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PODCAST

Surgeons with Purpose

Hippocratic Collective

A podcast for surgeons who feel like they are languishing in a career that didn"t turn out to be as fulfilling or as prestigious as they expected. Dr. Mel Thacker, an ENT surgeon and coach, takes you on a journey to help you understand why you are feeling dissatisfied, burnt out, and stuck. With this newfound insight, you"ll be able to reframe how you see your experience, rediscover who you are underneath your surgeon identity, and create a life that aligns with your authentic self. Find more info

health & fitness medicine

All Episodes

45:41

#90 Serving the Patient Not the Ego with Dr. Brian...

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/03/23

What does it mean to stay grounded in your identity and your humanity inside a system that often asks you to override both?In this episode, orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Brian Nwannunu, shares his journey from being the son of Nigerian immigrants to building a career in surgery rooted in purpose, faith, and service. Brian knew from a young age that he was called to medicine, but his path wasn’t linear. After not getting into medical school on his first attempt, he pursued a master’s in physiology,

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01:03:00

#89 The Game Doctors Were Never Taught with Dr. Gita...

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/03/16

What do physicians actually need when they find themselves on the receiving end of a malpractice lawsuit?In this episode, I have a conversation with emergency physician, educator, speaker, coach, advocate and legal expert Dr. Gita Pensa about the reality of medical malpractice from the physician defendant’s perspective. We explore why getting sued can feel like being dropped onto another planet. Also why shame, fear, and avoidance often keep doctors from learning how the system actually works.Gita

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42:38

#88 Two Complaints to the Board of Registration in...

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/03/09

In 2019, two patients complained to the Board of Registration in Medicine about me.At the time, it felt deeply unfair. I felt hate. I felt indignation. I felt like a victim. I even fantasized about horrible things happening to the people who complained about me. They were my villains.But, through my own coaching journey, I began to understand that pain is not individual; it is inherited, relational, generational, and cultural. These two complaints were sources of clean pain, but they were not the

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59:54

#87 Women are Leaving with Dr. Cornelia Griggs

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/03/02

Surgeon-writer, Dr. Cornelia Griggs joins me this week.Check out her article with Dr. Andrea Merrill, The Hidden Reason Women are Leaving Surgery: They're Being Pushed Out here.Check out her book, The Sky Was Falling here.The first physician in a family of writers, artists, and communicators, she grew up surrounded by people willing to speak openly about medicine’s vulnerabilities. A former theater kid, she found early inspiration in Atul Gawande’s Complications and the patient safety movement—so

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46:25

#86 Magician to Physician to Attorney to Actor with...

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/02/23

Join us inside Empowered Surgeons Group here.Life is more fun when your career path isn’t linear. Dr. Raymund King knows this well. From performing magic to practicing medicine, from the courtroom to the screen, Raymund’s life reflects a deep willingness to evolve and follow his inner knowing.We talk about witnessing tragedy, bucking the norm, the mindset of a doctor vs lawyer vs creative, reinvention of self, becoming a good steward of service, and the importance of trust, even when things are

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01:13:19

#85 From Gaslighting to Real Care: A Patient's...

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/02/16

Join us inside Empowered Surgeons Group here.”It makes you feel crazy as a patient,” Tiphany Kane.As physicians, we have more influence than we realize over how patients feel and how they perceive us (and the profession in general). Whether or not we diagnose them or operate on them, patients want—and deserve—to be treated humanely.At its core, our job is simple: serve the patient.But that becomes profoundly challenging inside a dehumanizing healthcare system rife with moral injury and burnout. I

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55:15

#84 From OR to AI with Dr. Ivan Capobianco

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/02/09

Join us inside Empowered Surgeons here. Subscribe to Stitches here.What happens when the skills that make you a great surgeon begin pulling you toward a different kind of impact?In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Ivan Capobianco, who trained as a hepatobiliary and transplant surgeon and whose career journey spans Italy, Germany, global health work in Angola, academic research, AI, entrepreneurship, and medical publishing.Ivan shares a deeply honest account of how he moved from the operating room

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34:12

#83 Clean vs Dirty Pain in Surgery

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/02/02

The Pain to Power Workshop is the foundation upon which your self-concept is built. You can't step into the next version of yourself until you heal old wounds and rewrite your past. We start this work Feb 2nd, 2026. You have access to the content until March 2nd, 2026. Sign up here.If you are catching this episode outside the window, no worries! You can still join us inside Empowered Surgeons group here.

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01:06:53

#82 Becoming a Surgeon on Her Own Terms with Dr....

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/01/26

LIMITED OFFER: The Pain to Power 5-day Coaching Program starts Feb 2nd. Sign up here.In this episode I speak with Dr. Mandy Rice, a dual board–certified General Surgeon and Surgical Intensivist whose path to surgery was anything but traditional. She began her career as a pediatric ICU nurse at 22, carrying the belief that she “wasn’t smart enough to be a doctor” - until a physician challenged that narrative, and she chose to believe him.Mandy loved medical school: the chaos, the autonomy, and the

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58:45

#81 Putting Purpose Over Path with Dr. Mark Shrime

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/01/19

Have you ever felt like you were on a moving sidewalk toward retirement, as if you had committed to a life path long ago and now you’re simply being carried along it? If so, you’re not alone, and you won’t want to miss this episode.This week I speak with Mark Shrime, MD, PhD - Head and Neck surgeon, researcher, and former Chief of the Harvard Program in Global Surgery - about discernment, vocation, risk, and the search for meaning in medicine. Mark talks candidly about disliking medical school,

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01:05:22

Special Episode: Processing Pain to Create Power with...

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/01/14

After returning from our inaugural women surgeon's retreat in Cabo, Steph Sheldon and I debrief about the lessons we learned. Please enjoy this special episode of Surgeons with Purpose. The "Pain to Power Workshop" will launch on Jan 18th. Get on my email list here to get all the updates about the program.And if you are ready to join us in Empowered Surgeons Group, click here.Steph Sheldon is a creative entrepreneur, business coach, website designer, and brand strategist who works primarily with

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01:01:54

#80 Falling in Love with the Hard with Dr. Lauren...

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/01/12

Are you a woman surgeon who wants to retreat with us in Norway in August? Get on my calendar for an interview here.Join Empowered Surgeons Group here.In this episode, Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares her journey through otolaryngology training, a painful facial plastics fellowship experience, and the difficult decision to leave a path that no longer aligned with her values. First drawn to ENT as a medical student by its breadth and clinical complexity, Lauren enjoyed the precision of endoscopic and

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01:09:31

#79 Courage to Climb the Second Mountain with Dr. Kat...

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2026/01/05

Dr. Kat Hudon shares her journey from enthusiastic learner to an employed physician slowly beaten down by a system designed to keep doctors exhausted, constrained, and disconnected from their creativity.In this convo, we explore how medicine places an impossible mantle of perfection on physicians, why resilience is a finite resource, and how the system punishes anything that falls outside the narrow definition of “excellence.” Dr. Hudon reflects on moral injury, middle management challenges, the

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33:52

#78 A Year in Review - 2025

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2025/12/29

See you all in 2026!Click here to join us in Empowered Surgeons group.Check out my latest TEDx talk, "Seeing Beyond the Red Swans", here.

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49:39

#77 The Way of Excellence with Author Brad Stulberg

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2025/12/22

In this conversation, I’m joined by author and human performance expert Brad Stulberg to explore identity diversity, mastery, and what it really means to build a sustainable, meaningful career. We discuss the concept of the identity house, what it means to feel one's way to skill attunement, core values, process vs product, and how presence and flow are at the heart of mastery.This episode is especially relevant for surgeons and high-achievers who have poured everything into one role and are

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48:56

#76 Trauma and OR PTSD

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2025/12/15

Trauma is more common than we think, especially in high-stakes professions like surgery. In this episode, I define trauma, PTSD, and post-traumatic growth and explore how these experiences can show up in the body, the nervous system, and everyday life.Drawing from my own experience with complex PTSD and panic attacks, I walk you through a practical, humane process for moving through trauma rather than around it. This isn’t about fixing yourself or returning to who you were before. It’s about

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31:19

#75 What is Coaching?

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2025/12/08

Join Empowered Surgeons here.Book a free consult with me here.And if you're here for the free content, amazing! My next masterclass + open coaching is on December 14th at 10 am EST. Sign up for "5 Ways Surgeons Fail" here.In this episode, I break down what coaching is. Not the corporate wellness version, but the real, practical, life-changing version that surgeons and high-stakes professionals actually need.Coaching, as I define it, is choosing thoughts that generate feelings that empower you to

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58:36

#74 You're Just a Regular Human with Dr. Michelle...

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2025/12/01

⚠️ SENSITIVE CONTENT WARNINGThis episode discusses suicide, which may be distressing for some listeners. If this subject is triggering for you, please consider skipping this episode. If you choose to listen, do so gently and take good care of yourself. If you’re feeling hopeless or suicidal, please reach out for support. You can call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or click here for additional resources.Dr. Michelle Chestovich is a family medicine physician, physician coach, and the host of

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52:40

#73 From Breakdown to Breakthrough with Dr. Courtney...

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2025/11/24

*********SENSITIVE TOPIC WARNING*******************This episode discusses substance abuse and suicide. Please listen carefully.In this powerful and deeply honest conversation, Dr. Courtney McKeown shares the story she was once told would be “career suicide”—a story of mental health crisis, addiction, recovery, and the hard-won journey back to her authentic self.She reflects on the research-year psychotic break that led to hospitalization, the healing support of an extraordinary program director, and

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01:03:21

#72: Leading and Relating Better in Surgery with Dr....

Surgeons with Purpose ·

2025/11/17

Trauma surgeon and healthcare leader Dr. Scott Ellner joins me to talk about the moments that reshaped his life and career, from witnessing a beachside intubation at age 21 to navigating one of the lowest points of his surgical practice. We explore complications, shame, psychological safety in the OR, and why compassion and emotional intelligence are essential (not optional) in surgery.Scott shares the retained foreign body case that transformed his approach to leadership, the danger of tense OR

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94 results

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