The Nocturnists

An improv workshop transforms the way psychiatrist David Elkin approaches a patient on the psych consult service, and catalyzes a philosophical shift in his approach to patient care. The Nocturnists is partnering with VCU Health Continuing Education to offer FREE CME credits for healthcare professionals. Visit ce.vcuhealth.org/nocturnists to claim credit for this episode. More at thenocturnists.co...

Alzheimer's disease used to be a rare diagnosis. But today, more than 5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's and this number is projected to triple to 14 million over the next forty years. In this episode, Emily discusses the mounting practical, moral, and ethical quandaries of caring for patients with Alzheimer’s and other dementia-causing diseases with Dr. Jason Karlawish, author of T...

The emergency room is a place of intensity—a place of noise and colors and human drama. This is the setting of Dr. Michele Harper's memoir,  The Beauty in Breaking , which explores how the healing journeys of her patients intersect with her own.  Emily and Dr. Harper discuss the back stories that become salient in caring for patients who may be suffering from more than just the injuries bringing t...

Do no harm. Thou shalt not kill. Life is sacred and should be protected at all costs, right? But when is life no longer worth living? Who decides? And what do we do about it? In this episode, Emily discusses the murky ethical dilemmas of medical aid in dying with award-winning journalist Katie Engelhart, the author of The Inevitable: Dispatches On The Right to Die . The Nocturnists are partnering...

In the last few years, the medical profession has been grappling with the problem of gender bias in medicine, with how the symptoms of women are seen as atypical, or worse, are minimized, dismissed or ignored. But where did this problem come from? How far have we come and where should we go from here? In this episode, Emily discusses these questions and more with Dr. Elinor Cleghorn, author of Unw...

It’s been over a year since the first case of COVID-19 appeared in Seattle, and it’s been a long cold lonely winter. But in our series finale, we wanted to hear about a bright spot in all the darkness: the first vaccines that found their way into the arms of healthcare workers all around the country. More at thenocturnists.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other...

Where did the pandemic become real for you? This has been the most significant global public health crisis in a generation, but we each experienced it through a different set of eyes. More at thenocturnists.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenocturnists.substack.com

The acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic is over, but some things are here to stay. How have N-95s, face shields, gowns, gloves and ventilators inserted themselves into our everyday lives? More at thenocturnists.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenocturnists.substack.com

The COVID-19 global health crisis shed light on the immense value of doctors, nurses, public health workers, and research scientists. At the same time, the pandemic has all but obliterated the arts: theater artists, dancers, and performers have lost their livelihoods and their purpose. But doesn't art save lives, too? More at thenocturnists.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discus...

We know the pandemic has affected the waking lives of healthcare workers. But what happens after we fall asleep? Does the pandemic haunt us in the shadows too? More at thenocturnists.com . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenocturnists.substack.com

One of the hardest things about being healthcare workers going through this pandemic is that we've both experienced and borne witness to moments that nobody should have to go through alone. Who do we need by our side when everything falls apart? And what do we do when they can’t be there? More at thenocturnists.com . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscriber...

To some, the pandemic is a distant thing. The deaths of hundreds of thousands can feel unreal and even impossible to comprehend. That is, until COVID hits home. More at thenocturnists.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenocturnists.substack.com

The Nocturnists is back with the second installment of “Stories from a Pandemic”. How have healthcare workers been holding up over the past year? In this episode we hear stories from healthcare workers around the country about what it’s been like after the dust has settled.  Visit our website for episode show notes here .     This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other s...

The Nocturnists is proud to announce the second installment of Stories from a Pandemic , which explores what the murky, middle part of the pandemic has been like for healthcare workers. Tune in Tuesday, June 8, 2021 for the first of eight episodes, “The Space Between”. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenoctu...

Emily talks to Dr. Suzanne Koven, author of Letter to a Young Female Physician: Notes from a Medical Life . Dr. Koven graduated from medical school in the 80s at a time when there were so few women in her residency program that she had to write up her own maternity leave policy. Her memoir is a testament to how, while some things have changed for the better for women in medical education, much of...

As much as our culture delights in talking about sex, we do not relish discussing the sexually transmitted diseases which sometimes follow. But STDs are not just a fact of life, they are a subject that has been shrouded in mystery and moralizing throughout the history of medicine. In this episode, Emily speaks with Dr. Ina Park , a family medicine doctor, Associate Professor of Family and Communit...

All of us have experienced physical pain at some point in our lives. Yet many of us are unaware of how essential context is to the pain experience. Even today, there is much about pain that remains poorly understood. How is it that something so core to being human can remain such a mystery? Joining me to unravel some of these complexities is Dr. Abdul-Ghaaliq Lalkhen, an anesthesiologist and autho...

Many of us have had to imagine dreaded scenarios for the death of a loved one with dementia. But few have done so with as much cinematic ingenuity and depth of affection as our next guest. In this episode, Emily talks to Kirsten Johnson, the veteran cinematographer and award-winning documentary filmmaker of the film Dick Johnson is Dead , which centers around her father's experience with dementia....

More and more Americans are choosing to die at home in the care of a loved one. But who takes care of the caregiver? In today's episode, Emily talks to Dr. Jessica Zitter, a critical care and palliative care specialist, about her award-winning directorial debut film, Caregiver: A Love Story . Find show notes, transcript, and more at thenocturnists.com . . This is a public episode. If you would lik...

Emily sits down with Danielle Spencer to discuss her book Metagnosis: Revelatory Narratives of Health and Identity which, in identifying and naming the concept of "metagnosis," brings the study of healthcare into conversation with the discourse on identity. In doing so, this extraordinary new work in narrative medicine underscores the importance of narrative in healthcare in relation to concepts o...

Our lungs connect us to our innermost selves, the outside world, and each other. In this episode, Emily talks to pulmonologist Dr. Michael Stephen, author of Breath Taking: What Our Lungs Teach Us About Our Origins, Ourselves, and Our Future .  Find show notes, transcript, and more at thenocturnists.com . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acc...

Emily talks to biographer Janice Nimura about her new book, The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women—and Women to Medicine , which examines the complicated and exceptional lives of Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell, the first and third female physicians in the United States, two women who profoundly influenced the medical profession. Find show notes, transcript, and...

The Nocturnists Holiday Special looks back on a year like no other and celebrates the holiday season with creative contributions from healthcare workers. Contributors include: Alex Raines, Alina Kung, Brad Hunter, Brian Bobby Chiong, Catherine Forest, Dan Merriott , Dawn Marie Wadle, Elsa Alaswad, Emmeline Sun, Greta Peng, Theodore Peng, Jacqueline Flores, Jessica Briggs, John Danyi, Kathy Lin, Ka...

The Nocturnists Holiday Special looks back on a year like no other and celebrates the holiday season with creative contributions from healthcare workers. Contributors include: Alex Raines, Alina Kung, Brad Hunter, Brian Bobby Chiong, Catherine Forest, Dan Merriott , Dawn Marie Wadle, Elsa Alaswad, Emmeline Sun, Greta Peng, Theodore Peng, Jacqueline Flores, Jessica Briggs, John Danyi, Kathy Lin, Ka...

Pediatric critical care physician Cathy Humikowski tells the story of having a cardiac arrest the day she gave birth to her daughter. This story was originally told at The Nocturnists Transitions show in San Francisco on January 16, 2020. Hosted by Emily Silverman Illustrations by Lindsay Mound Original theme music by Yosef Munro Other music comes from Blue Dot Sessions The Nocturnists is made pos...