A 67-year-old man with emphysema who has had to come to radiol-ogy for a chest x-ray is angry

A 67-year-old man with emphysema who has had to come to radiol-ogy for a chest x-ray is angry. He says he just had a chest x-ray done last week at another doctor’s office and your office should have the films by now. “Clearly, all of you here are incompetent,” he tells you in a nasty voice. He’s angry because of the inconvenience to his life. He also says that you and the people you work with don’t care how much radiation he’s exposed to through the process. All of these x-rays will give him lung cancer if he doesn’t get it from 30 years of smoking. Briefly explain the appropriate way to manage this angry patient.

2. A 17-year-old boy has arrived for a follow-up appointment with the urologist in your practice. The boy is here to receive the results of tests he has undergone to rule out testicular cancer. The boy is clearly ridden with anxiety and unable to interact with anyone in the practice without bursting into tears. Briefly explain the appro-priate way to manage this anxious patient.