Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Hills like white elephants

  • “Hills Like White Elephants” and the collusion of non-communication

    Clayton BakerRochester, New York, United States There is a particular type of dysfunctional communication that can occur between doctor and patient, a sort of a temporary folie-a-deux. This “collusion of non-communication” happens when a doctor-patient interview reaches a topic that one or both parties find particularly distasteful, frightening, or shameful. Seeking to avoid, or spare…