--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a patient wants to live, doctors are…" description: "\"If a patient wants to live, doctors are impotent.\" — Faina Ranevskaya" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/faina-ranevskaya-21262_doctors_if-a-patient-wants-to-live-doctors-are-i_1902746.jpg" --- # If a patient wants to live, doctors are impotent. ![“If a patient wants to live, doctors are impotent.” quote by Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/faina-ranevskaya-21262_doctors_if-a-patient-wants-to-live-doctors-are-i_1902746.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/faina-ranevskaya-21262_doctors_if-a-patient-wants-to-live-doctors-are-i_1902746.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/faina-ranevskaya-21262_doctors_if-a-patient-wants-to-live-doctors-are-i_1902746.jpg) > “If a patient wants to live, doctors are impotent.” [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire to live can render medical help ineffective if the spirit is broken. **In simple terms:** Willpower matters more than treatment. Key Takeaway Cultivate hope and purpose. Themes health psychology willpower Mood empathetic serious Type dramatic humanistic When to use this quote - hospital care - palliative support - mental health counseling Key Concepts medicine existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How can you support a patient’s will to live? - What role does hope play in recovery? A Different Perspective Physical interventions still matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Doctors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctors/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) ## Related quotes > [“The nurse becomes willing to sacrifice herself for the patient. 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'God's nightgown!' she cried at last, and felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/scarlett-kicked-the-coverlet-in-impotent-rage-trying-to-think-of/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“Remembering that only a few years ago men, women, and even children, were imprisoned, tortured and burned, for having expressed in an exceedingly mild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/remembering-that-only-a-few-years-ago-men-women-and-even-children/) [Robert G. 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'Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/things-happen-that-are-out-of-your-control-kerrick-gave-him-a-tight/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [I'm dead, not impotent. Nasty rumors like that must be squashed before they gain momentum. Feel free to emphasize how very functional I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/i-m-dead-not-impotent-nasty-rumors-like-that-must-be-squashed-before/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) ## More by Faina Ranevskaya > [All my life I've swam in the loo butterfly style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/all-my-life-i-ve-swam-in-the-loo-butterfly-style/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [You cannot cure sclerosis, but you can forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/you-cannot-cure-sclerosis-but-you-can-forget-it/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [It has always been incomprehensible for me: people are ashamed of the poverty but aren't ashamed of the wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/it-has-always-been-incomprehensible-for-me-people-are-ashamed-of-the/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [Optimism is lack of information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/optimism-is-lack-of-information/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [God created women beautiful - so that men can love them - and stupid - so that they can love men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/god-created-women-beautiful-so-that-men-can-love-them-and-stupid-so/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [Like all people in love, I was obnoxious and stupid, threatened suicide...And the one I was supposed to make worry only giggled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/like-all-people-in-love-i-was-obnoxious-and-stupid-threatened-suicide/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [When you get married, you'll understand what happiness is. But then it will be too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/when-you-get-married-you-ll-understand-what-happiness-is-but-then-it/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [Lesbians, homosexuals, masochism, sadism are not perversions. 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Have you ever heard of a woman that would lose her head only because a man has pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/women-are-of-course-more-intelligent-have-you-ever-heard-of-a-woman/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [On should life his life in such a way that even bastards remember him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/on-should-life-his-life-in-such-a-way-that-even-bastards-remember-him/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [I had enough brain to live a stupid life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/i-had-enough-brain-to-live-a-stupid-life/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [I've been smart enough to have lived my life stupidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/i-ve-been-smart-enough-to-have-lived-my-life-stupidly/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [Women critics are amazons in climax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/women-critics-are-amazons-in-climax/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) [Explore all 29 Faina Ranevskaya quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) ## More Doctor quotes > [Many patients imagine that they have tried everything. 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Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) [Browse all 3,922 Doctor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If a patient wants to live, doctors are impotent.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Faina Ranevskaya" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/if-a-patient-wants-to-live-doctors-are-impotent/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doctor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/if-a-patient-wants-to-live-doctors-are-impotent/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/faina-ranevskaya-21262_doctors_if-a-patient-wants-to-live-doctors-are-i_1902746.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/faina-ranevskaya-21262_doctors_if-a-patient-wants-to-live-doctors-are-i_1902746.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/faina-ranevskaya-21262_doctors_if-a-patient-wants-to-live-doctors-are-i_1902746.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If a patient wants to live, doctors are impotent.” — Faina Ranevskaya", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Faina Ranevskaya", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If a patient wants to live,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/if-a-patient-wants-to-live-doctors-are-impotent/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/if-a-patient-wants-to-live-doctors-are-impotent/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```