x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Surgeon, Interrupted

Hippocratic Collective

A raw, reality-style podcast following Dr. Frances Mei Hardin’s final months as a surgeon and her bold leap into the unknown. Through solo episodes and unfiltered guest convos, it captures the chaos, clarity, and courage of walking away from a “dream career” to choose something better. For high-achievers, burnt-out professionals, and anyone ready to rewrite the rules - this isn’t just a show. It’s a permission slip. Find more info about Surgeon, Interrupted and other shows on the Hippocratic

health & fitness medicine

All Episodes

36:28

Janitor to Doctor: Shay Taylor’s Journey to Yale...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/04/07

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with Dr. Shay Taylor—newly matched at Yale Anesthesiology, and a story that has gone viral around the world.But this is not just a “feel-good” story.This is a conversation about what it actually takes to get there: the years of working full-time while in school, the rejection, the debt, the doubt, and the mindset required to keep going when everything says stop.Shay shares what it means to build a career without mentorship, to start

en

30:33

The Match Is a Monopoly (And Everyone Knows It Now)

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/03/31

The Match is a monopoly. And now, it’s official.In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei is joined by Colin Royal for an emergency breakdown of a newly released congressional report from the House Judiciary Committee—one that directly calls the NRMP (residency Match) a monopoly with “destructive consequences” for physicians, patients, and the healthcare system at large.If you’ve been through medical training, none of this is surprising. But this is the first time it’s being said at this

en

36:25

Freedom, Fear, and the First Year Out:...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/03/24

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances sits down with Helena (A.YoungDoctors.Journey), an emergency medicine physician redefining what early attending life can look like.Fresh out of residency, she chose a path many physicians are warned against: full-time locum tenens work. What follows is an honest, nuanced conversation about autonomy, uncertainty, and what it means to build a career outside the traditional script.They unpack:The hidden fear of showing up online as a physicianWhy

en

28:49

From ICU Doctor to Filmmaker: Jessica Zitter on...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/03/17

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei speaks with physician, writer, and documentary filmmaker Jessica Zitter, MD, whose work explores some of the most difficult, and most human, moments in medicine.Dr. Zitter first gained international recognition through the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary Extremis, which captured the emotional reality of end-of-life care inside the ICU. Since then, she has continued to use storytelling to challenge the culture of modern

en

42:37

Medicine in the Cheese: Advocacy, Social Media, and...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/03/10

n this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with urology resident and social media creator Maheetha Bharadwaj, MD—often known online as the internet’s favorite “dancing urologist.”What begins with viral TikToks and Kardashian-style medical skits quickly turns into a deeper conversation about advocacy, physician voice, and the hidden curriculum of medical training. Maheetha explains how humor and creativity can be used to deliver serious health education—what Frances Mei calls

en

31:33

Medicine, McKinsey & Making the Leap: Sarah Rav’s...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/03/03

What happens when the dream you chased your whole life stops feeling like yours?This week on Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with Sarah Rav — former doctor, former McKinsey consultant, and now a positioning and content strategist helping professionals build powerful personal brands.Sarah shares her journey from direct-entry medical school in Australia to corporate consulting, and ultimately to walking away from prestige entirely. Together, they unpack:• The pressure of immigrant

en

34:36

From Angry Resident to Published Author: Surgeon On...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/02/24

Today is February 24th — release day.Frances Mei and Colin sit down on the eve of launch to talk about what it feels like to finally let Surgeon on the Edge go. After three years of drafting, redrafting, anger, resistance, breakthroughs, and letting go of control, the book is no longer a mirror — it’s an old photograph.In this intimate conversation, they unpack:Why the first draft “wasn’t true”How anger transformed into clarityWhat it means to create art without controlling its receptionWhy writing

en

39:49

The Bear vs. Residency: Are Kitchens and Hospitals...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/02/17

This week on Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances sits down with her oldest friend—Executive Pastry Chef Rebecca Freeman—to talk about what happens when your childhood dream actually comes true… and it’s still hard.Becky is the Executive Pastry Chef at Coyote Café and Santacafé in Santa Fe, a National Pastry Chef of the Year, and a multi–40 Under 40 award winner. She knew at five years old she wanted to be a chef. Frances Mei? Not so much.Together, they unpack:The brutal reality behind The Bear (spoiler:

en

34:40

You Can’t Be Sassy and Wrong: Lessons from The ICU...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/02/10

What if the most radical thing you could do in medicine wasn’t being tougher, but being more human?In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with The ICU Doctor to talk about identity, intuition, and breaking the unspoken rules of medical culture. From immigrant roots and imposter syndrome to building clinical “spidey sense,” digital medical education, and creating work environments that actually put people at ease, this conversation is a masterclass in reclaiming humanity

en

35:45

You Can Pivot as Many Times as You Need To

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/02/03

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with bestselling author and former television producer Audrey Bellezza to talk about reinvention—professionally, creatively, and existentially.Audrey spent decades in television, rising from a Food Network intern to showrunner and development executive before pivoting (multiple times) into authorship. During the pandemic, she co-wrote a bestselling Jane Austen–inspired rom-com trilogy—only to be diagnosed shortly thereafter with stage IV

en

39:04

What You Resist Will Persist: Grief, Illness, and...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/01/27

Dr. Red Hoffman is a surgeon, hospice physician, and writer whose career has never followed a straight line—and whose life was radically reshaped by grief, chronic illness, and unexpected loss. In this episode, we talk about starting over more than once, entering medicine later in life, and what happens when your body forces you to renegotiate your identity as a physician.Red shares her journey through trauma, long COVID, POTS, and partial clinical practice—and how diversification, honesty, and

en

33:50

A Normal Life Feels Soft When You’re a Doctor

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/01/20

What happens when a doctor decides she doesn’t need more money - she needs more peace?In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with psychiatrist Dr. Claire Oduwo to talk about choosing a “soft life” after medical training—and why that phrase is wildly misunderstood in medicine. Claire shares her path from Kenya to Nebraska to the Pacific Northwest, how her immigrant upbringing shaped her relationship with work and money, and why working part-time as a psychiatrist was a

en

29:03

The Magician in the Hospital: Alan Chien, MD on...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/01/13

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, and to oneself—inside a system that often rewards self-erasure.Alan reflects on growing up as an only child,

en

42:26

She Left a Surgical Fellowship and Found Herself...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2026/01/06

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 “just push through” culture keep physicians trapped long past the point of health. Together, Frances and

en

34:57

From OB-GYN to ‘Former Doctor’: Identity After Forced...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2025/12/30

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 longer perform 100% of her job duties, Stephanie found herself forced out of clinical medicine entirely

en

28:34

My First Christmas Not on Call | Life After Leaving...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2025/12/23

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 holiday season outside medicineHow residency and surgical training shape work habits long after you

en

38:11

Inside French Surgical Culture: No Hierarchy, The...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2025/12/16

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, where residents and attendings use first names, collaboration is the norm, and rigid power structures are less

en

42:51

When Medicine Meets Comedy: Joel Walkowski on...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2025/12/09

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 what happens when high-achieving people (doctors, comics, anyone trained to perform on command) learn to

en

46:54

The Gen Z Attending Has Entered the Chat: Ego, Labor,...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2025/12/02

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, patriarchal expectations from both patients and colleagues, and why Gen Z clinicians are opting out of the

en

41:08

Breaking In: Dr. Brian Nwannunu on Orthopedics,...

Surgeon, Interrupted ·

2025/11/25

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 toll of carrying representation into the OR.This episode is about resilience, reinvention, and the future

en

50 results

Similar Podcasts

Доктор Тройняшкин

Доктор Тройняшкин

The Dry Eye Treatment PODCAST

Dry Eye Treatment

Différent et alors ?

PATRICK SULAY

Kyle Kingsbury Podcast

Kyle Kingsbury

The Real Weight Loss Coach

Matty Lansdown