Clayton primary care physician performs magic as competitor on Penn & Teller: Fool Us

CLAYTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- A local doctor appears on national television using his hands for hocus pocus, not healing.

Dr. Scott Kahn has loved magic tricks since he was 7 years old. Now, as a primary care physician in Clayton he mixes healing with slight of hand.

"I think now as I'm older, I really had a lot of success in mixing magic with practice in medicine," Kahn said.

Kahn doesn't actually perform magic tricks on his patients, but he uses his skills of performing fun tricks to relieve patient anxiety. That's something he believes can make going to the doctor less stressful.

Those tactics really came into play even more during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's been a rough time for myself and my colleagues," he said. "It's fun for me to have this as an outlet to step away from things."

Kahn was even invited to step away from his entire practice briefly to appear as a featured magician on the reality show "Penn and Teller, Fool Us" whitch airs on the CW.

He's been trying to get on the show for years to try and fool "the big guys," as he describes Penn and Teller. Finally, Kahn got his wish and appeared on the season finale March 4th.

Magicians on the show who successfully fool Penn & Teller are invited to appear with the legendary magic duo on their stage show in Las Vegas. Kahn was not able to pull the wool over their eyes, but he said he had a great time and will continue following his passion for magic.