About this episode
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