Woman physician stalked. Personal reflection and suggested approach.

OBJECTIVE To increase awareness of the stalking and harassing behaviour physicians sometimes encounter from patients and to explore how best to approach and address this behaviour.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION A physician's personal reflection of a stalking incident is combined with a review of the literature. Few studies have addressed this subject.

MAIN MESSAGE Any family physician could be the victim of stalking. Physicians' routines and schedules are often public knowledge because of their availability to their practices; thus they are particularly vulnerable to stalkers. We rarely think of women stalking female family physicians; however, it is likely more common than we realize. Increased awareness of this phenomenon and appropriate interventions could reduce escalation of harassing behaviour. Helpful strategies could include recognizing and addressing the behaviour early, seeking assistance, and documenting all incidents in a separate file that includes tape recordings or other material.

CONCLUSION We should explore stalking and harassing behaviour openly and become aware of the risks so that we can identify appropriate strategies to avert problems and deal with stalkers.