--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Remember. You are a physician. You are…" description: "\"Remember. You are a physician. You are not a policeman nor are you a minister of religion. You must take people as they come. Remember, too that though..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/753/alan-bennett-1922_conditions_remember-you-are-a-physician-you-are-not_2402474.jpg" --- # Remember. You are a physician. You are not a policeman nor… ![“Remember. You are a physician. You are not a policeman nor are you a minister of religion. You must take people as they come. Remember, too that though you will generally know more about the condition than the patient, it is the patient who has the condition and this if nothing else bestows on him…” quote by Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/753/alan-bennett-1922_conditions_remember-you-are-a-physician-you-are-not_2402474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/753/alan-bennett-1922_conditions_remember-you-are-a-physician-you-are-not_2402474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/753/alan-bennett-1922_conditions_remember-you-are-a-physician-you-are-not_2402474.jpg) > “Remember. You are a physician. You are not a policeman nor are you a minister of religion. You must take people as they come. Remember, too that though you will generally know more about the condition than the patient, it is the patient who has the condition and this if nothing else bestows on him or her a kind of wisdom. You have the knowledge but that does not entitle you to be superior. Knowledge makes you the servant not the master.” [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Physicians should view patients as partners, not subjects, using knowledge to serve rather than dominate, respecting the patient’s lived experience. **In simple terms:** Doctors serve, not rule patients. Key Takeaway Treat patients with humility and respect. Themes medicine ethics humility Mood thoughtful respectful Type professional ethical When to use this quote - clinical practice - medical education - hospital policy Key Concepts patient-centered care power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can doctors maintain humility under pressure? - What practices foster patient empowerment? A Different Perspective Balancing expertise with empathy can be challenging in high‑stress settings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Physicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicians/) [Policemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policemen/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [If I didn't have this affliction, I would be the first. As a rule the if-clause contains an unfulfillable condition, or the patient's own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/if-i-didn-t-have-this-affliction-i-would-be-the-first-as-a-rule-the/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [Right now, the United States of America is the patient. And the patient is in critical condition and will not be cured by political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/right-now-the-united-states-of-america-is-the-patient-and-the-patient/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [Orthodoxy: That peculiar condition where the patient can neither eliminate an old idea nor absorb a new one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/orthodoxy-that-peculiar-condition-where-the-patient-can-neither/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Suffering brings the patient to us...the patient needs to feel heard and seen-that is, met, by another person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leston-havens/suffering-brings-the-patient-to-us-the-patient-needs-to-feel-heard/) [Leston Havens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leston-havens/) > [“If I were a doctor, I would diagnose his condition thus: "The patient is suffering from nostalgic insufficiency.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/if-i-were-a-doctor-i-would-diagnose-his-condition-thus-the-patient-is/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I advocate for a totally new view of the role of the patient: patient as engaged partner, not passive recipient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-debronkart/i-advocate-for-a-totally-new-view-of-the-role-of-the-patient-patient/) [Dave deBronkart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-debronkart/) > [My mother had said me, "All right, you've been raised, so don't let anybody else raise you. 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None can prove your existence, because his existence must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/you-must-realize-first-of-all-that-you-are-the-proof-of-everything/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [Make me remember you like you remember me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/make-me-remember-you-like-you-remember-me/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [ \[Erwin Rommel\] explained why in short words, what the two generals' message and then he explained his position and he gave some reason for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manfred-rommel/erwin-rommel-explained-why-in-short-words-what-the-two-generals/) [Manfred Rommel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manfred-rommel/) > [Even to the sage who's doing Sahaja Samadhi, the great guru, I'd say: "Hey buddy, you know, I like the robes and everything, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/even-to-the-sage-who-s-doing-sahaja-samadhi-the-great-guru-i-d-say/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose Once there was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-m-so-afraid-to-love-you-but-more-afraid-to-loose-clinging-to-a-past/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) ## More by Alan Bennett > [“The closest she got to pretence was politeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-closest-she-got-to-pretence-was-politeness/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail , listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. 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It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-thing-i-think-about-is-that-once-you-ve-done-it-you-then-start-to/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [At the drabber moments of my life (swilling some excrement from the steps, for instance, or rooting with a bent coat-hanger down a blocked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/at-the-drabber-moments-of-my-life-swilling-some-excrement-from-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. 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It's just one fucking thing after another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/how-do-i-define-history-it-s-just-one-fucking-thing-after-another/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) [Explore all 188 Alan Bennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## More Conditions quotes > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [Most celebrated men live in a condition of prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/most-celebrated-men-live-in-a-condition-of-prostitution/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. 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