The Knee     Most doctors agree that the dehumanization in the clinical setting can lead to the loss of a patient because of the lack of respect they are given. That is a great incentive for doctors to try to get to know their patients and make them feel as comfortable as possible. When a patient attends a teaching hospital where aspiring doctors exam patients in groups, there is no real reward for them learning personal information about the patient. They will move on to start their own practice and probably never see the patient again. However, just because the patients are at a teaching hospital does not make them any less important, so how can medical school programs promote patient-physician relationships when the physician has nothing to gain?     Morals and ethics would tell a doctor to respect their patient’s privacy and keep the examinations discrete. Ideally doctors will know all their patients by name, not disease, know a little bit about their private life and find a point of contact with each patient.

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