doctor patient relationship

PAULINE W. CHEN - A friend of mine, a brilliant and accomplished academic in her 70s who once specialized in history and literature, recently phoned to ask for medical advice after being discharged from the hospital for what sounded like a mini-stroke. Ever eager to learn something new, she pressed me on “the latest research” and asked what doctors around the country were doing for her condition...

... “I don’t want him to think I’m questioning his judgment,” she added. “I don’t want to upset him or make him angry at me!”