9. Define characteristics of challenging patients.

Unit 3Section 3Exercise 7What is a ‘difficult patient?’

Clinical correlate 8 The difficult patient

We must be careful about the language we use because we don’t want to be disparaging to patients. Nonetheless, all doctors, all health care professionals, in fact, have occasional negative encounters with patients. What sorts of characteristics might make a patient difficult? List some of the behaviors you would find challenging. The clinical correlate offers an overview of physician and patient factors contributing to the notion of difficult encounters.

Return to the definition of countertransference discussed in Unit 1. Definitions Can you give an example of how countertransference might make a doctor-patient encounter worse?

In the following video, a patient exhibits potentially exasperating behaviors. Take notes on what they are. Alec Anders as difficult patient . You will find the clinical correlate on the next page useful for learning about management of somaticizing patients.

Were any on your ‘challenging behaviors’ list? After viewing the video, which behaviors can you add to your list?

Now read the following scenarios in which a physician draws on her experience to create brief vignettes of difficult patients. How do they compare to your list? Click here.