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White Nights
Michal Shani
What This Study Found A family physician recounts his experience managing an extremely anxious patient, its influence on him, and some of his reflections on the white nights that followed. He is often kept awake by the thought that he may have forgotten something for one of his patients and worries that he could have done something better. Mistakes, or near-mistakes, lead to endless ruminations and white nights and sudden awakenings, but he concludes that concern for patients and white nights are an expected part of being a physician. The day the terrified awakenings cease, he writes, is when it's time to find a different profession.