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A sick patient vs patient?

4 replies
:
Hello,

What is the difference between a "sick patient" and "patient". "Sick" seems to me a redundancy as "patient" alone serves the same intended meaning."a patient" is necessarily supposed to be "ill" or "sick".

regards

Kili
Full Member273
:
It does seem odd. You can be a patient for things other than illness - a broken arm, for example, might make you a patient in the emergency room, but you're not "sick" per se. But even so, I can't imagine that you wouldn say, for example, "sick patients are in this room" and "injured patients are in this room."
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:
Hi guys,

On the other hand, I'd feel OK saying that 'I'm one of Dr. Smith's patients', meaning I am on his list of regular patients, ie he is my family doctor.

Moreover, if I go the doctor for a check-up, I'm not sick, but I'm still a patient.

I might even simply be a hypochondriac.

Best wishes, Clive
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:
A patient is someone who is under the care of a doctor.

A person may be nearly recovered from an illness. He may still be in the hospital, but just about to be released. He may not be sick at all. He is still a patient, but he is not a sick patient. He may have been a very sick patient when he was first admitted to the hospital, however.

CJ
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:
I think Clive's example gives a good scenario of when you would use "sick patient": A family doctor might take appointments for routine care - check-ups, tests, etc., - for certains hours each day, the rest being reserved for "sick patients" who need an appointment right away.
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