Skip Navigation
Menu
On Being a Doctor |16 April 2013

The Racist Patient

Sachin H. Jain, MD, MBA

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information
Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
  • From Boston Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

    Requests for Single Reprints: Sachin H. Jain, MD, MBA, 65 East India Row, Apartment 33B, Boston, MA 02110; e-mail, shjain@gmail.com.

×
FULL TEXT
In my final months of residency, I was summoned to see an angry patient. Mr. R. was furious that our pharmacy did not stock his brand of insulin. He wanted to issue a complaint.
“You guys always mess up my insulin whenever I am here. I told the other doctor, and now I'm telling you. You guys just can't get it right.”
“I'm sorry,” I told him. “If you prefer, your family can bring your insulin from home and our nurses can administer it. Would that be an acceptable solution?”
“You people are so incompetent.”
Uncertain of how I might best diffuse the situation, I looked uncomfortably in the direction of my patient's son, who was seated at the bedside.
FULL TEXT
PDF
Not Available
Citations
Citation

Jain SH. The Racist Patient. Ann Intern Med. ;158:632. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-158-8-201304160-00010

Download citation file:

© 2019

×
Permissions

Published: Ann Intern Med. 2013;158(8):632.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-158-8-201304160-00010

11 Citations

Related Topics
Humanities

Humanities.

CONTINUE WITH LIMITED ACCESS
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
acp link acp
silverchair link silverchair

Copyright © 2019 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.

Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

Privacy Policy

|

Conditions of Use

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our privacy policy. | Accept
×

You need a subscription to this content to use this feature.

×
PDF Downloads Require Access to the Full Article.
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
Access to this Free Content Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In. Please Choose One of the Following Options
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×