An elderly Chinese woman has been brought to the office by her son. Shana is new at this practice and has never interacted with an elderly Asian woman before. However, she has heard that Asian women defer to male relatives, so instead of addressing the woman, she directs her questions and instructions to the woman's son. What error has Shana made?

Question

A. The son should not be allowed to stay in the room during the patient interview.
B. A female relative should have been present during the patient interview.
C. People from other cultures should be interviewed only by the physician.
D. Shana should have interviewed the son privately without the woman present.
E. Shana stereotyped the woman, who may prefer to speak for herself.

Answer 1

E. Shana stereotyped the woman, who may prefer to speak for herself.
Shana made a judgment about this patient based on a stereotyped belief. The woman may prefer to speak for herself, and the information she gives you might be much different from that her son provides.