[Sympathy, desire and physical attraction in the student-patient relationship. Encounter with Mrs. Kelley during my...

During an internship in pneumology the author made the acquaintance of Mrs. Kelley, a young and likeable patient. While taking the history he experienced the development of a subtle erotic tension between them. When her husband and children joined them Mrs. Kelley preferred to be examined physically and sent her family out of the room. This situation made the student insecure and he could no longer approach this patient like other patients. This article contains reflections on the incident which helped the author to cope with that particular incident and comparable situations. He also developed proposals to include this aspect in the medical curriculum.