20/07/2025
Patients Deserve Respect, Even When They’re Difficult
He shouted at the nurse.
Refused to take his drugs.
Said the food was tasteless.
Wouldn’t let anyone come close.
Everyone called him a “difficult patient.”
But no one asked:
“What pain is this man carrying?”
Maybe he just got diagnosed with cancer.
Maybe he lost his job.
Maybe the drugs made him feel like a stranger in his own body.
Maybe he’s scared — and anger is how he screams for help.
Not all pain bleeds.
Some pain curses. Some pain withdraws.
Some pain lashes out at the very hands trying to help.
But no matter how hard it gets, patients still deserve respect.
Not because they’re always kind.
But because they’re always vulnerable.
That rude patient might be someone’s father who never cried until today.
That complaining mother might be the only parent a child has.
That uncooperative uncle might be fighting more than the illness — he might be fighting the fear of dying.
You don’t have to tolerate abuse.
But you can choose to respond with empathy.
Because behind every “difficult” patient…
Is a broken story, a human heart, and a silent scream for help.
🙏🏽 Let this be a call:
Respect should not be a reward for good behavior — it should be a right in healthcare.
🩺 Every patient matters.
Even the ones who are hard to love.
