Dec 19 • Sean Overin

Navigating Clinical Uncertainty: Why Embracing the Unknown is the Key to Better Care

It was a regular Tuesday morning at the clinic. The first patient of the day, Mr. Thompson, walks in and starts describing symptoms that sound like they’ve been picked from five different medical textbooks. Headache? Check. Random leg pain? Check. Oh, and sometimes his vision goes blurry—but only when he gets up in the morning. You’re sitting there thinking, "What even is this?"

Let’s face it—healthcare is messy. Patients don’t come with instruction manuals, and their symptoms don’t always behave the way we expect. You’re cruising through your day when, BAM, someone walks in with a weird combo of symptoms that leaves you scratching your head, your not sure how much care they will need or how they will respond to a treatment. Welcome to the world of clinical uncertainty! It can be stressful, it can be tricky, but it’s also where the magic happens.

In this blog, we’ll talk about why tackling uncertainty head-on is one of the most important (and rewarding) skills you can have as a clinician—and how embracing the unknown can actually make you a better problem-solver, a better communicator, and, let’s be honest, a better human.

The Reality of Clinical Uncertainty

If you’ve been in healthcare long enough to drink your coffee while it’s still hot (read: never), you know this truth: patients rarely fit into neat little boxes. Symptoms don’t follow the script, and sometimes progress feels like running a race with no finish line in sight.

Guess what? That’s okay. Uncertainty isn’t a sign you’re failing—it’s part of the gig. The good news? You can learn to manage it without losing your cool.

Why Learning to Navigate Uncertainty Matters

Better Results for Patient's

Figuring stuff out on the fly doesn’t mean you’re winging it. It means you’re being thoughtful, creative, and adaptable—all things that lead to care that’s tailored to your patients.

Stronger Patient Relationships

Patients can sense when you’re uncomfortable with the unknown. Spoiler alert: it freaks them out. Learning to navigate uncertainty helps you stay calm and build trust.

Professional Growth (Level-Up Time!)

Dealing with tricky cases makes you sharper. Each challenge teaches you something new—and keeps you from getting stuck in a rut.

Less Stress, More Confidence

Once you’ve got some strategies under your belt, uncertainty becomes less about panic and more about problem-solving. Bonus: you sleep better at night.

Tips to Tackle Clinical Uncertainty

  • Embrace the Chaos: Seriously, just accept that uncertainty is part of the job. It’s not your enemy; it’s your chance to shine.


  • Team Up with Your Patient: Don’t go it alone. Ask your patient what they think, what they’re worried about, and what they hope to achieve. Patients often have insights that can steer you in the right direction.


  • Phone a Friend: Got a tricky case? Call in reinforcements. Whether it’s a colleague, a specialist, or your favorite Google Scholar rabbit hole, fresh eyes can work wonders.

  • Use a Game Plan: When in doubt, frameworks are your friend. Decision trees, hypothesis generation, and other fancy-sounding tools can make the messy stuff feel manageable.


  • Reflect and Recharge: After a tough case, take a moment to think about what you learned. What worked? What didn’t? How can you crush it even harder next time?

A Checklist from our Navigating Clinical Uncertainty Course

More Learning 

Here’s the thing: navigating uncertainty isn’t just about keeping your patients happy (though that’s important, too). It’s about turning those "uh-oh" moments into "aha!" moments. It’s about staying curious, learning every day, and making your practice feel fresh and exciting—even when it’s hard.

If you’re ready to level up your skills, check out our Navigating Clinical Uncertainty course. We’ll give you practical tools, real-world case studies, and a big ol’ dose of confidence to tackle anything that comes your way.

Here’s what you’ll get:

  • Know the different sources of uncertainty experienced by the therapist and the patient. 
  • Learn the common cognitive bias's at play in healthcare and how they affect decision-making. 
  • Get strategies for making decisions when navigating the grey.
  • Boost your confidence when communicating uncertain situations.
  • Tools for building stronger patient connections.
  • Diverse learning activities with videos, articles, checklists, infographics, case studies and so much more!


To wrap everything all up, what happened to Mr. Thompson? After a little digging, some creative testing, and a lot of teamwork, we narrowed down the possibilities and crafted a plan that worked for him over the course of several weeks and several sessions. It wasn’t easy, but moments like these remind us why navigating uncertainty is worth it—for the wins, the lessons, and, most importantly, for the people we help.

Thanks for reading! Stay impactful! And perhaps see you on the course!

Sean Overin, MPT, DPT Physiotherapist