Looking at the statistics of my WordPress blog, I’m struck by the performance of what people in this line of writing call Evergreen posts.
Back in 2019 I wrote a piece titled “A Science of Uncertainty and an Art of Probability”. My readers know I like to play with words and I guess many people would think that probability is a science and constantly dealing with uncertainty is an art. I chose reversing the expected words just to illustrate the tension between those two concepts. That particular post has had more views every single following year than the year I published it. It’s like the Energizer Bunny, it keeps going and going.
In frontline medicine, uncertainty is a constant and my own way of dealing with it is to think out loud and explain how I arrive at the conclusions I’m drawing in each visit or communication as a “case“ in primary care isn’t usually a one time deal but can evolve between visits and incoming test results.
There is such a fine balance between admitting uncertainty and instilling confidence. Not enough of either one and you’re dead in the water with your patients. The way to do this is to share your thinking and also volunteer, without bragging, the background knowledge that makes you arrive at the conclusion you arrive at. I once wrote a piece about just that, titled “Clinical Depth: Knowing More than the Minimum”.
So here are those two reflections:
A Science of Uncertainty and an Art of Probability
Clinical Depth: The Power of Knowing More than the Minimum
A Country Doctor Writes: 
0 Responses to “Uncertainty, Probability and Clinical Depth”