Fem MD

What happens when being a surgeon becomes so central to your identity that losing it feels like losing yourself?

In this episode of FEM, MD, Dr. Lauren Umstattd sits down with ENT surgeon, coach, and author Dr. Mel Thacker to discuss her new memoir, Scrubbing In: A Surgeon’s Journey from Self-Doubt to Wholeness.

Mel shares the deeply personal story behind the book, from a childhood shaped by trauma and instability to medical training, private practice, and eventually experiencing panic attacks while operating. She explains how she came to realize that her sense of worth had become inseparable from her identity as a surgeon, and what it took to begin untangling the two.

Lauren and Mel also talk about toxic martyrdom in medicine, why surgeons are taught to override their own needs, moral injury, imposter syndrome, rupture and repair, and the strange way surgical culture can reward the ability to ignore the basic realities of being human.

They also discuss how writing helped Mel process her past, why she originally wrote the book for her children, and how becoming more whole outside the operating room ultimately changed the way she understood herself inside it.

This is a conversation about surgery, identity, ambition, trauma, healing, and what can happen when physicians finally give themselves permission to ask: What do I actually want?

Host: Dr. Lauren Umstattd

Connect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_md

Guest: Mel Thacker, MD

Connect with Mel: @the_surgeon_coach

Scrubbing In available now: https://a.co/d/03CPHRRm

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

See more shows and content at hippocratic-collective.com

What are residency programs actually looking for during interviews?

In this episode of FEM, MD, Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares residency interview advice from both sides of the table. She has been a medical student interviewing for residency, a chief resident interviewing applicants, a fellowship candidate, part of the fellowship interview process, and now a business owner who regularly hires for her own practice.

Her biggest advice? Once you have made it to the interview, your CV has already gotten you into the room. The interview is about something different: Are you someone they can trust, teach, and work beside at 2 a.m. when things get hard?

Lauren breaks down the three qualities she looked for most in residency applicants: calmness, intelligence and resourcefulness, and curiosity. She also covers the biggest residency interview red flags, how to prepare without sounding rehearsed, what questions you should always be ready to answer, why you should never say you have no questions for the program, and how to take some of the pressure out of interview season.

Whether you're applying to surgery, medicine, or another residency specialty, this episode offers a candid look at what happens on the other side of the interview table and how to show up as yourself.

Host: Dr. Lauren Umstattd

Connect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_md

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

See more shows and content at hippocratic-collective.com

The biggest threat to a surgeon's career may not be competition, reimbursement, or even the changing healthcare system. It may be their own body and mind.

In the final episode of The Business of Surgery, facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd explores what it takes to build a surgical career that can actually last. For Lauren, that means treating herself like the high-performance athlete she is: protecting her physical health, caring for her mind, and intentionally building systems that make the hardest days sustainable.

From 90-second microbreaks in the operating room and surgical ergonomics to sleep, nutrition, coaching, self-regulation, and protecting your relationship with your work, Lauren shares the practices she uses to preserve both her body and her desire to keep operating.

In this episode:

• Why surgeons should think of themselves as high-performance athletes
• Protecting your neck and spine in the operating room
• The power of 90-second surgical microbreaks
• Improving surgical ergonomics
• Why sleep and nutrition matter for career longevity
• Protecting your mental health as a surgeon
• What Lauren learned from working with a surgeon coach
• Using curiosity instead of frustration
• Self-regulation in high-stress environments
• Building systems and guardrails for difficult days
• Creating a surgical career you still want decades from now

This is Episode 12 and the finale of The Business of Surgery, a FEM, MD series about what it really takes to build, lead, and sustain a physician-owned surgical practice.

Host: Dr. Lauren Umstattd

Connect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_md

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

See more shows and content at hippocratic-collective.com

What if one of the best investments you could make in your career had nothing to do with your actual business?

In Episode 11 of The Business of Surgery, facial plastic surgeon, practice owner, and mom Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares why bringing an au pair into her home became one of the most consequential decisions she made for her business. With two young children and two working parents, reliable childcare didn't just make home life easier—it gave Lauren the security to operate, see patients, and lead her practice without constantly wondering what would happen when school closed or a child got sick.

Lauren walks through the entire experience: why a traditional nanny didn't work for their family, how the au pair program works, what it costs, interviewing and choosing someone to live in your home, navigating boundaries, and what she would do differently next time.

In this episode:

• Why childcare is a business issue for working parents
• Au pair vs. nanny
• How the au pair program works
• What an au pair actually does
• The cost of hosting an au pair
• How Lauren interviewed and selected her au pair
• Managing childcare with an inflexible physician schedule
• The mental load of being a working mother
• Setting boundaries with someone who lives in your home
• The unexpected benefits of cultural exchange
• Whether Lauren would hire an au pair again

The Business of Surgery is a 12-part FEM, MD series exploring the realities of building a physician-owned surgical practice—and the life required to sustain it.

Host: Dr. Lauren Umstattd

Connect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_md

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

See more shows and content at hippocratic-collective.com

How do you manage stress when you're simultaneously a surgeon, business owner, leader, spouse, parent, and person?

In Episode 10 of The Business of Surgery, facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd gets candid about something she is still figuring out herself: stress management. Rather than trying to eliminate stress entirely, Lauren shares the strategies she uses to manage it while building a career she wants to sustain for decades.

From compartmentalization and communication to delegation, outsourcing, taking time away, and learning to recognize when stress is changing how you lead, this episode explores what it actually takes to keep all of the plates spinning—without expecting yourself to do it perfectly.

In this episode:

• Managing stress as a physician and business owner
• Why work-life balance may be the wrong goal
• Compartmentalizing work, family, and personal responsibilities
• Communicating when your plate is full
• Managing the stress of surgical complications
• Why vacation isn't always truly "off" for a practice owner
• Delegating without expecting perfection
• Recognizing when stress makes you more controlling or critical
• Outsourcing responsibilities at home
• Creating space for yourself as a high-achieving physician
• Building a career for the marathon, not the sprint

The Business of Surgery is a 12-part FEM, MD series exploring the realities of building and running a physician-owned surgical practice.

Host: Dr. Lauren Umstattd

Connect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_md

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

See more shows and content at hippocratic-collective.com

What does it actually take to make a surgical practice profitable?

In Episode 9 of the Business of Surgery series, Dr. Lauren Umstattd breaks down the decisions that helped her build a profitable practice by year three, and why physicians need to get more comfortable thinking about marketing, money, pricing, and business growth.

From starting marketing before she felt ready to niching down her surgical offerings, raising prices, investing in the patient experience, hiring ahead of growth, and paying close attention to the numbers, Lauren shares the strategies that have shaped her practice.

She also talks candidly about the uncomfortable side of profitability: talking about money, making major capital purchases, investing in employees, and learning to view your business finances as objective measures of practice health.

In this episode:

• Why you should start marketing before you feel ready

• The business advantage of niching down

• Why Lauren stopped performing rhinoplasty

• How and when to raise your prices

• Why profitability matters for physician career longevity

• Investing in the patient experience

• Why Lauren hires team members before she thinks she needs them

• How to think about your practice's bank account like vital signs

• Investing in yourself, your team, and your brand

• How to evaluate expensive capital equipment

• Why Lauren refuses to discount her services

• The case for transparent pricing

• Why it's okay to build a practice that looks completely different from the traditional model

Building a successful medical practice doesn't require following the path that was already paved. Sometimes, you have to leave the sidewalk and build your own.

This is Episode 9 of the 12-part Business of Surgery series on Fem, MD.

Host: Dr. Lauren Umstattd

Connect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_md

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

See more shows and content at hippocratic-collective.com

Running a surgical practice isn't just about patients, procedures, and revenue. It's about people.

In Episode 8 of the Business of Surgery series, Dr. Lauren Umstattd talks candidly about one of the hardest parts of owning a practice: hiring, managing, promoting, and sometimes letting people go.

She shares lessons from her own mistakes—including realizing that the best candidate for an open position may already be on your team, learning to address performance issues before they become major problems, and understanding when it's time to let someone go.

Lauren also gets into the emotional side of personnel management: the guilt that can come with firing someone, the tension between being generous and protecting your business, and why compassionate leadership doesn't mean lowering your standards.

In this episode:

• Why you should look at your existing team before hiring externally

• Why hiring slowly can save you from bigger problems later

• How to define expectations before someone starts

• When and how to give difficult feedback

• Why you shouldn't wait until resentment builds to address performance issues

• Planning for employee leave and unexpected changes

• The emotional reality of firing and turnover

• Why it's okay to let people go

• How to treat employees with dignity—even when they're leaving

• The lessons Lauren would give herself before opening her practice

For physicians building their own practice, personnel management can be one of the most difficult—and most important—parts of the job.

This is Episode 8 of the 12-part Business of Surgery series on Fem, MD.

Host: Dr. Lauren Umstattd

Connect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_md

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

See more shows and content at hippocratic-collective.com

When you own a private practice, you're not just the physician. You're also the manager, problem-solver, employer, and sometimes the janitor.

In Episode 7 of The Business of Surgery, facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd tackles one of the hardest transitions for physician entrepreneurs: learning when to delegate.

Lauren shares how she went from personally managing nearly every aspect of her practice to gradually handing off responsibilities to a team, and why doing everything yourself can eventually become a barrier to growth.

In this episode:

• What physicians underestimate about running a business
• How to decide what to delegate
• Why repeatable tasks should come off your plate first
• What Lauren still refuses to outsource
• Delegating without losing oversight
• Empowering employees to make decisions
• How to audit roles as your practice grows
• Why one-on-one employee conversations can transform a business
• Protecting your time for clinical work, creativity, and growth
• Why you can outsource tasks—but not understanding your own practice

The Business of Surgery is a 12-part FEM, MD series following the real mechanics of building and running a physician-owned surgical practice.

Host: Dr. Lauren Umstattd

Connect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_md

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

See more shows and content at hippocratic-collective.com

Luxury healthcare isn't about marble countertops or expensive furniture.

It's about making every patient feel seen, cared for, and confident—from the first phone call through recovery.

In Episode 6 of The Business of Surgery, facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares the philosophy behind creating a premium patient experience. Drawing inspiration from brands like Ritz-Carlton, Hermès, and world-class hospitality, Lauren explains why thoughtful details, genuine human connection, and exceptional follow-through matter more than flashy amenities.

Whether you run a medical practice, own a business, or simply want to create a better customer experience, these principles apply far beyond surgery.

In this episode:

• What luxury patient care really means
• Creating a premium experience from the first phone call
• Building trust before surgery
• Why thoughtful details matter more than expensive ones
• Designing an unforgettable patient experience
• How to say "no" to the wrong patients
• The importance of postoperative communication
• Creating memorable moments that patients never forget
• Lessons from Ritz-Carlton, Hermès, and world-class hospitality
• Why word-of-mouth is your most valuable marketing strategy

The Business of Surgery is a 12-part summer series on FEM, MD, where Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares the lessons she learned building a thriving physician-owned cosmetic surgery practice—from startup through long-term growth.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Host: Dr. Lauren Umstattd

Connect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_md

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

See more shows and content at hippocratic-collective.com

How do you get patients to find—and trust—you before your practice even opens?

In Episode 5 of The Business of Surgery, facial plastic surgeon Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares the marketing strategy she used to build a thriving physician-owned practice. From documenting the journey before opening day to creating educational content, embracing authenticity, and thinking long-term, this episode is a roadmap for physicians who want to grow their practice without relying on traditional advertising.

Lauren explains why social media isn't about selling—it's about becoming the trusted resource patients already know when they're finally ready to seek care.

In this episode:

• Why social media is the most powerful marketing tool for physicians
• How to build trust before patients ever meet you
• Creating content that attracts the right patients
• Why consistency beats perfection
• Overcoming the fear of being on camera
• Marketing your practice before you open
• Growing organically across multiple platforms
• Local marketing ideas that actually worked
• Why documenting your journey builds trust
• The long game of physician branding and practice growth

The Business of Surgery is a 12-part summer series on FEM, MD, where Dr. Lauren Umstattd shares the lessons she learned building a thriving physician-owned cosmetic surgery practice—from startup through long-term growth.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Host: Dr. Lauren Umstattd

Connect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_md

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

See more shows and content at hippocratic-collective.com