Encounters between family physicians and patients can be laden with expectations, hopes, and assumptions. Both patient and physician bring their backgrounds to the doctor-patient relationship. When working with Aboriginal patients, physicians can struggle to elicit a chief complaint and have difficulty developing a management plan that is relevant to the patient. These challenges run very deep. The solution might lie in how we use knowledge and curiosity in our relationships with Aboriginal patients.

Citation

Elliot, C.T., & de Leeuw, S.N. (2009). Our aboriginal relations: When family doctors and patients meet. Canadian Family Physician, 55(4): 443.