Twelve tips for thriving in the face of clinical uncertainty

Abstract

Background: Effectively managing clinical uncertainty is increasingly recognized as a goal of medical education. Stress from uncertainty has been associated with depression and burnout in trainees and may also impact patient care. Despite its importance, however, strategies to embrace uncertainty in clinical practice are lacking.

Aims: The literature on uncertainty in medicine was reviewed. Incorporating insights from faculty and students, 12 tips for healthcare educators to help themselves and others thrive in the face of clinical uncertainty were developed.

Results: Educators will find the tips practical and easy to implement in their day-to-day interactions as clinicians and teachers. Tips are divided into tips for oneself; for implementing with students and trainees; and for implementing with patients and in healthcare systems.

Conclusions: These tips can enhance healthcare professionals’ and students’ ability to thrive in the face of uncertainty. Strategies to embrace uncertainty are critical for ourselves, our trainees, our patients, and our healthcare systems.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Katrina A. Armstrong, MD for her intellectual contribution and for her review of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Galina Gheihman

Galina Gheihman, HBSc, is a fourth-year medical student at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson, MD, MMSc, is a clinical fellow of Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, and preliminary intern at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA. Next year he will begin training in Interventional Radiology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon, NH.

Arabella L. Simpkin

Arabella Simpkin, MA, BMBCh, MRCPCH, MMSc (Med Ed), is the Associate Director of the Center for Educational Innovation and Scholarship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.