Line #31 Main/AnnoyingPatient


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/annoying_patient.png]]]]
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6	->''"I am not only walking out on this case, Mr. Whiteside, I am leaving the nursing profession. I became a nurse because all my life, ever since I was a little girl, I was filled with the idea of serving a suffering humanity. After one month with you, Mr. Whiteside, I am going to work in a munitions factory. From now on, anything I can do to help exterminate the human race will fill me with the greatest of pleasure."''
7	-->-- '''Nurse Preen''', ''Theatre/TheManWhoCameToDinner''
8
9	A sick character (usually with the flu) is selflessly tended to by another—unless, of course, the latter also ''caused'' the malady. The sick character will inevitably abuse the situation and be as demanding and obnoxious as possible. In a sitcom, this immediately occurs right after they're given a summoning bell.
10
11	Sometimes the sick person may get ''more'' sick and make it a serious episode, but generally [[CaretakerReversal the one tending to them gets sick, and karmic payback kicks in]].
12
13	Another common variation is to have the sick character ''[[PlayingSick faking]]'' [[PlayingSick the illness in one way or another]], or hiding the fact that they're quickly getting better because they don't want the pampering to end. After their abused caretaker discovers this, the tables are often turned, and by the end of the episode, the patient becomes the servant.
14
15	Doctors as patients can be very annoying, particularly if they have already made an InformedSelfDiagnosis.
16
17	Compare DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery and AilmentInducedCruelty. Contrast NurseWithGoodIntentions.
18
19	----
20	!!Examples:
21	[[foldercontrol]]
22
23	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
24	* [[Recap/CalvinAndHobbesCalvinGetsSick An arc]] in ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' focuses on Calvin's sickness, climaxing when he hollers '''''"ROOM SERVICE!!"''''' On the flip side, his doctor commented that the flu he had made Calvin a much more agreeable patient.
25	** To be honest, this trope pretty much fits any arc where Calvin gets sick and goes to the doctor.
26	--->'''Doctor''': Kid, don't make me recant the Hippocratic Oath, okay?
27	* Alluded to in ''ComicStrip/BabyBlues'', when Bunny is in labor with her twins. Her husband calls Daryl at one point, suggesting that he should give the ''nurse'' painkillers. A nurse can be seen leaving Bunny's room in the background, making strangling gestures and growling "Ooooh, ''that woman--!"''
28	* ''ComicStrip/ShermansLagoon'': Sherman becomes one after undergoing hernia surgery. His petty requests get under the skin of everyone trying to help him.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Fan Works]]
32	* Pick any ''Series/{{Emergency}}'' fic where Gage is hurt. He never wants to stay as long as the doctors want, he says he's feeling better than he is, and if Roy is hurt too, they'll sneak off to each other's room. ThePatientHasLeftTheBuilding is common as well.
33	** In the ''Series/{{Emergency}}'' fic ''[[http://web.archive.org/web/20051210054935/www.eeyores-efic.com/Lumps.html Taking Your Lumps Like a Man]]'', John is stuck with Chet, who drives him nuts with jokes and TV shows. But in the end, Chet leaves and Brice comes in, making John start using Chet's tactics on Brice.
34	* The ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/DownToAgincourt'' has Dean struck by a nearly mortal illness, and when he's lucid he's an annoying patient of the "tries to do too much" variety. When he's delirious, though, he tries to exorcise, strangle, and/or ''stab'' his caregivers.
35	* [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Phoenix]] is this to Iris in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8824619/15/Through-the-Years Through the Years]]'' when she nurses him from his cold, mostly because he thinks she's completely overreacting.
36	* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/14997911/chapters/34760702 The Horsewomen Of Las Vegas]]'' has several interactions like this between Wrestling/SashaBanks (a nurse) and Wrestling/BeckyLynch (a criminal). Becky is annoying and sarcastic by nature throughout the story, and Sasha gets increasingly fed up with having to treat the various injuries she gets, usually in the process of killing people.
37	* Toyed with in the ''Anime/PrettyCure'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TheSeasonsMyReason''; [[Anime/DeliciousPartyPrettyCure Rosemary]] constantly frets that he's being a burden to his caregivers while in the hospital, despite frequent reassurance that he's been very patient and cooperative. In Chapter 12, [[Anime/HealinGoodPrettyCure Nodoka]] quips that the only annoying thing he's done is constantly ask if he's being annoying, and that compared to giving [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure Mepple]] a flu shot, giving Rosemary a checkup is a blessing.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
41	* ''Film/TwelveHourShift'': Mr. Kent keeps demanding to be seen despite being told over and over by Karen that as soon as a bed becomes available she will call him.
42	* The Colonel in ''Film/CarryOnNurse'' infuriates the nurses with his incessant demands on their time. Similar characters appear in the other medically-themed ''Carry On'' films, such as Creator/FrankieHowerd's character in ''Film/CarryOnDoctor''.
43	* ''Film/DoctorSeries'':
44	** Mrs. Wilkins from ''Film/DoctorAtLarge'', who demands wind medicine that she doesn't need and gets her husband to threaten Dr. Sparrow with legal action:
45	--->'''Mrs. Wilkins''': I want me medicine!
46	** Wendover from ''Film/DoctorInClover'' is rather a difficult man, constantly arguing with the hospital staff and complaining about his war wound:
47	--->'''Wendover''': Just a minute. I 'ope your 'ands are clean.
48	--->'''Sir Lancelot''': Don't be impertinent! Learn to control your tongue or I'll have you discharged from this hospital forthwith!
49	--->'''Wendover''': Is that a threat? Are you threatenin' me? That's nice, innit? I'm on me deathbed an' I'm bein' ''threatened''. I bet you wouldn't talk to me like that if I was royalty, if I 'ad a crown 'round me 'ead.
50	--->'''Sir Lancelot''': You are ''not'' royalty.
51	--->'''Wendover''': No, I know I'm not. I'm just a bit of cannon fodder what fought for King and country an' is now become a guinea pig for the medical profession. All right then, if that's what you want, you want everybody to see my stomach? 'Ere, Nurse, come an' 'ave a look at this. An' the rest of ya can come an' play naughts an' crosses all over it. Come on!
52	* Chewbacca becomes this in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' when he's injured by blasterfire. Finn, a defected stormtrooper who doesn't understand [[TheUnintelligible Shyriiwook]], has to take care of him, which is easier said than done.
53	-->'''Han:''' You hurt Chewie, you're gonna have to deal with me!
54	-->'''Finn:''' Hurt him?! He's almost killed me six times!
55	-->''[Chewie lunges for Finn's neck in an attempt to make it seven.]''
56	-->'''Finn:''' ''Whichisfine.''
57	* ''Film/TwiceRoundTheDaffodils'':
58	** At first, Henry is rude to the nurses due to the fact he is being forced to move into Ward V after a year in his old ward:
59	--->'''Nurse Catty:''' You're ''just'' in a ''mood''.
60	--->'''Henry:''' Certainly, I'm in a mood. Why should I move from next door into ''here?'' Ridiculous, medical logistics run ''riot''. After a ''year'' next door, I was just getting settled in. What's this bed made of, ''nails?'' Made for a Fakir, that's what it was. An' a pretty stupid Fakir to put up with it, too.
61	** John is hard work at first too, refusing to admit he has tuberculosis just like the rest of the men:
62	--->'''John:''' I shouldn't be 'ere at all, an' why did they take my fishin' tackle away?
63	--->'''Nurse Catty:''' Because this isn't a holiday resort, it's Lenton Sanatorium for the Treatment of TB.
64	--->'''John:''' ''Ah'', well, I'm not 'ere for treatment. I wanna see the boss.
65	--->'''Nurse Catty:''' Given a little time, Mr. Rhodes, I can probably arrange for you to see the Minister of Health, but ''only'' if you get into bed.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Literature]]
69	* Creator/AgathaChristie:
70	** These characters ''abound'' in Agatha Christie's works, bordering on AssholeVictim, with the husband always being the prime suspect.
71	** In a ''Literature/MissMarple'' story, one set of characters is a pair of sisters, one of whom is a chronically ill Annoying Patient, and her long-suffering caretaker of a sister. It turns out that these are just false identities, though, as part of a large NefariousPlot.
72	* In ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle'', Howl is a terrible patient. Sophie ignores him, though Michael his apprentice does plenty of running around when he is in. There are no consequences for Howl.
73	* Zak Arranda shows some symptoms of this in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: The Planet Plague'', when he's clearly falling ill but refuses to rest in bed... until the illness gets much worse and he's too weak to run around, which scares his sister Tash more than the prior behaviors had annoyed her.
74	* In ''Literature/DoloresClaiborne'', Vera Donovan gradually devolves from a strong-minded businesswoman to a feeble helpless old lady through the novel. It doesn't help that she [[{{Jerkass}} maliciously]] [[NobodyPoops craps the bed]] in order to make life harder for Dolores, her carer.
75	* A borderline case: in the ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' series, when protagonist Kimball Kinnison is hospitalized, his desire to eat heartily and get back into action causes incredible friction with the hospital staff. One doctor comments that they actually like to see patients like this, as it indicates they'll likely recover completely. Later, he uses the incident as a way to cue his former nurse in on his presence in an enemy facility. Averted when Kinnison is hospitalized again, later, with a much worse condition. Part of the difference might be the simple fact that the first time, Kinnison knows that he was injured by being an idiot, and he's frustrated.
76	* In ''Literature/GoingPostal'', Mr. Groat, a man who believes in a very strange type of AllNaturalSnakeOil, has to be taken to the Lady Sybil Hospital after the Post Office fire and his being attacked by [[OurBansheesAreLouder a banshee.]] He proceeds to become an Annoying Patient by refusing to actually let doctors and nurses interact with him, including protesting that he can't take a bath because soap "washes away your natural effluviences" and complaining that he had to receive a "trouserectomy." Also, his toupee was taken away but escaped from the cabinet on its own. While the nurses are fed up, Dr. Lawn views Mr. Groat as something of a scientific curiosity, but not so much that he won't allow him to leave.
77	* In the ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'' series, [[spoiler: Tisala]] is a mild case of this, going from unconscious to impatience and bad mood in quite a short time.
78	* Seen serially from the doctor's perspective in ''Literature/DeathStar''. Uli is [[ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder a surgeon, not an internal meds doctor]] but is forced to do [[SurgeonsCanDoAutopsiesIfTheyWant routine checkups anyway]], as there's only so much for a surgeon to do but a shortage of medical staff in general. A lot of the people he sees do not want to be there and are sarcastic and barely cooperative at him. Uli himself doesn't want to be there just in general - he signed on for ''one'' tour of duty in his late teens but has been [[ResignationsNotAccepted hit with stop-loss orders]] and forced to serve the Empire for twenty years - and tends to find their complaining relatable and funny. Then he's ordered to tend the Princess Leia after she's tortured and is struck by her continued defiance and moral clarity, rapidly coming to admire her greatly until he's [[NeutralNoLonger shaken from his defeated resignation]].
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
82	* In the ''Series/AdventuresInWonderland'' episode "The Hatter Who Came to Dinner," the Hatter becomes an annoying patient to the Queen and the White Rabbit after he hurts his back while trimming the Queen's hedges and has to stay at the palace until it's better.
83	* ''Series/{{Amen}}''. Both Ernie and Reuben were this whenever they became sick or injured. In particular, Thelma goes from hoping that the FlorenceNightingaleEffect will endear her to Reuben and finally make him propose to being so irritated that she practically throws him out when he recovers.
84	* ''Series/{{Becker}}'': Dr. John Becker constantly suffered from Annoying Patients. After accidentally being shot, ''he'' was an Annoying Patient to his doctor at the hospital due to him constantly disagreeing with her diagnosis.
85	* Sheldon in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' suffers from severe social ineptitude, as well as mild hypochondria, making him an absolutely awful person to have around when he becomes sick in one episode. Specifically, he continuously infuriates his neighbor, as his roommate and friends have long since learned to avoid him in this state.
86	* Both PlayedForLaughs and PlayedForDrama, Hank became a stay at home one to Marie in ''Series/BreakingBad'' after Hank is in recovery from his encounter with the twins. The argument between rocks and minerals was played for laughs but soon became a MoodWhiplash when Marie's patience wears so thin she starts stealing again.
87	* ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm'':
88	** In the episode "Interior Decorator", chronic malcontent Larry David, throws a tantrum at his doctor's office over their waiting list policy, culminating in Larry tackling another patient.
89	** In a later episode "The Hot Towel", he manages to get his doctor's home number on the condition that he will only use it when it's absolutely necessary. He ends up calling it accidentally and tries to start a conversation with the annoyed doctor.
90	* ''Series/{{ER}}'' trotted out a ton of these in its 15-year run. One of the best examples is from the first season, where a psychologist would deliberately ask the staff questions meant to irritate them. A fed-up Carol put him in a room with a recently injured boxer. Within minutes, the staff was treated to the sight and sound of the shrink getting his lights [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom punched out]].
91	* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'':
92	** Frasier makes Daphne's life hell when she tends to him in "Frasier Crane's Day's Off." She gets her revenge when he becomes crazed from fever and medication and makes an ass of himself on the air.
93	** In another episode, Martin makes Daphne put off getting her flu shot. When she inevitably comes down with flu, she forces him to read romance novels to her. (After his initial horrified refusal, however, Martin gets hooked.)
94	** In another episode, Niles' wife Maris is admitted to the hospital for a cosmetic procedure, Niles is seen on the phone assuring her that the IV fluid is "low-calorie". He's later seen buying [[ApologyGift gifts]] for the hospital staff as an apology for having to deal with her. When one nurse tells him "I worked the night shift", he immediately hands her a second box with a nice watch.
95	* ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' had Aunt Vivian become this to both her family and her sisters that came over to help while she was in the late stage of her pregnancy. All together now:
96	-->STOP WITH THE DAMN BELL!
97	* [[spoiler:Dr. Glassman]] becomes an example of this in season 2 of ''Series/TheGoodDoctor'', doing everything he can to antagonize Dr. Blaize (and, to a lesser extent, Shaun) during treatment for [[spoiler:his brain cancer]].
98	* ''Series/{{House}}'':
99	** Everyone's very sympathetic about House's [[spoiler:brain cancer]] until it turns out he was faking it [[spoiler: to get into an experimental drug trial]]. In something of a subversion of the trope, what House is annoying about is insisting that he doesn't want anyone's help or sympathy for his supposed illness; he didn't even want any of his associates to find out, and when they do, by accident, he's very annoyed.
100	** Played straight in the aptly named episode "The Jerk," where the patient is an insufferable teenage chess prodigy who has an almost supernatural ability to turn everybody against him (even his mother). The equally insufferable House is the only one who can stand him long enough to cure him, and in the end, even House hates the kid's guts.
101	* In the ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' episode "How Lily Stole Christmas", Robin takes care of Barney when he has the flu. He complains about everything and acts like a spoiled child, and the plot culminates in this exchange:
102	-->'''Ted:''' Oh, how's Barney feeling?\
103	'''Robin:''' You mean the whiny bottomless pit of neediness? He was bugging me, so I spiked his echinacea tea with codeine.\
104	'''Ted:''' You're gonna be a great mom.
105	* One episode of ''Series/TheKingOfQueens'' had Carrie exaggerate her illness when Holly started bringing her food and realizing what a great cook she was. She took advantage of her, even asking her to bring food for Doug also.
106	* In an episode of ''Series/{{Matlock}}'', Matlock himself is one of these, until his nurse gives him some medicine for a headache, leading to an epiphany, and a change of attitude towards the nurse.
107	* ''Series/Miranda2009'': Miranda's mother is this in one episode.
108	* ''Series/{{Monk}}'' becomes even more irritating when ill.
109	* ''Series/My600LbLife'' has had quite a few patients repeatedly fail to follow Dr. Now's instructions, lose little to no weight (if not ''gain'' weight), and offer some pitiful excuse when called out on it. Yet the [[ExaggeratedTrope worst example by far]] would most likely be Steven Assanti: Before contacting Dr. Now, he had been kicked out of a hospital near his home town for being severely hostile to the staff. Shortly after coming to Houston for Dr. Now's treatment, he was kicked out of ''another'' hospital for abusing the staff there as well, at one point ''[[{{Squick}} spilling urine on the floor]]''.
110	* On ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', Tony can get like this... when minorly and/or humorously injured. When ''seriously'' injured, he suddenly becomes stoic and all "I'm fine, just let me work."
111	* In ''Series/OneHundredDeedsForEddieMcdowd'', Justin breaks his leg and has to be taken care of by his parents. However, ''he's'' not the annoying patient; his sister, jealous of all the attention her little brother is getting, fakes a sprained ankle and makes her parents wait on her hand and foot. When Justin chooses to grit his teeth through the pain and bike through town to find Eddie, she actually tells their parents that ''he'' must be the faker. Her masquerade is destroyed a moment later when her mother accidentally(?) spills iced tea on her leg, causing her to jump up. By the end, Justin has made his leg worse by biking and has to be waited on ''again,'' this time by his sister as her punishment.
112	* In the ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' episode "Flu Season", April gets the flu and has to stay in the hospital, using the opportunity to give this treatment to Ann, who she's holding a grudge against for kissing her love interest Andy. Ann takes it all like a true professional until the very ''second'' her shift ends, at which point she shouts, "What the ''fuck'' is wrong with you?!" and calls April out on her pettiness.
113	* The "doctor as annoying patient" angle (specifically regarding the InformedSelfDiagnosis trope) is lampshaded in an episode of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' when a doctor who comes to Sacred Heart literally informs the staff of what he diagnosed his problem with, brings along a lackey who agrees with everything he says to legitimize his claims, and demands that they sign off on the treatments he's prescribed for himself immediately if not sooner.
114	** There was also Harvey Corman, a {{Hypochondria}}c who kept coming to Sacred Heart for attention, which every doctor dreaded.
115	* Perhaps the quintessential example is Elaine Benes of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', who is blacklisted by the American Medical Association. When in desperation she books an appointment with a vet, his office receives a call just moments before she sees him. The AMA sends over her medical records, including the blacklisting.
116	** The worst part is that she ''wasn't'' this, just branded as such because [[DisproportionateRetribution she didn't want to put on a hospital gown]].
117	* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In one episode Deanna Troi loses her empathic powers, seemingly permanently, and takes it extremely badly. Despite being a qualified trauma counsellor in her own right who helps people through this sort of thing for a living she can't entirely stop herself taking it out on Dr Crusher. Justified somewhat by the fact that she has in effect suffered a very serious, life-changing injury equivalent to a regular human going blind or deaf, and that would mess with anybody.
118	** Trek captains have a tradition of giving their doctors a hard time because they're so eager to get back in action.
119	* ''Series/StElsewhere'': Throughout Season Three, Mrs. Hufnagel manages to insult, belittle, annoy or offend every single prominent character, with the exception of Bobby Caldwell whom she charms.
120	* There was an episode of ''Series/{{Steptoe and Son}}'' where Steptoe Snr was recovering from a bad back, making Harold do everything for him and constantly calling him lazy. He then discovers he is all better but fakes illness to continue Harold waiting on him hand and foot. He's eventually caught when Harold finds evidence of him making it downstairs. The payback is rather amusing.
121	* ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'': In "Guilty as Dick", Dick Solomon does this after spraining his foot. Once his foot gets better, he starts faking it to keep the treatment going. His family and Mary wreak vengeance on him when they find out, injuring him much ''more'' in the process.
122	* In an episode of ''Series/TwoTwoSeven'', Lester is this, irritating Mary so much that she finally storms out. Luckily, their daughter Brenda is there, because things take a darker turn--his symptoms worsen and she actually has to call an ambulance to take him to the hospital, because it turns out he had appendicitis, which can be fatal if not treated immediately.
123	* On an episode of ''Series/{{Wings}}'' the recurring character Carlton takes a fall down Helen's stairs, forcing her to take care of him with the threat of his "big lawyer son" who wants to sue. When Helen finally catches him dancing in front of the TV, he gives up the deception, and for good measure, brings the annoying to a head (typical for Carlton):
124	-->'''Carlton:''' I may have exaggerated about my son.\
125	'''Helen:''' Oh, he's not really a big-shot lawyer, is he?\
126	'''Carlton:''' I don't have a son.
127	* In ''Series/TheLucyShow'', Vivian trips over a toy that Lucy's son Jerry had left out, and sprains her ankle. Taking full advantage of Lucy's remorse, she exaggerates her injury, stays in bed far longer than necessary, runs Lucy ragged with constant demands, and threatens to call her attorney every time Lucy hesitates.
128	-->''[Lucy brings Vivian her supper in bed]''\
129	'''Vivian:''' Cut my meat!\
130	'''Lucy:''' Viv, it's your ankle that's sprained, not your hands.\
131	''[Vivian picks up telephone, starts to dial]''\
132	''[Lucy cuts the meat]''
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder: Puppet Shows]]
136	* ''Series/FraggleRock'': In "Pebble Pox Blues," while Boober and Wembley set out to gather medicinal ingredients for Gobo's pebble pox, Red acts as Gobo's nursemaid. He drives her crazy with his moaning and groaning and nonstop demands.
137	-->''[Red is carrying a bowl.]''\
138	'''Mokey:''' Oh, Red...?\
139	'''Red:''' Hi.\
140	'''Mokey:''' Is that for Gobo?\
141	'''Red:''' Oh, yeah. He had this sudden craving for parsnip stew... right after I finished making him some rutabaga soup.\
142	'''Mokey:''' Oh, Red, don't be so hard on him. Being sick can be very difficult.\
143	'''Red:''' Oh, Gobo's not being difficult... [[SuddenlyShouting HE'S BEING IMPOSSIBLE!]]
144	* ''Series/TodaysSpecial'': In "Help!" Muffy sprains her toe while playing baseball with Jeff and ends up taking advantage of his sense of guilt to make him wait on her.
145	* ''Series/WimziesHouse'': In "Queen for a Day'', Wimzie comes down with the flu and drives everyone crazy blowing the moose-call horn her grandma gave her to use as a summoning bell.
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder:Theater]]
149	* The entire premise of ''Theatre/TheManWhoCameToDinner''--famous and acerbically witty critic Sheridan Whiteside breaks his leg on a family's doorstep and proceeds to make their life hell. The very first thing heard in the play is him howling abuse at his nurse Miss Preen offstage. He later finds it advantageous to pretend he hasn't recovered yet. The current trope quote is Sheridan's nurse telling him off the moment she's had enough and exposing that she's been MaddenedIntoMisanthropy before storming off the house. [[spoiler: The play ends with Sheridan [[HereWeGoAgain breaking his leg on the doorstep again]] and being rushed back inside--and astoundingly, the first thing he says is "Miss Preen! Miss Preen! ''I want Miss Preen back!''"]]
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Video Games]]
153	* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'':
154	** Akihiko Sanada makes a lousy patient after being injured at the beginning of ''VideoGame/Persona3'', due to his [[ICanStillFight eagerness to return to fighting]]. As Mitsuru is the one looking after him, the main character only sees occasional hints of this when he expresses boredom and frustration, or schemes to rejoin the fight behind Mitsuru's back. Later in the game, however, the main character becomes ill following a minor event. Afterwards, Mitsuru specifically requests that s/he rest quietly until well again and NOT subject her to a repeat performance of what she went through with Akihiko, indicating she really had her hands full during that time.
155	** Late into the main story of ''VideoGame/Persona4'', [[spoiler:Ryotaro Dojima]] winds up in the hospital after a car accident, but keeps sneaking out of his room [[spoiler: because of doubts regarding his current case]]. As you can expect, the hospital staff are rather irked at this.
156	[[/folder]]
157	%%
158	%%[[folder:Visual Novels]]
159	%%* ''VisualNovel/LifesignsSurgicalUnit'' has a few of these, most notably Kagayaki.
160	%%[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder:Web Original]]
163	* In ''With a Bullet'', the third book of the ''Literature/ShadowOfTheTemplar'' webseries, Simon goes through a long and grueling recovery after being shot by a madman. Jeremy, tasked with looking after him, gets a great deal of verbal abuse heaped upon him, though it's less "Get me this and that, stat!" and more "I'm a ''man'' and I don't need to be babied, so fuck off!"
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:Western Animation]]
167	* ''WesternAnimation/TopCat'': In the episode ''The Late T.C.'', Dibble overhears part of a conversation between Top Cat and a doctor and mistakenly believes Top Cat is dying. T.C. takes advantage of this to make Dibble bring him food, throw him parties, etc.
168	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' - Angelica fakes a broken leg, almost causing Aunt Didi and Uncle Stu to have a nervous breakdown. She even made Stu [[MemeticMutation make her pudding at 4 in the morning]]. In the end, Angelica's mom Charlotte comes home with a ''real'' broken leg and is just as demanding to Angelica and her dad as Angelica was.
169	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers'', "Fakin' It": Norbert feigns illness in order to get out of repairing the house, and Dagget works so hard catering to his brother's every whim that he gets sick for real... but in the end, it turns out that Dag had gotten wise and was also faking it.
170	* Sarah, in the ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' episode "Is There An Ed In the House?", becomes this, to a point where even ''[[BewareTheNiceOnes Double D]]'' becomes justifiably furious of her bratty attitude towards him.
171	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''
172	** Bart fakes a serious illness to get out of taking a test - while "recovering" his parents do everything from getting every variety of ice cream he desires to hauling the big screen TV upstairs so he can watch it.
173	** Lisa ends up sick and having to stay away from school for a few days, with Bart giving her a videogame to play to pass the time. She gets absorbed with playing the videogame, even when she is feeling well enough to go back to school, and asks Marge to get her some ice cream later. Marge immediately drives her to school.
174	* Squidward in the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Can You Spare A Dime?" [[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible isn't sick]], but had been living on the streets for an undisclosed amount of time after getting fired from The Krusty Krab. Even once [=SpongeBob=] nurses him back to health, Squidward continues to take advantage of his kindness instead of seeking a job, so [=SpongeBob=] is forced to beg for his old one back.
175	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake'' has one of the characters (a pony) break her leg and have to recover in the titular character's house. She suddenly started whining and making all kinds of unreasonable demands. But this was dismissed by the main character as being nothing more than boredom, even when the pony rejected all forms of entertainment. Eventually, she stopped being such a whiner and her leg got better.
176	* In the ''WesternAnimation/TazMania'' episode "Nursemaid Taz", Digeri Dingo fakes a broken leg so he can get Taz's family to wait on him. They soon start killing him with kindness, force-feeding him soup and piling pillows on him till he nearly goes insane.
177	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/SagwaTheChineseSiameseCat'' has this. After his sprained paw heals, Dongwa feigns continued agony in order to get out of chores. His mother has him make up for it, though.
178	* ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsAdventuresInCareALot'':
179	** In one episode, Grumpy takes advantage of Wingnut's willingness to help when his foot is hurt, even faking it still being hurt after it heals.
180	** In another episode, Funshine got a case of [[MalfunctionMalady Bubbles]], and had to stay in bed for a whole day. In this case, he was an annoying patient because he kept getting out of bed to play outside, and his friends had to capture him each time to get him back inside. In the end, they all came down with it from chasing after him so much.
181	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'', Dale pretends to break his leg in order to sit around on his ass during a mission and get attention from Gadget. He's later found out and then breaks his leg for real, and now he hates sitting on his ass all day. Especially because now, he was missing a party.
182	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', Helga bosses Phoebe around just a bit too much, and Phoebe ends up being hit by a truck trying to do what Helga wanted, resulting in a broken leg. Helga feels horribly guilty and pledges to take care of her friend. Phoebe resists at first, but then she discovers that she enjoys being taken care of by Helga for once, instead of the other way around, and still fakes her broken leg after it healed, demanding more and more of Helga, who gladly does whatever Phoebe asks. Finally, Helga's put in the same situation that Phoebe is in the beginning, scrambling around to do her friend's bidding, and is also hit by a truck, suffering a broken leg. Phoebe feels terrible and they return to the status quo of Phoebe performing tasks for Helga.
183	* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Discord is like this when he gets sick with Blue Flu in "Three's a Crowd". [[spoiler:It turns out that he was faking it, but his shenanigans [[HoistByHisOwnPetard result in him getting sick for ''real'']]. He's more well-behaved the second time around.]]
184	* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': the Porky Pig cartoon "Patient Porky" features a screwball cat who is a patient at a hospital where he yanks the chain of the other patients. He poses as a doctor as he tends to Porky who is suffering from a tummy ache.
185	* Flip from ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' becomes this in the episode "House Flip" after Lori's reckless driving due to her siblings' misbehavior causes her to injure him. Risking losing their [[TheAllegedCar Vanzilla]] privileges indefinitely, the kids decide to take care of Flip until he recovers, and the latter threatened to get them in trouble after overhearing what was going on, at first, and the parents eventually do find out the moment he recovers, but Flip suggests [[PetTheDog they go easy on them after all the care they provided for him]]. Realizing they went overboard with their disciplining, the parents decide to only revoke the kids' Vanzilla privileges for a month, but as they return Flip to his store, [[HereWeGoAgain they end up on the receiving end of this when they injure him again by backing into the same structure Lori backed into at the start of the episode]].
186	[[/folder]]

Context Main / AnnoyingPatient