The Nocturnists
The Nocturnists
Uncertainty in Medicine: Through Thick and Thin
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Uncertainty in Medicine: Through Thick and Thin

After a routine knee replacement triggers a mysterious illness, Dana and her steadfast primary care doctor embark on a year-long search for answers, revealing the emotional toll of medical uncertainty

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Illustration by Eleni Debo

Hi friends,

Today on The Nocturnists: Uncertainty in Medicine, we explore diagnostic uncertainty, the kind that leaves patients stuck, and doctors frustrated.

We begin with Dana, a middle school teacher who underwent a routine knee replacement… and never recovered. Instead, she found herself trapped in a medical mystery, growing sicker by the day, with no clear diagnosis and no one willing to believe her. Except one doctor.

Then we zoom out to rural Maine, where the overwhelming uncertainty of outpatient primary care is quietly driving young doctors away from careers in the field. But one residency program noticed and made a deceptively simple change. The result? More doctors staying in primary care, and more patients getting the kind of care Dana was lucky to have.

This episode is about staying with people through the unknown. It’s about trust, time, and the power of saying “I don’t know… but I’m still here.”

Listen Now

Our best,
Emily and The Nocturnists Team

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From Friends of The Nocturnists: A New Podcast About Clinician-Led Innovation on the Front Lines

Unleashed: Redesigning Health Care is a new podcast that fans of The Nocturnists are sure to love. Featured guests are clinician-innovators who have changed care on the front lines. Their stories, their voices, their ingenuity. Learn more at unleashedpodcast.org.

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Join Emily and Alexa in exploring Uncertainty

Each month, the ABIM Foundation’s Trust Conversations explore both the challenges and opportunities inherent in establishing trust within health care settings. Join us for their next live event "Managing Uncertainty: A Path to Better Patient Care” on Monday, May 5, 2025 from 1:30-2:30PM ET.

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The Nocturnists Satellites is an opportunity for clinicians to access support from The Nocturnists in producing their own live storytelling shows. By partnering with people across the country to foster community-based storytelling, we amplify the movement we’ve been building over the last eight years: to support wellbeing through connection and creative expression.

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