I wanted to be a doctor since childhood but despite loving clinical medicine, found myself struggling with burnout just a few years into my practice. You can learn more about my personal journey here.

After much reflection, I realized “physician burnout” is a national problem which stems from the systematic dehumanization of both clinicians and patients as healthcare becomes more corporate, consolidated, and faceless.

Even before the pandemic, clinicians were suffering from overwork, understaffing, and a “left brainification” of our work, which reduces patients to “problem lists” and removes story and context from the therapeutic relationship.

Seeking an outlet for self-expression for myself and my peers, I created The Nocturnists, a vibrant community of clinicians who are celebrating their humanity through storytelling. Since 2016, we’ve uplifted the voices of 450+ healthcare workers through our acclaimed podcast and sold-out live performances.

The Nocturnists’ work has been honored by the Webby Awards, Anthem Awards, Ambie Awards, Sharp Index Awards, Quill Podcast Awards, and Digital Health Awards. Our work has been featured in the New York Times, CBS This Morning, NPR’s Morning Edition, Pop Up Magazine, South By Southwest, San Francisco Chronicle, and Bay Area Science Festival.

My writing, which largely focuses on the clinician experience, has been supported by MacDowell and the Pulitzer Center, and has been published in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Virginia Quarterly Review, JAMA, CHEST, McSweeney’s, and more.

In 2020, I was on the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 100 List, which celebrates creative changemakers whose work builds sustainable, equitable, and regenerative communities.

I was the 2020 Hellman Artist-in-Residence at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, and was one of 34 experts who served on the COVID Crisis Group, which published the book Lessons from the COVID War in 2023.

I live in San Francisco with my husband and daughter. I tweet @ESilvermanMD.

Inquire about consulting or speaking engagements here.