Coping with racism in a patient

B.F. is a sixty-seven-year-old woman who was transferred late one evening from another hospital with an apparent infection at the site of a total knee replacement. The orthopaedic resident on call attempted to evaluate the patient. The resident's plan was to perform a history and physical examination, aspirate the joint, and begin intravenous antibiotics. The patient refused to allow the resident to evaluate or treat her. The patient stated that she would not allow anyone of color, including physicians or nurses, to treat her. The orthopaedic resident was of Indian descent, and the patient was black.