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By Kent Larsen
LDS Doctor Treats People, Not Patients
GAFFNEY, SOUTH CAROLINA -- Family physician, Ken Stephan, entertains his
young pediatric patients with magic tricks while he examines them. With 60
percent of Stephan's patients being children, he goes to great lengths to
entertain and distract them. His relaxed personality and a waiting room full
of an extensive Barbie doll collection, hand-held video and arcade games
benefit patients old and young. His adult patients claim they appreciate his
caring style and thorough approach to medicine.
"I believe my things help, but it's been said that the physician's job is
just to distract the person, to entertain them while God does the healing -
so I try to be as entertaining as possible," Stephan said.
As a young man, Stephan served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints in Paraguay. While serving, Stephan said 9,000 infants and
small children died of diarrhea caused by the country's poor living conditions.
"Being with the people down there, I decided business just wasn't for me,"
he said. He had previously graduated from Grossmont College in 1980 with an
associate's degree in business. Upon his return, he earned a degree in
biology from San Diego State University. He then went on to the University
of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he earned his doctor
of osteopathy degree in 1991.
Stephan and his wife have four children and moved last year to Gaffney from
Biglerville, Pa. Stephen joined the practice of Dr. David Lydon at Gaffney
Family Medical Care. "He'll sit and talk to you, and other doctors...they
don't even check you," said Lula Mae Bradley of Gaffney.
"I can't say enough good things about him," said employee Kristen Adams. The
certified medical assistant's 8-year-old daughter, Lauren, is one of
Stephan's patients. "People just love him for his laid-back nature," Adams
said.
Source:
Doctor incorporates science of distraction in his work
Myrtle Beach NC Sun News (Spartanburg Herald-Journal) 11Jun01 P2
By Susan Orr: The (Spartanburg) Herald-Journal
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