Difficult Patients... A Myth or a Reality? Time toChange the Clinician Behavior

“I can’t handle this patient”, “Another difficult patient? My Gosh”. How many times we hear these kinds of statements in the clinical setting. Many doctors, residents, nurses and other clinicians complain of having a difficult patient. The “difficult patient” is a relative term. According to some, an uncooperative patient is a difficult patient; while for some it’s belligerent patient, and for some it’s the patient who increases the work load for the clinicians.1