Fem MD

What are residency programs actually looking for during interviews? In this episode of FEM, MD, Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares residency interview advice from both sides of the table. She has been a medical student interviewing for residency, a chief resident interviewing applicants, a fellowship candidate, part of the fellowship interview process, and now a business owner who regularly hires for her...

The biggest threat to a surgeon's career may not be competition, reimbursement, or even the changing healthcare system. It may be their own body and mind. In the final episode of The Business of Surgery , facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd explores what it takes to build a surgical career that can actually last. For Lauren, that means treating herself like the high-performance athlete she...

What if one of the best investments you could make in your career had nothing to do with your actual business? In Episode 11 of The Business of Surgery , facial plastic surgeon, practice owner, and mom Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares why bringing an au pair into her home became one of the most consequential decisions she made for her business. With two young children and two working parents, reliable c...

How do you manage stress when you're simultaneously a surgeon, business owner, leader, spouse, parent, and person? In Episode 10 of The Business of Surgery , facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd gets candid about something she is still figuring out herself: stress management. Rather than trying to eliminate stress entirely, Lauren shares the strategies she uses to manage it while building a...

What does it actually take to make a surgical practice profitable? In Episode 9 of the Business of Surgery series, Dr. Lauren Umstattd breaks down the decisions that helped her build a profitable practice by year three, and why physicians need to get more comfortable thinking about marketing, money, pricing, and business growth. From starting marketing before she felt ready to niching down her sur...

Running a surgical practice isn't just about patients, procedures, and revenue. It's about people. In Episode 8 of the Business of Surgery series, Dr. Lauren Umstattd talks candidly about one of the hardest parts of owning a practice: hiring, managing, promoting, and sometimes letting people go. She shares lessons from her own mistakes—including realizing that the best candidate for an open positi...

When you own a private practice, you're not just the physician. You're also the manager, problem-solver, employer, and sometimes the janitor. In Episode 7 of The Business of Surgery , facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd tackles one of the hardest transitions for physician entrepreneurs: learning when to delegate. Lauren shares how she went from personally managing nearly every aspect of her...

Luxury healthcare isn't about marble countertops or expensive furniture. It's about making every patient feel seen, cared for, and confident—from the first phone call through recovery. In Episode 6 of The Business of Surgery , facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares the philosophy behind creating a premium patient experience. Drawing inspiration from brands like Ritz-Carlton, Hermès, and...

How do you get patients to find—and trust—you before your practice even opens? In Episode 5 of The Business of Surgery , facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares the marketing strategy she used to build a thriving physician-owned practice. From documenting the journey before opening day to creating educational content, embracing authenticity, and thinking long-term, this episode is a road...

The success of your private practice depends on one thing more than almost anything else: the people you hire. In Episode 4 of The Business of Surgery , facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares her approach to hiring, building culture, and creating a team that patients genuinely love. From choosing your first employee to conducting working interviews, investing in staff, and knowing when...

What does it actually take to build and operate your own ambulatory surgery center (ASC)? In Episode 3 of The Business of Surgery , facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares the realities of designing, building, and running a physician-owned surgery center—from navigating state regulations and construction delays to sourcing equipment, building the right team, and creating an exceptional p...

Thinking about starting your own private medical or surgical practice? Where do you even begin? This is business 101, basics for the modern physician. In Episode 2 of The Business of Surgery , facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd breaks down the financial and operational foundations of launching a physician-owned practice. From loans and lines of credit to pricing, startup costs, and creatin...

Welcome to The Business of Surgery , a brand-new 12-part summer series on FEM, MD . Every week this summer, facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to build a successful private practice - from financing and hiring to marketing, leadership, pricing, and the mindset required to bet on yourself. In Episode 1, Lauren starts with the most important q...

Women physicians are often expected to do it all: care for patients, raise families, support everyone around them, and somehow never ask for anything in return. In this episode of FEM, MD, host Dr. Lauren Umstattd sits down with physician, writer, and creator Dr. Laura Vater for an honest conversation about toxic martyrdom in medicine, physician burnout, motherhood, sleep deprivation, and building...

Why are so many women physicians walking away from medicine? In this episode of FEM, MD, host Lauren Umstattd sits down with retinal specialist and physician coach Dr. Shanika Esparaz to discuss the wake-up call that forced her to rethink everything. After experiencing debilitating physical symptoms—including the worst headache of her life—Dr. Esparaz realized that what looked like success on the...

Dr. Betsy Dovec was one of the busiest bariatric surgeons in the country when she made a decision that shocked many of her colleagues: she walked away from a secure, high-paying hospital position to build her own practice and surgery center from the ground up. In this episode of FEM, MD, Betsy shares the behind-the-scenes reality of launching Body by Bariatrics, navigating non-competes, securing a...

On this episode of FEM, MD, Dr. Lauren Umstattd sits down with double board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Natalie Krane for a candid conversation about the surprising overlap between elite athletics and surgical training. From Division I soccer and career-ending injuries to residency culture, burnout, performance psychology, and personal wellness, they unpack the coping mechanisms that make...

What happens when a long-term marriage evolves beyond monogamy? In this episode of FEM, MD, Dr. Lauren Umstattd sits down with clinical psychologist and relationship coach Dr. Rachel Meir to explore what it actually looks like to open a relationship—and why more people are questioning traditional models of love. Dr. Meir shares her personal story of being married for over 20 years before coming ou...

What does it actually take to build a successful surgical practice—and a life outside of it? In this episode of FEM, MD, Dr. Lauren Umstattd sits down with double board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lindsey Pennington to talk about the realities of modern surgical careers: from patient red flags and pricing decisions to working with your spouse, motherhood, and building a business that’s ac...

What if the most dangerous relationships don’t look dangerous at first? In this episode of FEM, MD, Dr. Lauren Umstattd sits down with psychotherapist Vanessa Reiser to unpack the reality of narcissistic abuse—how it starts, why it’s so hard to leave, and why even highly trained professionals aren’t immune. From love bombing and future faking to gaslighting and trauma bonding, this conversation br...

In this special episode of FEM MD , the tables turn. Host Dr. Lauren Umstattd steps into the hot seat as she’s interviewed by her cousin, former Emmy-winning journalist Brooke Martin. What follows is an unfiltered look at the woman behind the brand—surgeon, founder, mother, and builder of one of the most sought-after facial plastic practices in the Midwest. They cover: What it actually takes to bu...

In this episode of Fem MD , Dr. Lauren Umstattd speaks with Marta Ravin—Emmy-nominated executive producer, showrunner, TEDx speaker, and creator of Personality Hire, a framework focused on the human skills AI can’t replace. Marta shares her deeply personal journey with body image, weight, and identity, shaped by early childhood experiences, cultural pressures of the ’80s and ’90s, and decades in e...

In this powerful episode of FEM, MD , Dr. Lauren Umstattd sits down with ENT surgeon-turned-author Frances Mei Hardin to discuss her debut memoir and the hidden emotional cost of surgical training. Frances Mei speaks candidly about the anger she carried out of residency and how writing became the vehicle that transformed it. From resident-on-resident hostility and weaponized reporting systems to t...

In this episode of Fem MD, host Dr. Lauren Umstattd sits down with Dr. Maheetha Bharadwaj, a urology resident, educator, and content creator. Maheetha shares her journey into medicine, from her early love of science and the arts to choosing urology—a field that blends surgery, patient care, and navigating sensitive topics with empathy. She offers an inside look at the realities of surgical residen...

In this episode of FEM MD, host Dr. Lauren Umstattd engages in a candid conversation with Dylan Cade Bates, a seasoned law enforcement professional and mental health advocate. They explore the unique challenges faced by women in law enforcement and the importance of mental health for first responders. The discussion highlights the need for support systems and the significance of addressing mental...