Her Residency Program Shut Down Mid-Training. Then Everything Changed.

What happens when your residency program suddenly shuts down mid-training?

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with internal medicine physician Dr. Julia Torrellas to discuss one of the most destabilizing experiences a trainee can face: the closure of a residency program during training.

Julia shares what it was like to learn that her hospital was shutting down, how residents were absorbed into a new program, and the emotional fallout of losing mentors, support systems, routines, and a sense of stability overnight. The conversation explores burnout, identity, self-sacrifice, boundaries, and what happens when medicine becomes your entire sense of self.

Topics include:

• What it feels like when a residency program closes

• Starting over in a new hospital as a senior resident

• Burnout and emotional exhaustion in training

• Why many physicians tie their identity to their career

• Self-abandonment and self-sacrifice in medicine

• Setting boundaries without sabotaging your career

• Navigating residency politics and power dynamics

• Finding agency during uncertainty and disruption

• Lessons learned from career setbacks and unexpected change

Whether you're a medical student, resident, attending physician, or someone navigating a major life transition, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at resilience, identity, and rebuilding after disruption.

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Guest: Julia Torrellas, MD

Connect with Julia: @drjuliatorrellas

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.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(72)

Burnout, Creativity & Why I Stopped Letting Email Run My Life

What if burnout doesn’t look like hating your job, but like losing your creativity?In this solo-style episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei Hardin, MD, is joined by her husband Colin after retu...

8 Syys 42min

You’re Not on the Wrong Train with Dr. Wai-Jia Tam

What if you didn't get on the wrong train? What if you simply became a different person along the way?In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with Dr. Wai-Jia Tam, a Singaporean...

1 Syys 24min

You’re Allowed to Change Your Mind | How to Build a Life That Actually Fits You

What if changing your mind isn't failure, but actually a sign that you're paying attention?In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with Rachel Gerber Kule, a communications stra...

25 Elo 24min

How to Actually Build a Consulting Career After Medicine | Part 2

In this follow-up episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei and Colin continue their conversation about Frances Mei's transition from clinical medicine into consulting, and get much more practical ...

18 Elo 26min

The Trauma We Bring to Medicine with Sacha McBain, PhD

What happens when doctors spend their entire careers learning to suppress their emotions?In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with clinical psychologist Sacha McBain, PhD, a ...

11 Elo 31min

How I Became a Physician Consultant Without an MBA | ENT Surgeon to Consulting

How does a physician actually go from full-time clinical practice to consulting?In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei is joined by her husband, Colin, to break down the real, and highly...

4 Elo 37min

Who Are You Outside Medicine? | Ryan Montoya on Travel, Art & Reinvention

Medicine teaches us who we're supposed to be. But what happens when we step outside of that identity?In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Dr. Frances Mei sits down with physician, graphic medicine...

28 Heinä 25min

From Corporate Lawyer to Orthopedic Surgeon: Failure, Bias & Surviving Residency

What happens when a corporate lawyer leaves law behind to become an orthopedic surgeon?On this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei Hardin, MD, sits down with Christina “Dr. Chrissy” Greenfiel...

21 Heinä 38min