From InStyle to Intima: Curating the Stories of Healthcare with Donna Bulseco

From InStyle to Intima: Curating the Stories of Healthcare with Donna Bulseco

What happens when a longtime magazine editor leaves the world of celebrity journalism and finds herself at the forefront of narrative medicine? This week on Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with Donna Bulseco, editor of the literary and arts journal Intima and co-editor of Where It Hurts: Dispatches from the Emotional Front Lines of Medicine. Together, they explore the power of storytelling in healthcare, why medicine needs the humanities, and what physicians can learn from writers, poets, and artists. Donna reflects on her journey from InStyle magazine to Columbia University's Narrative Medicine program, the lessons she's learned from editing thousands of submissions from clinicians, and the common writing mistakes physicians make when trying to tell meaningful stories. The conversation also dives into creativity, taste, ego, revision, and why the most powerful stories often trust the reader enough to leave conclusions unsaid. Whether you're a clinician, writer, artist, or simply someone interested in the human experience of healthcare, this episode offers a thoughtful look at the stories that shape us, and the ones that help us heal. Topics discussed: * Narrative medicine and physician storytelling * The transition from publishing to healthcare humanities * Why doctors need art, literature, and philosophy * Developing taste, voice, and creativity * Common pitfalls in physician writing * The making of Where It Hurts * Finding humanity in modern medicine * Trusting the reader and embracing revision Books Mentioned: Where It Hurts: Dispatches from the Emotional Front Lines of Medicine [https://www.amazon.com/Where-Hurts-Dispatches-Emotional-Frontlines/dp/B0FH4313VS] Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD Guest: Donna Bulseco Connect with Donna: @dbulseco Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective Follow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCtTst91XiTDDGxevjAfoHCQ] on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

“Why Are All the Doctors Leaving?” | Residency, Hyper-Productivity & the Inability to Rest

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down again with her husband Colin for an unfiltered conversation about residency culture, hyper-productivity, and the psychological habits that follow physicians long after they leave the hospital. What begins as a discussion about planning Hippocratic Collective’s first West Coast event in the Hollywood Hills evolves into a broader examination of how medicine conditions people to equate suffering with value. Frances Mei and Colin unpack the “culture of sacrifice” mentality in residency — bragging about missed weddings, sleepless nights, impossible workloads, and constant exhaustion — and question whether any of it actually makes better doctors. The episode explores: * Why suffering is often mistaken for productivity in medicine * The toxic martyrdom culture embedded in residency training * How physicians lose the ability to rest guilt-free * Hyper-vigilance, comparison, and the “zero-sum game” mindset in surgical culture * Why high-achieving people struggle to play, relax, or exist without output * The long-term effects of residency on identity, nervous system regulation, and self-worth * The difference between loving medicine vs. loving the culture surrounding medicine * How Frances Mei still carries residency habits into entrepreneurship and creative work, even a year after leaving clinical practice * A recent study showing physicians are leaving medicine at younger ages than ever before Through stories about migraines, video games, art, childhood conditioning, and even a neighborhood encounter with children playing outside, the conversation becomes a larger meditation on adulthood, performance, and what it means to reclaim joy after years of survival mode. This episode is for physicians, trainees, and high-achieving professionals who feel trapped in cycles of overwork — and for anyone trying to learn that rest, creativity, and play do not need to be earned. Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective Following Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCtTst91XiTDDGxevjAfoHCQ] on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

You Can Have It All, Just Not All at Once with Dr. Joan Chan

This week on Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with family physician and educator Dr. Joan Chan for a conversation about ambition, burnout, identity, and the myth of “having it all.” Together, they unpack the pressure many physicians feel to optimize every area of life at once — career, relationships, creativity, wellness, leadership — and why that mindset so often leads to exhaustion and loss of self. Joan shares what she’s learning while helping build a new residency training site from the ground up, including the tension between preserving institutions and protecting the humans inside them. The conversation explores medical education, agency, tradeoffs, focus, seasons of life, and the difference between suffering for something aligned versus suffering inside deep misalignment. Topics include: * Why “you can have it all” is incomplete advice * The hidden cost of trying to do everything simultaneously * Burnout in medicine and academic systems * Building residency programs differently * Institutional culture vs. human sustainability * Creativity, fulfillment, and feeling “alive” again * Why protecting people matters more than preserving systems A thoughtful, funny, and deeply honest conversation about building a life intentionally — and what medicine gets wrong about success. Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD Guest: Joan Chan, MD Connect with Joan: https://www.hippocratic-collective.com/members/joan-chan-md Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective Follow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCtTst91XiTDDGxevjAfoHCQ] on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

The Year After Leaving Medicine | What Travel Taught Me About "Wellness"

One year after leaving the hospital, Frances Mei reflects on what actually changes when you step away from medicine, and what doesn’t. After a month-long Europe trip spanning Cambridge, London, Copenhagen, Paris, Rome, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast, Frances and Colin unpack identity, burnout, healing, neurodivergence, perfectionism, and the uncomfortable reality of personal growth after medicine. They talk about: * Why “wellness” often isn’t enough for doctors * The trap of outsourcing your rational brain * Learning how to enjoy life again after survival mode * Why high achievers struggle to dream outside of medicine * How travel, art, museums, and creativity changed Frances Mei's life * The surprising grief of realizing you actually can change * Letting go of the version of yourself built entirely around achievement This episode is about what happens when the career you sacrificed everything for is no longer the center of your life — and how difficult, disorienting, and beautiful rebuilding can be. Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective Following Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCtTst91XiTDDGxevjAfoHCQ] on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

[TW: Miscarriage] Fertility, Miscarriage & Residency: A Surgeon’s Story

What happens when life doesn’t wait for training to end? In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with ENT surgeon Dr. Kelly Schmidt to talk about a reality rarely discussed in medicine: navigating fertility, miscarriage, and pregnancy during residency. What begins as a straightforward plan to “just have a baby” quickly becomes something else—cycles that don’t work, loss that doesn’t pause training, and the disorienting experience of trying to solve a problem that effort alone can’t fix. Kelly shares her story openly—from miscarrying while on call to continuing to work through grief, to eventually building a path forward with fertility treatment and advocacy. This episode covers: * Trying to conceive during residency * Miscarriage while on call—and returning to work * The emotional toll of infertility in high-achievers * What actually helps (and what doesn’t) when supporting someone * Navigating FMLA and time off during training * How to advocate for yourself in a rigid system If you’ve ever felt like medicine leaves no room for real life—this conversation is for you. Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD Guest: Kelly Schmidt, MD Connect with Kelly: @kschmidt93 Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective Follow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCtTst91XiTDDGxevjAfoHCQ] on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.