Surgeons with Purpose

• #63 Using Intuition as a Guide with Dr. Priya Kothapalli

  Women Surgeons interested in the Self-Concept Weekend in Cabo, click here to schedule a 15 min interview with me.In this episode, my guest, Dr. Priya Kothapalli, and I discuss the beauty and power of intuition, the challenges of corporate medicine, imposter syndrome, don't know mind, and what it's like to have the courage to design a life true to oneself. Priya Kothapalli, MD, is a coronary and structural heart disease interventional cardiologist based in the Dallas Fort Worth area, model, yogi, and host of the Open Heart podcast.Follow Priya on instagram here. Follow her podcast, which debuts this fall, here.Join Empowered Surgeons Group here.Check out Hippocratic Collective here.

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• #62 Turning Tragedy into Meaning with Dr. Brian Hoeflinger and Kevin Hoeflinger

  After a tragic car crash in 1983 changed the course of his family forever, Dr. Brian Hoeflinger pursued neurosurgery with a new sense of purpose. Decades later, when his teenage son died suddenly in a car accident, he found himself once again reshaped by grief. In this episode, Dr. Hoeflinger shares how these experiences inform the way he practices medicine: communicating with clarity, leading with empathy, and honoring the reality that it’s families who must live with the consequences of life-and-death decisions. He and his son, Kevin, open up about what it means to carry unimaginable loss, and how they've chosen to turn tragedy into a source of hope, compassion, and human connection.You’ll hear:How loss reshaped their family and his career as a physicianWhy talking about death matters more than avoiding itThe art of skillful empathy and being present without absorbing every tragedyWhy doctors should guide, not decide, for familiesDr. Hoeflinger's words of wisdom for physicians: "The world’s not on your shoulders…Don't expect so much of yourself." "Spend more time away from the hospital." Follow the Hoeflinger podcast on Apple podcasts here and on YouTube here. Get on the Dr. Hoeflinger newsletter here.Follow Dr. Hoeflinger on instagram here.Join Empowered Surgeons Group here.Check out Hippocratic Collective here.

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• #61 From "Problem Resident" to Associate Professor: Proving Them Wrong with Dr. Karuna Dewan

  Are you a woman surgeon interested in the Cabo retreat Jan 9-11? Click here to learn more about it. Click here if you're serious and get on my calendar for a 15 min interview.Dr. Karuna Dewan was accepted to medical school at just 16 and knew early on she wanted to be a laryngologist. Today she is an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology, the Jonathan Glass, MD & Cherie-Ann Nathan, MD Endowed Professor in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, and Director of the Ark-La-Tex Voice, Airway and Swallow Center at LSU Health Shreveport.But her path was anything but straightforward. In this conversation, she opens up about the bullying, rumors, and systemic failures she endured during residency, and the long shadow of trauma, PTSD, and professional stigma that followed.Dr. Dewan speaks candidly about:How residency culture can mirror high school bullying.The “weaponization of professionalism” and the absence of true advocacy for residents.Why labeling trainees as “problem residents” causes lasting harm.The power of mentorship, and what anti-mentors teach us.Concrete ways faculty can offer curiosity, specificity, and constructive feedback instead of dehumanizing criticism.She also shares how she rebuilt her confidence, thrived in a new residency, and now fiercely supports her own residents with kindness and compassion. Her story is one of resilience, advocacy, and a vision for a future where training doesn’t come at the cost of humanity.“I didn’t get here by magic. I earned this.” – Dr. Karuna DewanFollow Karuna on instagram here.Learn more about Empowered Surgeons Group here.Learn more about the Hippocratic-Collective here.

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• #60 A Peak Inside the Brain of a Creative with Comic Book Artist, Dr. Ryan Montoya

  Women Surgeons, click here if interested in the retreat in Cabo.Have you ever considered the creative process of your favorite artist? I, personally, will never forget the moment I found out that Jerry Seinfeld wrote his jokes on napkins!Comic book artist and family practice physician, Dr. Ryan Montoya, comes on the show to talk about his evolution as a physician and an artist, how he balances his dual life, and the value of a creative outlet. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:From Rags to Resilience: Growing up on welfare in California and being treated like just another number, then moving to Massachusetts and experiencing a system that valued him as an individual.Education & Isolation: How higher-quality education and feeling singled out shaped his perspective and fueled his drive.Creativity as Survival: Using art, movement, and creative thinking to solve problems when conventional support systems weren’t enough.Capturing Creative Moments: The importance of noticing and preserving moments of creativity in everyday life.Learning from the Greats: Insights drawn from creative icons like Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David on harnessing creativity effectively.Creativity vs. Anxiety: Why channeling energy into creative outlets is healthier than letting the brain default to anxiety.A New Lens on Media: How approaching shows and comics with a creative, analytical mind can unlock new perspectives.Balancing Medicine & Art: Managing parental pressure to pursue medicine while following artistic passions, and finding harmony between professional and creative endeavors.Preventing Burnout: How maintaining a creative outlet and staying aligned with personal values protects against professional exhaustion.Career Wisdom: The pitfalls of overvaluing power, status, or wealth over meaningful experiences, and the importance of self-knowledge before taking leadership roles.Introspection & Self-Knowledge: Understanding your conative style, whether you’re a visionary or implementer, and how tools like the Kolbe Index can guide career and creative decisions.Creating for Yourself: Embracing imperfection, starting before you’re ready, and why being “paid for your art” transforms you from hobbyist to professional.Who Before How: Why understanding yourself and your values is always the first step in any field or endeavor.Follow Dr. Ryan Montoya on instagram here.Join Empowered Surgeons group here.Learn more about the Hippocratic Collective here.Dr. Ryan Montoya, MD is a board certified Family Medicine physician. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Biology, and completed graduate courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University, before attending medical school and residency at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Montoya provided full spectrum family medicine care and opioid addiction medication assisted treatment (MAT) at a Federally Qualified Health Center while starting his own direct primary care practice in Massachusetts. He has lived and provided community healthcare in...

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• #59 The Impossible Oath with Dr. Frances Mei Hardin

  Women Surgeons, click here if interested in the retreat in Cabo.Master storyteller and fellow disrupter, Dr. Frances Mei Hardin comes on the podcast to discuss the article The Impossible Oath.We talk about what the Hippocratic Oath is and, perhaps more importantly, is not. You'll learn how the system grooms us for "betrayal blindness" and why a better-you-than-me, cut throat mentality isn't good for anyone.Dr. Hardin recounts a residency moment when she was wrongly reprimanded, an experience many of you will recognize.Finally, we address the disproportionate number of women and minorities placed on remediation plans.Learn more about the Hippocratic Collective here.Join Empowered Surgeons Group here.Frances Mei Hardin, MD, is a reformed gunner. She survived ENT residency, practiced solo in the rural South, and then peaced out of medicine entirely to start the Hippocratic Collective. She decoupled her self-worth from her identity as a surgeon, survived an ego death, and is now entering her mogul era—writing her first book, building a physician-led media empire, and making the kind of stuff she wishes existed back when she was white-knuckling her way through surgical training. She no longer thinks being a doctor is her whole personality. You shouldn't either.

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