House Plans: Family Practitioner

Family Practitioner

"Practicing medicine is about love," says Linda Stone, who has balanced the many demands of being a wife and mother with a full life in medicine, acting as a role model to her peers and students alike, and earning widespread recognition as a caring family practitioner.

Nominating her to be a Local Legend of Medicine, Rep. Patrick Tiberi (R-OH-12) said, "In a profession often dominated by males, Dr. Stone is a mentor and example for scores of young and aspiring female doctors."

It was only after earning a degree in speech, theatre and education from Michigan State University and years of teaching high school that Stone decided on a medical career. She had been struck by the sight of children suffering from inadequate nutrition and lack of basic health care.

"My teaching experience was a major part of my decision to go to medical school," she says. She also credits her father, an aunt and sister, but especially her husband and then-nine year old son for their wholehearted support at the time. "They never thought I would fall short of my goal; their believing in me made it hard not to believe in myself," she recalls.

After many years as a practicing family physician in Columbus, Stone joined the Department of Family Medicine, in OSU's College of Medicine and Public Health, where she is Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Pre-doctoral Director.

"Being a family physician, my professional interests center around the improvement of patient care, at the center of which is the patient-physician relationship," she says. "The foundation of all we do in medicine rests on the strength of that relationship. Communication and education are the tools we use to build that relationship."

"Today, family medicine is faced with many challenges," she observes. "One is attracting the best medical students to our specialty. Because of that, I currently spend time with OSU medical students interested in family medicine through many programs sponsored by the OSU Department of Family Medicine and Project Professionalism, a student-driven initiative, which occupies an increasing amount of my time."

From 2000 to 2001, she served as President of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians and later as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians Foundation. In 2004, she was President of The Core Content Review of Family Medicine, a peer-reviewed home-study, self-assessment continuing medical education program for physicians produced jointly by the Ohio and Connecticut Chapters of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

A favorite of her OSU faculty peers and students alike, Stone received the Professor of the Year Award from the College of Medicine and Public Health, bestowed annually by the graduating medical class honoring one faculty member for "excellence in and commitment to teaching, education and mentorship."

She also received a Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey Humanism in Medicine Award, sponsored by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, which honors "a graduating student and faculty member who embody compassion and sensitivity in the delivery of care to patients and their family members."