Ancient origins of the term patient

The word patient originally meant ‘one who suffers’. The English noun comes from the Latin word patiens, the present participle of the verb patior meaning ‘I am suffering’.

The word patient has been used for hundreds of years but it is only recently that non-medical and non-nursing disciplines have started to advocate the use of words client or service user.

At the heart of this lies the social model of care which intends to demedicalise the management of illnesses so that patients may move away from the medical model, which is perceived to include ‘labels’ and ‘pharmacological treatments’.

By calling people patients I do not believe that we are making them sicker or denying them their rights, as has been popularised; on the contrary, we are helping to continue the unique doctor-patient relationship. This relationship has evolved over centuries and is built on mutual respect, knowledge, trust, shared values and openness.

Patients themselves like to be called patients as evidenced in a few recent studies. Likewise, when I am ill, I would rather be called a patient and not a client, which has some distasteful connotations to it. Also, I would like to be called a doctor rather than a provider, teacher, clinician or advisor, even though my role might vary from patient to patient.

I find it hard to understand how by retaining the word patient one cannot achieve a secure base, supportive relationships, hope and empowerment, and aim to be a productive member of the community.