Surgeon, Interrupted

What happens when you spend years becoming excellent at medicine while constantly masking who you are?On this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei Hardin, MD, sits down with OB-GYN, physician educator, and creator Jessica Geida, DO, for a candid conversation about neurodivergence in medicine, adult ADHD diagnosis, burnout, masking, people pleasing, and the complicated relationship between physician identity and personal identity.Jessica shares what it was like to move through medical school and residency with undiagnosed ADHD, why she often felt like she “fit in everywhere but belonged nowhere,” and how becoming a mother eventually helped her recognize her own neurodivergence.Together, they explore the strengths neurodivergent physicians can bring to medicine—including empathy, creativity, pattern recognition, and unconventional thinking—as well as the cost of repeatedly shrinking yourself to fit systems that may conflict with your values.They also discuss toxic teaching environments in surgical training, why leaving clinical medicine does not automatically untangle your identity from your work, and a different way to think about burnout: not simply as exceeding your capacity, but as the exhaustion that can come from constantly forcing yourself to fit into a system that does not fit you.In this episode:• ADHD and neurodivergence in physicians• Adult ADHD diagnosis in women• Masking and people pleasing during medical training• Feeling like an outsider in medicine• Strengths of neurodivergent physicians• Burnout and values misalignment• Toxic surgical training environments• Physician identity outside of clinical medicine• Learning to ask, “If I say yes, what will it cost me?”• Unmasking and building a career that fits who you actually areA thoughtful conversation about what happens when the same traits that can help someone excel in medicine also make traditional medical culture especially difficult to navigate.Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MDGuest: Jessica Geida, DOConnect with Jessica: @smilesandscrubsPresented by: The Hippocratic CollectiveFollow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimdAnd subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

What if burnout doesn’t look like hating your job, but like losing your creativity?In this solo-style episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei Hardin, MD, is joined by her husband Colin after returning from more than two weeks of solo travel through Denmark and Norway.They talk about how Frances’ relationship with travel has changed since leaving clinical medicine, why stepping away from work often seems to create more opportunity rather than less, and the habits she is trying to unlearn after years of surgical training—including opening email the moment she wakes up.Frances also shares what she learned from filling an entire journal while traveling, why physicians can become overly precious about creative work, and the importance of practicing before the “perfect” opportunity arrives.In this episode:• How burnout can show up as a loss of creativity• Why Frances stopped checking email first thing in the morning• Solo travel after leaving clinical medicine• Journaling and developing your own voice in the age of AI• Why waiting for inspiration can keep you stuck• Practicing before the big opportunity arrives• The surprising relationship between taking time off and getting new work• Moving beyond travel as escapism• Creating a healthier relationship with ambition and productivity• Why your inbox does not deserve to control your dayFor physicians, creatives, entrepreneurs, and anyone trying to build a life where work matters without allowing it to consume everything else.Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MDPresented by: The Hippocratic CollectiveFollowing Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimdAnd subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

What if you didn't get on the wrong train? What if you simply became a different person along the way?In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with Dr. Wai-Jia Tam, a Singaporean humanitarian doctor whose career has spanned public health, humanitarian medicine, COVID response, and global health leadership.Dr. Wai-Jia Tam shares an extraordinary story of following a path that looked successful on paper while gradually losing touch with the person she wanted to be. From becoming a physician after growing up dreaming of being a wildlife documentary host, to humanitarian work, moving her family to Tanzania, and now finding her way toward conservation, her story is ultimately about something bigger than career change.It's about reclaiming yourself.The conversation explores:What happens when the career you've built no longer feels like the right destinationWhy physicians can struggle to recognize their own definition of successThe pressure to prove yourself in medicine and high-achieving culturesReconnecting with the dreams you had as a childWhy changing direction doesn't mean your past was a mistakeThe difference between reinventing yourself and reclaiming yourselfHow a major health setback forced Dr. Wai-Jia Tam to reconsider her identityFinding purpose outside of credentials, titles, and professional achievementHow one cold DM led to an unexpected opportunity in wildlife conservationWhy the work you do quietly for years may eventually open an unexpected doorGiving yourself permission to get off the “wrong train”Dr. Wai-Jia Tam also shares the remarkable story of creating a children's book as a teenager to raise money for a home for girls she met in Nepal. Despite being told she couldn't do it—and being told her paintings were terrible—she taught herself to paint, published the book, and ultimately raised $100,000 to build the home.For physicians and other high achievers who have ever wondered “Is this really what I want?”, this is a conversation about permission: permission to change, to pause, to choose differently, and to become more fully yourself.And Dr. Wai-Jia Tam leaves us with a beautiful definition of healing:Healing isn't about returning to who you were before the pain. It's about giving yourself permission to be who you were always meant to be.Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MDGuest: Dr. Wai-Jia TamConnect with Wai Jia: @drwaijiatamPresented by: The Hippocratic CollectiveFollow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimdAnd subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

What if changing your mind isn't failure, but actually a sign that you're paying attention?In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with Rachel Gerber Kule, a communications strategist, entrepreneur, and self-described Renaissance woman who has built a career by repeatedly pivoting toward what fits her better.Rachel shares how she went from wanting to be a news anchor, to realizing that path wasn't right for her, to building a successful career in communications and PR—and eventually launching a new venture supporting people going through IVF and fertility challenges.The conversation goes much deeper than career changes. Frances Mei and Rachel explore what it means to let go of a chapter without feeling ashamed, understand your own values, build confidence, set boundaries, and create a life that actually reflects who you are.They talk about:Why changing direction isn't the same as failingHow to recognize when a path no longer fitsLetting go of shame and unmet expectationsWhy knowing your values makes decision-making easierHow self-confidence gives you the courage to make your own choicesSetting boundaries at work and in relationshipsWhy crying and emotional expression aren't signs of weaknessHow difficult experiences can shape who we becomeLearning to trust yourself when you no longer have someone else to callWhy uncertainty can actually create freedom and possibilityBuilding a life around your own values instead of inherited expectationsFor physicians especially, this conversation offers a powerful reminder: you don't have to spend your entire life following the path you originally chose. Frances Mei reflects on what it meant to leave clinical surgery and build a portfolio career—and why becoming clear about your values and boundaries is essential to creating a life that feels like your own.Rachel's favorite advice comes from Henry David Thoreau: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.” The question is whether you've taken the time to figure out what those dreams actually are.Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MDGuest: Rachel Gerber KuleConnect with Rachel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelkuleFounder of Pursuit PR, a C-suite communications advisory firm, and Fertilyfe, a community focused on supporting people navigating IVF and fertility challenges.Presented by: The Hippocratic CollectiveFollow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimdAnd subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

In this follow-up episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei and Colin continue their conversation about Frances Mei's transition from clinical medicine into consulting, and get much more practical about what happened once she actually made the leap.Frances Mei explains how her first consulting opportunity started as a loose, low-commitment engagement and evolved into a formal role, why physicians should consider “dating before they get married” when evaluating new jobs, and how she learned to create a role around her skills instead of waiting for someone to tell her what to do.From there, she went on to a director-level physician engagement and strategy role, built a network that generated new consulting opportunities, and eventually became a chief medical officer at a healthcare tech startup.The big lesson? The best opportunities for physicians leaving medicine often aren't posted on LinkedIn.In this episode:How to get your first consulting opportunity after medicineWhy small projects can be better than committing to a new career immediatelyHow to create a job that doesn't exist yetThe skills physicians can translate into consultingWhy clinical expertise alone isn't enoughHow networking and referrals create a consulting “flywheel”How to prove your value before asking for a bigger roleHow Frances Mei went from leaving medicine to a director-level role within a yearHow she ultimately became a chief medical officer at a healthcare tech startupWhy physicians need to stop asking, “What jobs can I get as a doctor?”How to figure out what you're actually good at and what you actually want to doFor physicians considering leaving clinical medicine, consulting, healthcare startups, marketing, strategy, or other careers outside medicine, this episode offers a candid look at what the transition actually looks like.The conversation also gets into something physicians don't hear enough: you don't necessarily have to follow another prescribed career ladder after leaving medicine.Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MDPresented by: The Hippocratic CollectiveFollow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimdAnd subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.