On Being a Patient

Since it began in Annals 5 years ago, “On Being a Doctor” has attracted enthusiastic interest and attention. Many readers tell us it is the first thing they read when their copy arrives. Authors send an average of about three manuscripts a week to this department (some 7% of our total submissions), and 73 of the best pieces have been collected into a widely read book. Our authors tell about the sobering, satisfying, anguishing, exhilarating experiences of doctoring; their stories are always deeply felt. And increasingly, they tell the story from the other side of the desk, the other end of the bed: the experience of being a patient. We have decided, therefore, that the patient's universe deserves its own place in our pages. Hence, this issue of Annals contains the first of a new series, “On Being a Patient,” a natural extension of and counterpart to the doctor's perspective. We intend to publish this feature from time to time as appropriate manuscripts appear.

As internists, we always try to maintain awareness of our patients' point of view, but the …