'How Do I Live in a Greyscale Medical Space?'

• introduces physicians to the importance of anticipating uncertainty in clinical decision-making and using uncertainty as a prompt for cognitive reflection and deep understanding

• reflects on the integrative nature of medicine, the complexity inherent in the field, and the importance of relationships in clinical care

• seeks to equip physicians to thrive in a career that demands comfort in uncertainty and to feel confident when discussing uncertainty with patients

• cultivates discussion around uncertainty allowing physicians to speak authentically about the personal dimensions of this issue.

At every part of the careers, physicians must be able to grapple with the ambiguous nature of medicine and the greyscale space it occupies. The practice of medicine involves inherent ambiguity and uncertainty, arising from limitations of knowledge, diagnostic uncertainty, ambiguities of treatment and outcome, and unpredictability of patient response.

This workshop embraces medicine as a science and an art, highlighting the breadth of competencies a physician must have, but intentionally focusing on an area outside of simple content and knowledge acquisition. It comes at a time when medical educators across the world highlight tolerance of ambiguity as an essential characteristic of successful physicians, but few know how to intentionally teach or nurture this competency with pedagogy.

Low tolerance of ambiguity has been linked with low patient and physician satisfaction and increased risk of physician burnout. It is essential that physicians acquire the skills to find strength in uncertainty.