For Shawn Whelan, DO, practicing medicine is all about human connection. As an infant, he was diagnosed with hemophilia, a bleeding disorder that often results in delayed blood clotting or prolonged bleeding. Learning to manage a chronic condition helped inspire his path to medicine. Now, a primary care physician with UCLA Health, Dr. Whelan practices family medicine in Ventura and Santa Barbara.
“As a kid, I just wanted to be active and have fun. So, trying to find a way to be safe and do that successfully really motivated me to pursue medicine,” recalled Dr. Whelan.
Growing up in Woodland Hills, near the Santa Monica Mountains and several iconic beaches, Dr. Whelan always enjoyed the outdoors. He remembers “having a lot of energy, wanting to move, then getting injuries.”
However, even as a young kid, he could sense others’ fear and concern. He recalls hearing about future therapies, but at the time, therapies meant IV infusions and trips to the hospital or urgent care for administration. Eventually, his mother was trained in at-home IV therapy administration. By age 8, Dr. Whelan could self-infuse – thanks in large part to the Hemophilia Foundation of Southern California (HFSC).
Founded in 1954, HFSC supports the bleeding disorders community with an array of services and programs, including a children’s summer camp. Dr. Whelan, now an HFSC board member, first attended as a camper then later returned as a counselor through high school and college.
“I think an important part of that journey was kind of learning to accept that I had this condition and what it meant and how to take care of it. (Also) realizing there were a lot of things I could do,” Dr. Whelan said.
At UC San Diego, he studied human biology. Between his undergraduate studies and medical school, he researched immunology at a biopharmaceutical company in Vienna, Austria. While he enjoyed the research, he ultimately realized he wanted to work with patients directly.
That realization led him to pursue his doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) at the Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona.
“Through my experiences, I understood the importance of treating the whole person and all the other aspects that go into care. For bleeding disorders specifically, a lot of it is musculoskeletal injuries, and that attracted me to osteopathic medicine, where you have additional training on treating the body alignment, pain and all of the other aspects that impact our health like diet, exercise, sleep, stress management and psychological wellness,” said Dr. Whelan.
While at WesternU, he also organized one of his first fundraisers for hemophilia, a “learn to surf” day. Dr. Whelan then completed his residency in family medicine at Kaiser Permanente in his hometown of Woodland Hills. During both medical school and residency, he completed elective rotations focused on treating hemophilia and bleeding disorders.
Today, Dr. Whelan speaks English, Spanish and German and cares for patients of all ages at UCLA Health. He has clinical interests in pediatrics, women’s health, sports medicine, dermatology, bleeding disorders and osteopathic manipulation.
Also known as osteopathic manipulative treatment or OMT, osteopathic manipulation can help DOs “effectively treat your muscles and joints to relieve pain, promote healing and increase overall mobility,” according to the American Osteopathic Association. He believes in taking an integrative approach to medicine and treating the whole person alongside evidence-based medicine.
Beyond his clinical practice, Dr. Whelan is also co-principal investigator on numerous projects examining new therapies for hemophilia. He also collaborates with the Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children, which has an alliance with UCLA Health, treating patients with bleeding disorders and supporting internal training. In the future, he aspires to set up a satellite clinic on the Central Coast.
Whether volunteering in Guam, supporting the bleeding disorders community or caring for patients on the Central Coast, he encourages people to find the activities that bring them joy. For Dr. Whelan, those include mountain biking, rock climbing and surfing.
“I'm a real big advocate for finding physical movement that people enjoy. I think that's one of the greatest drivers of preventative wellness and longevity – good physical activity – and being passionate about that myself, understanding (what’s) driving other people and finding ways to help people stay active is one of the things that I really love to do as a doctor,” said Dr. Whelan.
