Introduction : Literature searching is arguably a health science librarian’s bread and butter. Experienced librarians develop intuitions drawn from their searches, and subject matter knowledge accumulates from reference interviews and background readings. Collaboration with librarian colleagues, both internal and external, invites new points of view, draws on different bodies of knowledge and experience, and helps break down naturally-occurring knowledge silos. However, both of these processes - engaging with literature and searches to develop wider-ranging knowledge, and outreach to colleagues - are often personal, private, and specific to the individual librarian. Description : Drawing on recent publications proposing that health science librarians write up case reports of challenging searches, we present a particularly tricky search and the unexpected flashes of inspiration and insight that resulted in the user receiving useful articles from their librarian. Discussion : An increasing proportion of patients in Quebec, along the entire continuum of care, do not have access to a family doctor or GP (general practitioner). We describe a research project seeking to explore models of care for cancer survivors without a GP, and more broadly the particularities of searching for articles about people who do not have a doctor. We will present what seem to be the most appropriate and useful MeSH terms, as well as alternative conceptualizations of the search that added to the pool of pertinent articles retrieved; the products of an informal and fruitful collaboration across two institutions.