Surgeon, Interrupted

On this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Frances Mei Hardin, MD is joined by Alan Chien, MD , a pediatrics resident and lifelong magician practicing in Los Angeles. What begins as a conversation about magic quickly opens into something more expansive: identity formation in medical training, the quiet pressure to abandon creativity, and what it means to remain in relation —to patients, to others,...

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Frances Mei sits down with Mohini Dasari, MD —a general surgeon and writer—who speaks candidly about one of the most taboo topics in medicine: leaving a surgical fellowship mid-training . Mohini shares what led her to step away seven months into a transplant fellowship, the quiet suffering that preceded that decision, and how shame, identity fusion, and “j...

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Frances Mei Hardin sits down with Stephanie Pearson, MD , a former OB-GYN whose medical career ended abruptly after a devastating workplace injury. What followed wasn’t just the loss of surgery or obstetrics—it was the loss of identity. After being injured during a patient delivery, dismissed by early providers, and ultimately terminated when she could no...

In this holiday episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Frances Mei is joined by her husband, Colin, for a candid, unfiltered conversation about what life actually looks like after leaving clinical medicine. It’s Frances Mei's first holiday season in nearly a decade not on call, and the absence of the hospital brings both relief and reckoning. Together, they talk about: The strange quiet of the first ho...

What if surgical training didn’t require fear, exhaustion, or constant availability? In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Frances Mei sits down with Paris-based neurosurgeon Dr. Samiya Abi Jaoude to explore how surgical culture in France differs radically from the U.S.—and what American medicine might learn from it. They unpack the surprisingly flat hierarchy of French surgical training, wher...

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Frances Mei sits down with writer and comedian Joel Walkowski —a man whose life contains multitudes: stand-up, screenwriting, sobriety coaching, and an unwavering devotion to The Lions. With his debut book Honolulu Blues arriving July 2026, Joel brings a worldview that medical professionals rarely get to hear but desperately need. Together they talk about...

In this episode, Frances Mei sits down with the Gen Z Attending, Bright Zhou, for a conversation that slices straight into the cultural fault lines of modern medicine. They unpack why so many attending physicians are burning out—not because of clinical load, but because they’re employed physicians who refuse to see themselves as such. They explore generational ego, immigrant patient dynamics, patr...

Orthopedic surgery almost never looks like Dr. Brian Nwannunu, and that’s exactly why his story matters. His path through Morehouse, Georgetown, Howard, and Baylor reveals a specialty still reckoning with exclusion, even as it demands excellence at every turn. We talk about breaking through the gates, the mentors who rearrange your trajectory, the patients who shape your practice, and the quiet to...

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Dr. Sophie Engelhardt—a German physician who left clinical medicine to build a portfolio career—shares the bold, deeply personal journey behind her pivot. We talk about what it takes to walk away from a stable, prestigious path and choose a life that feels like yours : acting, plant-based nutrition, creativity, and the freedom to design a career outside of...

Host Frances Mei Hardin sits down with Dr. Mel Thacker , ENT, surgeon coach and mindset expert, for a raw conversation about the stories we tell ourselves—and how they shape everything from imposter syndrome to ego, burnout, and healing. Together they unpack the hidden beliefs that define identity in medicine: why so many surgeons build self-concepts on fear or perfection, how ego can masquerade a...

What happens when medicine meets art? In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Dr. Frances Mei sits down with Dr. Ryan Montoya to explore the growing field of Graphic Medicine — where comics and storytelling are used to share powerful experiences from the world of healthcare. Together, they unpack how visual storytelling can make medical experiences more human, accessible, and emotionally resonan...

Abhilasha joins Surgeon, Interrupted to share her story as an international medical graduate, model, and soon-to-be resident—challenging the narrow ideas of what a “serious doctor” looks like. From growing up in India with Air Force parents to researching hepatology at Duke and navigating the U.S. Match, she’s learned to balance medicine with creativity, confidence, and self-care. Together, we unp...

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , oral and maxillofacial surgery resident Dr. Claudia Dukler shares her journey as a first-generation Ukrainian American and the daughter of a dentist who inspired her path. She reflects on the balance between compassion and confidence in surgical culture, pushing back against the idea that kindness is weakness. From navigating a male-dominated specialty to...

After nearly a decade in surgery, I finally stepped away — not just from the operating room, but from the version of myself that could only feel safe inside control. This episode of Surgeon, Interrupted is about what happened when I stopped performing productivity and let my nervous system breathe for the first time in years. For thirty days, I wandered through Europe — Paris, Nice, Lugano, Milan...

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Frances Mei Hardin, MD sits down with Natasha Singareddy, a first-year medical student and Hippocratic Collective intern, to talk about medicine as both an art and an unfinished product. Natasha shares why she chose medicine after experiences in digital health startups, how she leans on gut instinct even when it’s imperfect, and what it means to create gua...

What does it mean to navigate medicine as the eldest daughter of immigrants, a perfectionist student, and now a chief resident in radiation oncology? In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Dr. Christina Huang shares her journey from shy, rule-following child to confident physician leader. We talk about the realities of pre-med pressure, navigating med school and board exams, and the pivot from...

What does it look like to grow up, and grow together, through residency, marriage, and building a life outside of medicine? In this special anniversary episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Frances Mei and her husband Colin celebrate nine years since their very first date. They reflect on their engagement, early struggles during residency, and the evolution of their relationship through career pivots,...

What happens when you realize your residency isn’t the right fit - after you’ve already started? In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Dr. Olivia Perez (@drliv.md) shares her bold decision to leave family medicine after intern year and successfully reapply to dermatology. She opens up about the doubts, the guilt, and the logistics of making such a high-stakes switch, and why two “lost” years a...

What happens when you refuse to be one-dimensional in medicine? In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , Dr. Alyssa Cole (@doctor.cole), a PM&R physician specializing in cancer rehabilitation, shares her journey of weaving multiple identities into her career: physician, MBA, pageant competitor, children’s book author, and content creator. We talk about: – Why authenticity, boundaries, and “mo...

Dr. Liz Malphrus, chief resident in plastic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, joins Surgeon, Interrupted to talk about what really matters in medicine today: authenticity, identity, and rewriting the old definitions of success. As a female surgeon in one of the most demanding specialties, Liz opens up about the challenges and triumphs of carving out her own path, reminding us that the jou...

Today, I’m stepping into something I never thought I’d allow myself: a sabbatical. After years of moving at full speed as a surgeon, I’ve finally built in a month to stop, to breathe, and to see what happens when I’m not buried under the weight of clinical responsibility. This isn’t just a vacation. It’s a leap of faith I planned more than a year ago - trading call schedules for train tickets, cli...

In this episode, family physician and fellow HC member Dr. Joan Chan introduces the idea of Creating Space —a philosophy of time management and self-preservation that challenges the culture of overcommitment in medicine. Drawing from her experience during the pandemic, Joan explains the “75% rule” : the practice of deliberately leaving room in your schedule for the unexpected, for self-care, and f...

What happens when you follow every rule, secure the prestigious grant, build the academic career, only to have it all unravel? In this powerful episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , I’m joined by Dr. Arghavan Salles, a bariatric surgeon and national leader in gender equity, physician well-being, and anti-bias reform in medicine. We talk about what it means to be a woman in a system that was never desi...

What happens when the career you once worked tirelessly for no longer feels like the life you want? In this deeply honest episode of Surgeon, Interrupted , I sit down with Dr. Maggie Binder, a dear friend and seasoned pediatric hospitalist, to talk about what it really feels like to step away from medicine. Together, we reflect on the invisible weight that physicians carry - the guilt, the pressur...

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with Dr. Mel Thacker to reflect on an unforgettable event co-hosted by the Hippocratic Collective, PearsonRavitz, and Clove—an evening crafted for resident physicians that became so much more than anyone expected. Together, they unpack how the night sparked connection, creativity, and a rare sense of belonging among young doctors. From...