Surgeon, Interrupted
Episodes
Janitor to Doctor: Shay Taylor’s Journey to Yale Anesthesia
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Match Is a Monopoly (And Everyone Knows It Now)
31 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 break...
Freedom, Fear, and the First Year Out: A.YoungDoctors.Journey on Locums Medicine
24 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances sits down with Helena (A.YoungDoctors.Journey), an emergency medicine physician redefining what early...
From ICU Doctor to Filmmaker: Jessica Zitter on Extremis, Storytelling, and the Future of Medicine
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei speaks with physician, writer, and documentary filmmaker Jessica Zitter, MD, whose work explores ...
Medicine in the Cheese: Advocacy, Social Media, and the Hidden Curriculum of Training
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
n this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with urology resident and social media creator Maheetha Bharadwaj, MD—often known onli...
Medicine, McKinsey & Making the Leap: Sarah Rav’s Reinvention Story
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 Ra...
From Angry Resident to Published Author: Surgeon On The Edge
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 Bear vs. Residency: Are Kitchens and Hospitals the Same?
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances sits down with her oldest friend—Executive Pastry Chef Rebecca Freeman—to talk about what happens when ...
You Can’t Be Sassy and Wrong: Lessons from The ICU Doctor
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
You Can Pivot as Many Times as You Need To
03 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with bestselling author and former television producer Audrey Bellezza to talk about re...
What You Resist Will Persist: Grief, Illness, and Reinventing a Medical Career
27 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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...
A Normal Life Feels Soft When You’re a Doctor
20 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Magician in the Hospital: Alan Chien, MD on Identity, Art, and Survival in Medicine
13 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei Hardin, MD is joined by Alan Chien, MD, a pediatrics resident and lifelong magician practicing in...
She Left a Surgical Fellowship and Found Herself Again | Mohini Dasari, MD
06 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with Mohini Dasari, MD—a general surgeon and writer—who speaks candidly about one o...
From OB-GYN to ‘Former Doctor’: Identity After Forced Exit from Medicine
30 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei Hardin sits down with Stephanie Pearson, MD, a former OB-GYN whose medical career ended abruptly ...
My First Christmas Not on Call | Life After Leaving Medicine
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this holiday episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei is joined by her husband, Colin, for a candid, unfiltered conversation about what life ac...
Inside French Surgical Culture: No Hierarchy, The Right to Disconnect
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if surgical training didn’t require fear, exhaustion, or constant availability?In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down w...
When Medicine Meets Comedy: Joel Walkowski on Sobriety, Survival, and the Stories We Don’t Tell
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with writer and comedian Joel Walkowski—a man whose life contains multitudes: stand-u...
The Gen Z Attending Has Entered the Chat: Ego, Labor, and What Comes After the Old Guard
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Breaking In: Dr. Brian Nwannunu on Orthopedics, Representation, and Resilience
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Orthopedic surgery almost never looks like Dr. Brian Nwannunu, and that’s exactly why his story matters. His path through Morehouse, Georgetown, How...
Leaving Medicine for a Life That Fits: Dr. Sophie Engelhardt on Reinvention, Acting, and Moving Countries
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Dr. Sophie Engelhardt—a German physician who left clinical medicine to build a portfolio career—shares th...
The Stories Doctors Tell Themselves: Rewriting the Surgeon’s Self-Concept
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 oursel...
Graphic Medicine Explained: Healing Through Comics with Dr. Ryan Montoya
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Modeling, Medicine, and the Match: IMG & Model Abhilasha on Confidence and Culture
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Abhilasha joins Surgeon, Interrupted to share her story as an international medical graduate, model, and soon-to-be resident—challenging the narrow ...
Becoming an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon: Dr. Claudia Dukler on Resilience, Identity, and Kindness in Medicine
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, oral and maxillofacial surgery resident Dr. Claudia Dukler shares her journey as a first-generation Ukrainian...
How Medicine Trains You To Be Always On And How I Finally Turned It Off
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 saf...
Trusting Your Gut in Medicine (and Life) with Natasha Singareddy
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei Hardin, MD sits down with Natasha Singareddy, a first-year medical student and Hippocratic Collec...
From Surgery to Radiation Oncology | Dr. Christina Huang’s Residency Journey
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to navigate medicine as the eldest daughter of immigrants, a perfectionist student, and now a chief resident in radiation oncology?I...
How We Made It Through Residency & 9 Years Together | Surgery & Marriage
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Switching Specialties in Residency | Dr. Liv Perez on Leaving Family Medicine for Dermatology
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when you realize your residency isn’t the right fit - after you’ve already started?In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Dr. Olivi...
Medicine Without Limits | Dr. Alyssa Cole on Mosaic Careers, Pageants, and Redefining Success
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 phy...
Authenticity Over Accolades: Dr. Liz Malphrus on Surgery and Self
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Liz Malphrus, chief resident in plastic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, joins Surgeon, Interrupted to talk about what really matters in...
A Surgeon Presses Pause: Frances Mei Goes On Sabbatical
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 finall...
Creating Space: The 75% Rule & Surge Capacity in Healthcare & Life
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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-...
This Is Why Women Walk Away from Medicine
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Unbecoming a Surgeon: Life Beyond the Hospital
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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, Interrupt...
HC After Dark: Highlights from the Hippocratic Collective's Event
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Sociopath’s Guide to Healthcare: Organizational Theory & Playing The Game
22 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we dive into the Gervais Principle—a brutal but clarifying framework that uses The Office to decode real-world organizational dynam...
Second Acts in Medicine: Reinventing Yourself with Jac At Work
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when you’ve invested years into a career, only to realize it’s no longer the right fit? In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, we s...
The Path Not Taken: Sonia Lee on Choosing Music Over Medicine
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we sit down with Sonia Lee, a world-class concert violinist who once stood at a crossroads familiar to many children of immigrants: m...
Physicians Discuss H.R. 1 Bill & Its Implications
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're dropping a special episode this week to talk about something urgent: H.R. 1. This new bill could reshape American healthcare as we know it—and...
Life After Surgery: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I left surgery a year ago, and it completely flipped our lives upside down. In this episode, Colin (my husband) and I sit down to talk honestly about ...
Big Sis Energy: Mentorship and Support in Residency
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's time for some big sister energy - take a seat and let your medicine big sisters give you a pep talk. This week, Frances Mei sits down with the th...
Intellectualizing Dating: Understanding the Game as a Female Surgeon
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Surgeon, Interrupted, host Frances Mei sits down with rising chief resident and ENT surgeon Dr. Shreya Sharma to unpack what it’s reall...
No Wasted Experience: Pursuing Careers Outside of Medicine with Ryan Montoya, MD
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if being a doctor was just one chapter of your story, not the whole book? In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, I sit down with Ryan Montoya, ...
Love and Medicine: A Husband's Perspective on Frances Mei's Bold Decision
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I sat down with my husband, Colin, to talk about what it’s really been like to leave medicine and how it’s changed both of us. We go back to the b...
Ghosts of Residency and Glamping
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I recorded this episode from the Ozarks, once an escape from residency but now a backdrop for something deeper.In this solo reflection, I talk about w...
Two Surgeons Gone Wining
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Frances Mei and Lauren Umstattd, MD deliver a poignant and introspective episode from the tranquil poolside of Napa Valley, where they reflect on the ...
Surgeon Dropout Club | Leaving ENT
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Frances Mei and Tony Chin-Quee discuss their exclusive Dropout Club - 2 ENTs who finished residency, worked a single 3-year contract, then left clinic...
Loud Quitting My Job as a Surgeon
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the first episode of Surgeon Interrupted, Dr. Frances Mei Hardin shares her journey of leaving a career in surgery after years of feeling unsafe an...