The Patient is the story of Ugandan doctors and their patients through the decades. It's the story of mostly young enthusiastic medical students becoming doctors, and choosing their paths in a corrupt and impoverished world where their own needs, wellbeing, and sanity, compete with the needs of their patients. It is the story of a hospital badly in need of healing, a health care system that is designed to fail, and a country whose continuing existence is proof that resilient and subservient people can survive exploitation and abuse for a long time. It is the story of a society coming unstuck at the seams, of leaders blinded by power and greed, and of health workers sacrificing their lives to help their patients. It is the story of the patient.