Board Doctor: What if one of your patients had died?
Patch Adams: What’s wrong with death, sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can’t we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and dignity and decency and, God forbid, maybe even humor? Death is not the enemy, gentlemen. If we’re gonna fight a disease, let’s fight one of the most terrible diseases of all–indifference. Now, I’ve sat in your schools and heard people lecture on transference and professional distance. Transference is inevitable, sir. Every human being has an impact on another. Why don’t we want that in a patient/doctor relationship? That’s why I’ve listened to your teachings, and I believe they’re wrong. A doctor’s mission should be not just to prevent death but also to improve the quality of life. That’s why you treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you win, no matter what the outcome.