By Roger Harris, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Sep. 19--A little after 8 o'clock on a recent Tuesday morning, cardiologist Dr. Clint Doiron pushed open the door of his office in the Baptist Medical Tower and quickly settled his lanky frame into a chair.
He smiled brightly and slid his chair close beside a visitor who was there to ask the Knoxville physician why he believes so ardently in the power of prayer.
'Because it works,' Doiron said simply.
Every day is a busy day for a heart doctor, but Doiron, a partner in the East Tennessee Heart Consultants practice, is happy to spend a little time with anyone who asks about his faith in God.
Doiron doesn't wear it on his sleeve, but he doesn't hide it either. Ask the doctor what he believes and he'll tell you.
At home, he and his wife start every morning with a prayer.
'We ask the Lord to teach us every day,' he said.
In the operating room, Doiron likes to hold hands with his surgical team for a prayer before starting a procedure. He prays for the patient lying on the table. He prays for the operating room crew.
And he asks God to guide his hands.
'Why don't I just show you what I mean,' Doiron said as he grasped the visitor's hand and began to pray.
It was a simple prayer of thanks and praise for God's blessings and guidance.
When he started his practice 22 years ago, Doiron admits he was 'a little inhibited about praying out loud' for his patients. He didn't want to offend anyone who might not share his faith.
But often he would pray silently as he listened to a patient's heart. On occasion he deliberately would linger a little longer than usual, listening through his stethoscope while he prayed.
Some patients sensed he was taking more time than usual and asked what he was doing.
'I would tell them, 'Well, you know what. I was praying for you. I was asking God to help me make the right decisions for you,'' Doiron said.
Heart attack patients typically cycle through a range of emotions -- denial, anger and depression -- before reaching acceptance of what has happened.
'That shroud of depression can be hard to get through. To penetrate that shroud I try to help them to know the Lord has a plan for them, not to hurt them, but to prosper them,' Doiron said.
In addition to mending hearts in Knoxville, Doiron does volunteer work abroad.
'My favorite thing is the mission field,' Doiron said, reaching into the pocket of his scrubs and pulling out a prayer journal he kept on a recent trip to Haiti.
On the inside cover, Doiron has copied a number of verses from the Bible, among them a portion of II Timothy 2:24: 'Must be kind to everyone.'
The book is filled with prayers he has written, photos of patients and fellow volunteers he met in Haiti, and the diagram of a health and worship facility he would like to help build in a Haitian village.
'I just love helping people and loving the Lord,' he said.
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