Hey everyone, a few announcements before today's episode. First, tickets are on sale for our upcoming live show in Minneapolis on Saturday, April 22nd. So visit our website. We hope you'll join us there. Voting is still open for the Webby Awards. We've been nominated for our shame and medicine series and also for our conversation series. So we hope you'll

throw us some love on the Webby website. And last but not least, we encourage you to check out

this week's episode of This American Life. It's called nine months later and addresses the

fallout of Roe being overturned and features the voice of a member of

the nocturnous community, Dr. Linda Prine, and we're really happy to have been a small part

of that episode.

Now on to today's episode.

This episode of the Nocturnus is sponsored by FlipMD.

FlipMD is a competitive marketplace where physicians can source and secure consulting sidegigs.

Jobs come from a broad range of clients across all major industries who are looking for medical experts in their field.

FlipMD allows physicians to expand their careers through consulting and other non-clinical roles that fit their

schedule and their interests. To learn more, visit flip-mdh.com. This season of The Nocturnus is sponsored

by the Physicians Foundation. Support for the Nocturnus comes from the California Medical Association.

At the Nocturnus, we are careful to ensure that all stories comply with health care privacy

laws. Details may have been changed to ensure patient confidentiality. All views expressed

are those of the person speaking and not their employer.

You're listening to The Nocturnus, stories from the world of medicine.

I'm Emily Silverman.

Today's episode features a very good friend of mine, Alessa Koliani, who I've had the

privilege of knowing since medical school.

Alessa is an actor-turned otolaryngologist who tells a story today of losing and then

regaining access to her emotional landscape.

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