Navigating Uncertainty: Preparing Clinicians to Lead With Trust, Transparency, & Respect
How can clinicians communicate uncertainty while building trust and supporting patient autonomy?
Uncertainty is a constant in health care — but many clinicians are trained to value certainty above all else. ...In this conversation, experts explore how embracing ambiguity can actually strengthen clinician-patient relationships and foster trust in an era of rapid change and growing skepticism toward the medical system.
Featuring Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD, EdD, MPH (Thomas Jefferson University), Lekshmi Santhosh, MD, MAEd (University of California-San Francisco), and moderated by Susan Edgman-Levitan, PA (John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital), this discussion examines:
How to communicate clinical uncertainty with transparency and respect.
Ways to present clinical guidelines as evidence-based recommendations rather than rigid rules.
Strategies to support patient autonomy and collaboration.
The importance of preparing future clinicians to engage with uncertainty confidently and compassionately.
Watch to gain practical insights into building trust through openness, fostering shared decision-making, and redefining professionalism for modern health care.
🔗 Resources Mentioned
Addressing diagnostic uncertainty and excellence in emergency care — from multicountry policy analysis to communication practice in Australian emergency departments: a multimethod study protocol, published in BMJ Open: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/9/e085335
Jefferson Center for Connected Care, an initiative advancing team-based, technology-enabled approaches to improve patient outcomes: https://research.jefferson.edu/connected-care-center.html
VitalTalk, a nonprofit that equips clinicians with communication skills to navigate serious illness conversations: https://vitaltalk.org
ICU-Pause, an ATS Ed+ educational resource designed to promote reflection and communication in intensive care settings: https://atsedplus.thoracic.org/icu-pause/group/icu-pause.
(2025-05-06)
00:00 – Introduction: Why uncertainty matters in healthcare
00:56 – Opening question: When uncertainty came to life
01:47 – Dmitri: Residents discharging without a diagnosis
03:00 – Defining “diagnostic uncertainty” and the training gap
04:07 – Lakshmi: The myth of House MD and diagnosis as a journey
05:44 – Navigating uncertainty as patients and family members
07:06 – Communicating uncertainty with transparency
10:19 – How transparency builds trust with patients
12:07 – Real-world examples of trust and uncertainty
15:20 – Team alignment and consistent communication
17:52 – Teaching students to manage uncertainty
22:37 – Culture change and psychological safety in medicine
23:07 – Introducing the ABIM Foundation–supported module
25:20 – Inside the module: practical tools and examples
26:13 – The ICU Pause and uncertainty communication checklist
28:40 – Language and linguistics of uncertainty
29:43 – Trauma-informed care and rebuilding trust
32:50 – Trauma-informed medical education
33:18 – Communicating uncertainty during hospital discharge
37:39 – Respect, team culture, and building trust across care
41:16 – Embedding uncertainty as a core competency
43:19 – Practical strategies clinicians can use right away
47:37 – Closing reflections
52:12 – Moderator wrap-up and key takeaways
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