To the Editor: Patiens in Latin refers to someone who is suffering. However, in the real world the word “patient” also, ironically, takes on elements of the more conventional meaning of the word in its adjectival form.

A person becomes a patient when he becomes ill. From that moment onwards he begins to comprehend the indubitable reason for being tagged as a “patient”. He patiently bears the ride to the doctor’s office and waits with a dutiful patience, in a room appropriately dubbed the waiting room, until he is called into the consulting room. Like a zombie, he patiently waits in the consulting room, obeying the dictates of the nurse to either stand on a weighing scale or sit on a chair for blood pressure measurements, while he patiently answers a volley of insipid questions about his health. In between, he waits patiently, with a thermometer perched precariously in his mouth, as the nurse stares at her watch or waits for the thermometer to beep. Then he patiently submits to the discomfort of donating blood or the indignity of providing urine or sputum samples. Ultimately he gets the golden opportunity to understand the real meaning of patience as he patiently waits for the doctor to arrive.

The doctor, knowing full well the patience of patients, takes his time to arrive at the clinic. Steadfastly ignoring calls from the clinic, he works diligently on grant proposals/lectures/administrative matters until finally, unable to quench persistent calls, he dashes out to see his patient patients.

Now that the interminable wait is finally over, the patient patiently submits to an expert examination. He patiently describes his symptoms (again) and patiently listens to what the doctor has to say.

The need to draw on a seemingly immense reserve of patience does not cease once the patient leaves the doctor’s surgery. After patiently waiting at the pharmacy for his prescription, he patiently takes the medicines according to the doctor’s orders. He then patiently waits for the medicines to take effect.

Therefore, calling a sick person a “patient” is particularly apt. It becomes slightly complicated when the terms “inpatient” and “outpatient” are used. Does a lack of patience eventually turn a patient patient into an inpatient?

When all’s said and done, it is always better to be a patient patient than an impatient patient who tries the patience of potentially impatient doctors who rely greatly on the potential patience of patients.