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 “medicine as martyrdom” model altogether.

From the service-industry analogy that makes older doctors nauseous, to the rise of resident unions, to the impossible fantasy of “total control” in employed practice, Bright reframes the future: less ego, more collective action, more boundaries, more transparency. They also dive into how AI, social media, and patient education are quietly expanding the 20-minute visit far beyond the clinic walls.

If you’ve ever wondered why the old guard is furious and the new guard is thriving—or why your attending seems personally offended you don’t want surgery—this is your episode.

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Guest: Bright Zhou, MD, MS

Connect with Bright: @genzattending

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

Follow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd

And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

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 of surgical training, told by someone who is changing it from the inside.

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Guest: Dr. Brian Nwannunu

Connect with Brian: @doctor.brian

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

Follow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd

And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

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 the exam-room walls.

Sophie also reveals the discipline and determination behind her move to Denmark, including the intense process of learning Danish from scratch to build a new professional chapter abroad.

This conversation is about more than career change. It’s about self-fulfillment over expectations, the quiet bravery of choosing authenticity, and the truth that you don’t need permission to reinvent your life—not from society, not from medicine, not from anyone.

If you’re standing at the edge of a pivot—or wondering who you are outside of your job—this episode is for you.

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Guest: Dr. Sophie Engelhardt

Connect with Sophie: @doc.sophiengelhardt

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

Follow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd

And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

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 as confidence, and what it takes to evolve beyond the profession that once defined you.

Tune in for an honest look at self-knowledge, ego death, and freedom after medicine.

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Guest: Mel Thacker, MD

Connect with Mel: https://www.hippocratic-collective.com/members/mel-thacker-md

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

Follow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd

And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

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 resonant — for both patients and clinicians. From burnout and recovery to empathy and education, Ryan explains how creating and reading comics can help us better understand what it means to heal.

Dr. Montoya also shares his own journey as a physician and artist, offering insights for anyone curious about starting creative projects in medicine. Whether you’re a healthcare professional, a patient, or a fan of narrative art, this conversation will change the way you see stories in medicine.

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Guest: Ryan Montoya, MD

https://www.hippocratic-collective.com/members/ryan-montoya-md

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

Following Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd

And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/oct/08/stay-true-to-yourself-fly-closer-sun-what-ive-learned-from-50-years-of-rejection

00:25 Welcoming Dr. Ryan Montoya

04:36 The Transition to Graphic Medicine

07:51 Navigating Personal Interactions and Social Discomfort

20:02 The Evolution of Storytelling in Graphic Medicine

23:04 The Importance of Trust in Writing

30:53 The Pain of Rejection in Creative Pursuits

40:41 The Journey of Starting Now

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 unpack how women in medicine can reject judgment, keep their hobbies, and still be taken seriously. Abhilasha talks about her modeling journey, dealing with criticism, and finding power in doing both.

Topics include:

• The IMG experience and applying for residency in the U.S.
• Modeling, self-image, and bias in medicine
• Why hobbies matter for burnout prevention
• The cultural shift toward multidimensional doctors

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Guest: Abhilasha K

Connect with Abhilasha: @kato_nato

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

Following Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd

And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

00:00 – Intro: Meet Abhilasha

Frances Mei introduces Abhilasha — an international medical graduate from India, researcher at Duke, and model redefining what a doctor looks like.

02:00 – From India to Duke: The IMG Journey

Abhilasha shares her path from med school in India to research in gastroenterology and hepatology at Duke University.

06:00 – When Mentors Said “Hide It”

Frances Mei reflects on being told to leave modeling off her application — and the double standards women face in medicine.

08:00 – Beauty, Bias, and Early Criticism

Abhilasha recounts how body comments and early discouragement shaped her confidence — and why she kept pursuing modeling anyway.

10:00 – A Medical Emergency Before Step 2

The story of an unexpected anaphylactic shock right before her exam — and what it taught her about the U.S. healthcare system.

13:00 – Making Modeling Part of Medicine

Abhilasha explains how she lists modeling in her residency application — and how program directors actually respond.

16:00 – When Hobbies Save You From Burnout

Frances Mei and Abhilasha discuss how creative outlets like modeling and dance can prevent burnout and make better doctors.

19:00 – Judgment and Authenticity Online

The reality of being a visible doctor on social media — from criticism to reclaiming your identity.

23:00 – Why Some Doctors Lose Their Hobbies

Frances Mei opens up about losing herself during residency — and how she sees a new generation doing it differently.

25:00 – Culture Shift: Medicine Meets Art

Abhilasha talks about finding community with other creative physicians like @dancingurodoc and how that changed her outlook.

30:00 – Skills That Overlap: Modeling and Medicine

Adaptability, presence, teamwork — how modeling unexpectedly sharpened her clinical skills.

33:00 – Toxic Mentors and “Malignant” Programs

Abhilasha shares the story of a rotation gone wrong — and what it revealed about power in medicine.

36:00 – The Doctors We Want to Be

What good mentorship looks like, why approachability matters, and how some doctors inspire change just by being kind.

38:30 – Abhilasha’s Parting Wisdom

Her message to all future doctors: make time for yourself, protect your

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 staying grounded in her identity, Dr. Dukler offers an honest look at what it means to lead — and care — in modern medicine.

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Guest: Claudia Dukler, D.D.S.

Connect with Claudia: https://www.instagram.com/claudiadukler

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

Following Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd

And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

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 — without a set itinerary or a defined goal. What began as a sabbatical became something deeper: a full-body reset. I learned that healing doesn’t always happen in silence or stillness; sometimes it happens when you let novelty and beauty rewire the way your body experiences safety.

In this episode, I unpack what it means to:

• Let go of rigid timetables and trust spontaneity again
• Disconnect from the endless stimulation of the digital world
• Discover the difference between necessity and desire
• Recalibrate a nervous system shaped by years of hypervigilance and performance
• Reclaim a sense of peace that isn’t conditional on achievement

This is not a travel vlog. It’s an autopsy of being in the wrong career and a love letter to what remains after the unraveling — a reminder that rest can be radical, that stillness can be learned, and that healing sometimes begins not when you return home, but when you allow yourself to get lost.

If you’ve ever wondered what might happen if you stopped trying to control every outcome, or if you’ve felt trapped in the rhythm of “always on,” this story is for you.

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

Following Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd

And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.