As an adjective, “patient” describes someone who can stay calm and not get upset while waiting or dealing with difficulties. As a noun, a patient is a person receiving medical care from a doctor or hospital.
Both meanings come from Latin *patiens*, “one who suffers or endures,” from *pati*, “to suffer.” Over time, the idea of “enduring” led to the calm attitude we call patience and to the sick person who is enduring illness.
It’s no coincidence that people in hospitals are called “patients”—the word literally means “the one who is enduring.” The adjective and noun are two sides of the same idea: someone who keeps going through difficulty. Even healthy people must be “patients” in life sometimes.
In medicine, women’s reports of pain and symptoms have historically been discounted, leading to differential treatment of “patients” by gender. The generic “he” for patients in older medical literature also erased women and nonbinary patients.
Use “patient” as a neutral term and avoid assuming a patient’s gender; use “they” or the person’s stated pronouns. Be aware of documented gender and race biases in how patients are described and treated.
["person receiving care","client (in some contexts)"]
Women clinicians and patient advocates have played a major role in exposing gender bias in medical care and reshaping research and practice to better serve all patients.
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