What does it take to survive — and actually thrive — as a surgeon when the system keeps asking you to show up like a machine?

In this episode of Fem MD, host Dr. Lauren Umstattd talks with Dr. Mel Thacker — double-boarded ENT, lifestyle medicine specialist, and surgeon-coach — about the “dark surgeon psyche,” the ways training teaches us to disconnect from our bodies and feelings, and how to come back to being a whole person.

Mel pulls back the curtain on perfectionism, trauma responses in training, and the dopamine-seeking habits that help us numb out. Whether you’re in the OR, the clinic, or parenting after a 24-hour call, this episode offers humane, practical steps to feel less alone and more like yourself again.

Host: Dr. Lauren Umstattd

Connect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_md

Guest: Dr. Mel Thacker

Connect with Mel: https://www.melthackercoaching.com/

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective