By way of introduction, here at Anamnesis — this is a medical podcast, but its one that isn’t about the pure medicine. Because sometimes medicine — the practice of medicine — is actually kind of simple. There’s drugs, there’s labs, there’s imaging, there’s research studies, trials, evidence-based medicine. Even if the actual content isn’t perfectly simple, there is a paradigm for the practice of medicine that is actually, in many ways, quite black and white.

But what gets us going at Anamnesis isn’t that black and white discussion of medicine, but the parts of medicine that are gray. It’s what makes medicine an art, a practice, an experience.

In every episode here at Anamnesis, we have three stories from three healthcare professionals surrounding one of these themes that are gray in medicine. And while we focus on the voices of healthcare professionals, we cross over frequently to patient voices.

And that’s what this episode is about: We’re actually covering both the voices of patient and healthcare worker — and what happens when one voice crosses into the other role — because the theme of this episode is “Rx for Reality: Healthcare Professionals Confront Medical Gaslighting.”

Chapter 1: When a Neurologist Asks for an MRI, You Order an MRI (3:58) — Following a slew of normal exams, this neurologist finally found answers. Story by Ilene S. Ruhoy, MD, PhD.

Chapter 2: Putting Together the Puzzle Pieces of Self-Compassion (15:08) — After years of glossing past symptoms, this doctor had to stop gaslighting herself to be diagnosed. Story by Kara Wada, MD.

Chapter 3: Unmasking A Nurse’s Journey Through Long COVID Gaslighting (28:17) — Repeated dismissal from doctors led a nurse to find her own answers. Story by Jess Warner, RN.

Episode produced by Gillian Booth

Sound engineering by Greg Laub

Theme music by Palomar