One of the most accomplished neurosurgeons in Europe joins Surgeon, Interrupted.

Dr. Yu-Mi Ryang is President-Elect of the German Spine Society, Chair-Elect of the EuroSpine Education Council, and one of the first women of color to rise to the highest levels of leadership in German neurosurgery. But her journey was anything but straightforward.

In this conversation with Dr. Frances Mei Hardin, she shares what twenty years of surgical training, leadership, and perseverance taught her about excellence, mentorship, competition, and staying true to yourself in a profession that often rewards conformity.

Together, they discuss:

• Why so many people told her not to become a neurosurgeon
• Working 100+ hour weeks during surgical training
• The unique challenges of being an Asian woman in medicine
• Competition, scarcity mindset, and surgical culture
• Why mentorship matters—and why it sometimes fails
• People pleasing, authenticity, and leadership
• Building a reputation through excellence instead of ego
• How passion sustains a career in medicine

Whether you're a medical student, resident, attending physician, or simply interested in leadership and personal growth, this episode is a candid look at what it really takes to build a meaningful career in surgery.

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Guest: Yu-Mi Ryang, MD

Connect with Dr. Ryang: https://de.linkedin.com/in/prof-dr-med-yu-mi-ryang-949310135

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

Follow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd

And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

Can someone still change medicine after they've left it?

After returning from Hippocratic Collective's Los Angeles End of Academic Year celebration, Frances Mei shares a comment that stopped her in her tracks:

"You walked away. Your credibility is gone."

That criticism sparks a deeper conversation about one of the biggest questions in medicine today. Does meaningful change only come from people still inside the system, or are outsiders sometimes the ones most able to challenge it?

Frances Mei and Colin discuss the backlash that comes with speaking publicly about residency culture, why doctors often police each other more than the system itself, and why they believe lasting change requires people working both inside and outside of medicine.

They also share updates on the LA event, the newest issue of ex vivo, and why protecting your identity outside of medicine may make you a better physician.

In this episode:

• Highlights from Hippocratic Collective's LA End of Academic Year celebration

• The release of the Summer issue of Ex Vivo

• The comment that questioned Frances Mei's credibility after leaving surgery

• Why "fix it from the inside" isn't the only path to change

• The hidden cost of sacrificing creativity during medical training

• Why building lasting resources for physicians matters more than social media

EX VIVO 2026: https://www.hippocratic-collective.com/ex-vivo/2026

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

Following Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd

And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.

What happens when grief collides with medical training?

In this deeply personal episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with family physician, educator, and author Dr. Shanda McManus to discuss loss, caregiving, resilience, and the hidden emotional costs of becoming a doctor.

Growing up in North Philadelphia, Shonda helped care for her mother through advanced ovarian cancer before eventually becoming the first person in her family to attend college and pursue medicine. During medical school, her brother was murdered, a loss that would shape her life in profound ways. Like many physicians, she learned to keep moving, keep performing, and keep achieving—even while carrying unprocessed grief.

Together, Frances and Shanda explore the culture of medicine that often rewards endurance while leaving little room for healing, and why creating space for grief may be one of the most important acts of self-preservation for physicians.

Topics include:

• Growing up in North Philadelphia

• Caring for a parent with cancer as a child

• Becoming the first person in your family to attend college

• Pregnancy and parenthood during medical training

• Taking time away from medicine without derailing your career

• The murder of a sibling during medical school

• Unprocessed grief and emotional survival in medicine

• Why physicians deserve space to heal

• Writing, memoir, and finding meaning through storytelling

• The inspiration behind Shanda's new book

This conversation is about loss, love, family, identity, and the ways medicine sometimes asks us to be less human when we need humanity most.

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Guest: Shanda McManus, MD

Connect with Shanda: https://www.shandamcmanus.com/

Brother Epistles - https://www.splitlippress.com/product-page/brother-epistles

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

Follow Frances Mei on Instagram & Tiktok @francesmeimd

And subscribe to ⁨@HippocraticCollective⁩ on Youtube for all of the other shows the Hippocratic Collective has to offer.