Extract
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.