finished the novel “I See You’ve Called in Dead” by John Kenney, which she gives “five stars.” She is also trying—with mixed success—to grow succulents.

“Right now, I’m on a killing spree,” she admitted.

Her interest in medicine also shows up in her television habits. One favorite is “Save My Skin,” a British dermatology series featuring unusual medical cases.

“I’m one of those people that watches all the gross medical shows,” she said. “Not the dramas, the nonfiction ones.”

At 73, Doucette said she plans to retire within the next year, though she hopes to remain connected to the MCPHS community in some capacity.

“I can’t work full-time anymore,” she said. “I’m just too tired. But I would still like to be involved.”

Giving Back

Doucette has a drawer full of thank-you notes from faculty and students who treat her like "precious gold," yet she’s quick to share credit for her national recognition.

“I’m just one person, and we all do this job,” she said. “I’m fortunate to have faculty who recognized me and went the extra step.”

She is even considering donating part of her award money to students in need, continuing a tradition from her own college days.

“When I was in college, one of my mother’s friends used to send me a little check every summer,” she said. “So now I donate money to students and say, ‘Pay it forward.’”