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Beyond the White Coat, with Dr. Frances Mei Hardin
In this bold and deeply authentic conversation, Dr. Frances Mei Hardin shares her journey from teenage prodigy to rural ENT surgeon and cofounder of the Hippocratic Collective—as she reflects on how surviving the culture of surgical training shaped her mission to transform medicine from the inside out. She speaks candidly about physician burnout, mental health, toxic workplace norms, and why success without authenticity is a hollow pursuit. With unflinching honesty and infectious purpose, Frances Mei lights the way toward a more human, compassionate future in medicine.
Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more empowering stories from remarkable women.
Thank you for listening ❤ See below for transcript, timestamps, to get in touch, and more.
TRANSCRIPT:
https://www.shelightstheway.com/francesmeihardin-interview-transcript
EPISODE LINKS:
https://francesmei.com/
https://rethinkingresidency.com/
https://www.hippocratic-collective.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/frances-mei-hardin-md-aab8b6297/
https://www.instagram.com/francesmei.md/
KEY MOMENTS:
00:00 Welcome & introduction
02:00 STEM passion, skipping grades, and showing up at Notre Dame at 16
04:00 How she "compromised" between graphic design and medicine—by becoming a surgeon
05:00 Picking a specialty: the honest (and funny) advice that guided her to ENT
06:00 Working in a male-dominated field: bias, microaggressions, and being “Dr. Frances”
07:00 The seedy underbelly of medicine: what patients don’t see about doctor wellness
09:00 Why pretending doctors are perfect does real harm to the profession
11:00 Founding Rethinking Residency to offer honest resources for future doctors
13:00 “I almost lost my life”: sharing her mental health journey during residency
15:00 Why the “rockstar asshole” surgeon trope needs to die—and how toxic culture hurts patients.
17:00 Civility in medicine: how professionalism helps everyone, especially the patient
20:00 Why she focuses on helping the target of abuse, not fixing the bully
24:00 Writing her memoir, Surgeon on the Edge, as an act of healing and truth-telling
28:00 How doctors are trained to equate self-worth with accolades—and how that must change
31:00 Redefining success: from prestige to peace, authenticity, and health
33:00 Her advice to younger women: Know yourself. Build identity outside the system.
35:00 What She Lights the Way means to her: courage is contagious.
36:00 Closing quote: “When you start asking for a bigger life, you cannot keep begging for a smaller one to stay.” – Brianna Wiest
FOLLOW:
Website: shelightstheway.com/
Newsletter: www.shelightstheway.com/newsletter
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/she-lights-the-way/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/shelightstheway/
STORIES:
https://www.shelightstheway.com/stories
PODCAST:
Podbean: https://shelightstheway.podbean.com/
RSS: https://bit.ly/SheLightsTheWayRSS
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4091de0
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4h8Kq0N
Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/3YeCt1m
BLOG:
https://medium.com/@she_lights_the_way
https://shelightstheway.substack.com/
CONNECT:
Contact us: www.shelightstheway.com/contact
Share a story: www.shelightstheway.com/story
View all episodes
By Nicole HuesmanIn this bold and deeply authentic conversation, Dr. Frances Mei Hardin shares her journey from teenage prodigy to rural ENT surgeon and cofounder of the Hippocratic Collective—as she reflects on how surviving the culture of surgical training shaped her mission to transform medicine from the inside out. She speaks candidly about physician burnout, mental health, toxic workplace norms, and why success without authenticity is a hollow pursuit. With unflinching honesty and infectious purpose, Frances Mei lights the way toward a more human, compassionate future in medicine.
Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more empowering stories from remarkable women.
Thank you for listening ❤ See below for transcript, timestamps, to get in touch, and more.
TRANSCRIPT:
https://www.shelightstheway.com/francesmeihardin-interview-transcript
EPISODE LINKS:
https://francesmei.com/
https://rethinkingresidency.com/
https://www.hippocratic-collective.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/frances-mei-hardin-md-aab8b6297/
https://www.instagram.com/francesmei.md/
KEY MOMENTS:
00:00 Welcome & introduction
02:00 STEM passion, skipping grades, and showing up at Notre Dame at 16
04:00 How she "compromised" between graphic design and medicine—by becoming a surgeon
05:00 Picking a specialty: the honest (and funny) advice that guided her to ENT
06:00 Working in a male-dominated field: bias, microaggressions, and being “Dr. Frances”
07:00 The seedy underbelly of medicine: what patients don’t see about doctor wellness
09:00 Why pretending doctors are perfect does real harm to the profession
11:00 Founding Rethinking Residency to offer honest resources for future doctors
13:00 “I almost lost my life”: sharing her mental health journey during residency
15:00 Why the “rockstar asshole” surgeon trope needs to die—and how toxic culture hurts patients.
17:00 Civility in medicine: how professionalism helps everyone, especially the patient
20:00 Why she focuses on helping the target of abuse, not fixing the bully
24:00 Writing her memoir, Surgeon on the Edge, as an act of healing and truth-telling
28:00 How doctors are trained to equate self-worth with accolades—and how that must change
31:00 Redefining success: from prestige to peace, authenticity, and health
33:00 Her advice to younger women: Know yourself. Build identity outside the system.
35:00 What She Lights the Way means to her: courage is contagious.
36:00 Closing quote: “When you start asking for a bigger life, you cannot keep begging for a smaller one to stay.” – Brianna Wiest
FOLLOW:
Website: shelightstheway.com/
Newsletter: www.shelightstheway.com/newsletter
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/she-lights-the-way/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/shelightstheway/
STORIES:
https://www.shelightstheway.com/stories
PODCAST:
Podbean: https://shelightstheway.podbean.com/
RSS: https://bit.ly/SheLightsTheWayRSS
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4091de0
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4h8Kq0N
Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/3YeCt1m
BLOG:
https://medium.com/@she_lights_the_way
https://shelightstheway.substack.com/
CONNECT:
Contact us: www.shelightstheway.com/contact
Share a story: www.shelightstheway.com/story