The Nocturnists

7 - Uncertainty in Medicine: A Matter of Time


Listen Later

This week, we explore how time and uncertainty are intertwined in the practice of medicine. A toxicologist faces a split-second decision in the ER that could mean life or death for a young patient. A woman with chronic ankle pain spends years searching for answers as dozens of doctors offer snap diagnoses and failed treatments. A rheumatologist navigates the slow, murky waters of autoimmune disease, where diagnosis and treatment often unfold over months or years. And a couple reckons with the long-term implications of a rare and unpredictable heart condition. Through these stories, we see how uncertainty can stretch time out endlessly or collapse it into a single moment and how, in medicine, working with time rather than fighting against it is often the only way forward.

Find show notes, transcripts, and more at thenocturnists.org, and subscribe to our substack.

The "Uncertainty in Medicine" series is generously funded by the ABIM Foundation, by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, and the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation.

The Nocturnists is supported by The California Medical Association and donations from listeners like you.

Host: Emily Silverman, MD

Uncertainty Correspondent: Alexa Miller

Series Illustrations by Eleni Debo

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The NocturnistsBy The Nocturnists

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

583 ratings


More shows like The Nocturnists

View all
On Being with Krista Tippett by On Being Studios

On Being with Krista Tippett

10,389 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,909 Listeners

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,830 Listeners

White Coat, Black Art by CBC

White Coat, Black Art

107 Listeners

The Moth by The Moth

The Moth

27,297 Listeners

Death, Sex & Money by Slate Podcasts

Death, Sex & Money

7,691 Listeners

Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

Reveal

8,246 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,409 Listeners

GeriPal - A Geriatrics and Palliative Care Podcast by Alex Smith, Eric Widera

GeriPal - A Geriatrics and Palliative Care Podcast

285 Listeners

The Curbsiders Internal Medicine Podcast by The Curbsiders Internal Medicine Podcast

The Curbsiders Internal Medicine Podcast

3,332 Listeners

Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel by Esther Perel Global Media

Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel

14,818 Listeners

Core IM | Internal Medicine Podcast by Core IM Team

Core IM | Internal Medicine Podcast

1,090 Listeners

The Curious Clinicians by The Curious Clinicians

The Curious Clinicians

366 Listeners

The Curbsiders Addiction Medicine Podcast by The Curbsiders Addiction Medicine Podcast

The Curbsiders Addiction Medicine Podcast

122 Listeners

Knock Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens by Human Content

Knock Knock, Hi! with the Glaucomfleckens

443 Listeners