Abstract
Concepts of "the good patient" develop early in medical training -- during medical students' first clinical years, when they are expected to learn from patients while caring for them in a hospital environment. As part of a longitudinal study of medical students in two Ohio schools, Rs were asked, at the end of their first clinical year, to define the good patient, using a semantic differential. Factor analysis of their responses yielded three factors -- characteristics of the patient role, patient intellectual & personality characteristics, & patient modes of action. Essentially, the good patient is seen as being acutely ill & having characteristics congruent with Mc values. Thus, the poor &, to some extent, the elderly, who may not share these values, & are likely to be chronically ill, are not apt to be seen as good patients. The tendency to judge patients on these characteristics may well hamper efforts to establish rapport, decreasing the quality of care given to many patients, both during students' training, & later, in their medical practices.