UK HealthCare

Award-winning medical humanities podcast creator to speak at UK HealthCare

an abstract vignette representing the humanities in medicine
Silverman’s presentation will focus largely on her series titled, “Shame in Medicine: The Lost Forest.” Photo courtesy of Emily Silverman, M.D.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 23, 2023) — On Tuesday, April 11, from noon-1:30 p.m., Emily Silverman, M.D., co-creator and host of the critically acclaimed "The Nocturnists" podcast, will lead a presentation and question session in the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital's Karpf Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public, featuring both in-person and virtual attendance options.

"The Nocturnists" podcast provides independent medical storytelling which aims to humanize the practice of medicine, support health care professional well-being, and transform the health care system. Silverman’s presentation will focus largely on her series titled, “Shame in Medicine: The Lost Forest.” This award-winning 10-part documentary podcast series was produced by Silverman in collaboration with the Shame and Medicine project at the University of Exeter. Drawing on the stories of over 200 health care workers across the United States, the United Kingdom and beyond, the series explores how shame manifests in medical culture. The full series can be found here.

With more than 400 clinician voices since 2016, the podcast illuminates the heart in health care using live storytelling performances, audio diaries and heartfelt interviews. Their 2020 audio diary series, "Stories from a Pandemic," was acquired by the U.S. Library of Congress for historic preservation. The fifth season of the podcast was released in March 2023 and can be found at https://thenocturnists.com/.

Beyond her role as host of the podcast, Silverman is an assistant volunteer professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine and has worked to ignite the power of creativity in health care — including within training programs. An author-creator, she has been published in The New York Times, the Virginia Quarterly Review, JAMA, CHEST, and was named by Podcast Magazine 2022 as one of the top “40 Under 40 in Podcasting.”

In the evening, a Humanities Fireside Chat will be held to dive deeper into the topic with Silverman. This event is also offered at no cost and is open to the public, but advanced registration is required due to limited seating.

All activities are sponsored by UK Arts in HealthCare program and UK Gaines Center for the Humanities. Additional support is provided by the UK HealthCare Department of Surgery and the Lexington Art League.

Silverman’s presentation is approved for one AMA PRA category 1 credit for health care professionals. Click here to register today.

UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns, the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and Kentucky’s top hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what’s medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the health care landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. UK HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come.