Following his philosophy that patients should be treated with compassion and humor, rather than detached diagnosis, Patch and some friends from school eventually open the Gesundheit! Institute, offering free medical care with an alternative approach.
Throughout the film, Patch Adams brings joy to the lives of friends, colleagues, and patients around him through goofy antics and a constant vein of humor. Two years later, he enrolls in medical school, where he quickly begins to clash with the dean and freak out fellow students with an unconventional approach to both life and medicine. Because of this experience, he decides to become a doctor. While there, Adams realizes how lonely many of the patients are and finds a purpose to his life in helping them by offering humor and compassion. Hunter “Patch” Adams, this 1998 film begins with Adams (Robin Williams) committing himself to a mental institution after contemplating suicide.
