The taped interview that we had already seen showed the fourth-year resident,
who was filling in for the patient’s designated physician and had been
expecting to do a routine prescription renewal for blood pressure medication,
attempt to avoid the patient’s insistence to change her arthritis medications.
There ensued a lively debate about the intensity and contributing factors of
this patient’s joint problems. By the middle of this lengthy encounter, the
patient had succeeded in forcing this physician into a more engaged posture
that included active listening and an attempt at collaborative problem solving.