In this consultation, there is a direct conflict between the Doctor and his patient; both participants are in an intolerable position, and the situation ends in disarray. The story within the video is about a patient asking the Doctor for a certificate to cover him for his previous week’s illness suffering from influenza. He says he tried to telephone the Doctor’s receptionist, who suggested that if the patient was not seriously ill, the patient should not bother the Doctor.

The patient presents himself for a “check-up” and a certificate the following week. The Doctor declines to give the certificate, and the atmosphere becomes more heated; he questions the patient about his smoking habit and subtly tries to induce guilty feelings about smoking and bronchitis in his patient.

The patient rejects these overtures, and the Doctor abandons this line of discussion. The Doctor then reminds the patient that he has tried to get backdated certificates before and again refuses to give a certificate. The situation deteriorates; the patient attacks the Doctor’s alleged affluence, and at a level of personal animosity, the Doctor decides to terminate the interview with the patient, still attempting, perhaps successfully, to score points from the situation until the very end.