Surgeons with Purpose

• #52: Dr. Blair Peters on Advocating and Innovating with Authenticity

  Plastic surgery isn’t just about appearance—it’s about reinvention. For Dr. Blair Peters, that theme runs through every part of his story.After coming out before medical school and finding his place within the queer and trans community, Dr. Peters saw firsthand the inequities in gender-affirming care. Patients traveling across continents for surgery, often with no idea who their surgeon was or how they’d get post-op care—it felt wrong. That’s when his mission became clear.Today, gender-affirming surgeries like phalloplasty, vulvoplasty, vaginoplasty make up the majority of his practice. But that’s not where the innovation stops. His expertise in peripheral nerve surgery is now transforming care for cisgender patients too—addressing chronic pelvic pain, loss of orgasm, and other conditions that have long lived in the "black box" of genital health.We discuss:The massive, all-consuming nature of gender-affirming surgery as a fieldThe unique multi-disciplinary approach requiredHis work creating a national fellowship registry for plastics training in gender-affirming careDr. Peters also opens up about the resistance he faced in becoming a pioneer:The stereotype that trans patients would be too high maintenanceThe internal debate about making an entire career out of being queerThe real fear of becoming a public target in a national political firestormWe cover the grim reality many gender-affirming surgeons now face:Death threats, doxxing, and needing police escortsBeing secretly recorded at conferences, with videos landing on right-wing mediaThe political machinery driving today’s anti-trans healthcare movement—how it started with trans athletes, moved to youth care, and now threatens adult care nationwideDr. Peters explains how state-level policies, executive orders, and forthcoming legislation have created chaos at institutions like his—leaving surgeons to navigate legal, ethical, and personal safety decisions on the fly, often unpaid and unprotected.Yet through all of it, he continues to operate—literally and figuratively—at full capacity:Fielding political crisis calls from 6 am to 10 pmTaking urgent meetings between casesConsulting with institutional leadership and legal teamsWondering daily: Are we still safe to provide care?We also dive into the joy and creativity that sustain him:Designing nerve reconstruction surgeries with sticky notes and sharpiesInnovating individualized procedures for patients both trans and cisgenderFinding peace in the OR, surrounded by blue gowns and bright lightsReinventing his practice to stay engaged and energizedDr. Peters shares powerful reflections on visibility and authenticity in academic medicine:The exhaustion of assimilationThe freedom of showing up as himselfThe real question: Is it professionalism… or forced conformity?We close with a conversation about sustainability, boundaries, and the 30-year plan:Guardrails around time and energyThe wide, interdepartmental future of peripheral nerve surgeryThe healing power of storytelling—both his own and his patients’His plans to one day write a book that blends memoir with patient narratives to build empathy in a time when it’s urgently neededThis is a conversation about surgery, identity, advocacy, and resilience. About holding space for others while fighting for your own right to belong.Because at the end of the day, we’re all just humans trying our best to live our lives in a crazy world.Follow Dr. Blair Peters on instagram

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• #51: The Counterintuitive Secret with YA author Dr. Tyler Beauchamp

  Tyler Beauchamp is a pediatrician and children’s/YA author from Georgia whose earliest experiences with medicine came not as a student, but as a patient. As a child, Tyler spent years in and out of research clinics searching for answers. He began writing in waiting rooms as a way to cope, and eventually fell in love with both storytelling and medicine.A graduate of the University of North Carolina, Tyler pursued both writing and medicine with the quiet hope that someday, he could bring those two worlds together.In this episode, Tyler shares how being a long-time patient shaped his perspective on medical training and culture, including the deep stigma around being labeled a “pain patient.” We explore what it really means to be a physician or surgeon: Is our job simply to diagnose and treat? Or is there something more intangible—bearing witness, holding space, and being present with patients?We also talk about why doctors are wired to hate uncertainty, and how that can get in the way of both healing and growth. Tyler reveals the counterintuitive secret that helped him expand his capacity during medical school. The best part is that it’s something you can access too.Learn more about Tyler and his best-selling book, Freeze Frame, here.Follow him on instagram here.Check out Hippocratic Collective here.Learn more about Empowered Surgeons Group here.

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• #50: Toddlers in Scrubs with Psychologist Barlas Günay

  Psychologist and reparenting expert, Barlas Günay, comes on the show to reveal why the majority of us are really just children in white coats. Toddlers in scrubs. Babies pretending to be adults. And what we can do about it.In this powerful episode, we explore why traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may fall short for high-functioning professionals—especially surgeons—whose deeply ingrained patterns stem from unmet emotional needs. We dive into the world of Schema Therapy, which addresses the origin of recurring emotional pain, not just its surface-level expression.You’ll learn about the concept of “limited reparenting”, the 18 core maladaptive schemas, and the one that often plagues high-achievers: unrelenting standards and hypercriticalness. We explore how the environments of surgical training—hierarchical, elitist, and shame-based—reinforce these painful inner narratives.What You’ll Learn:What schemas are: core beliefs developed through repeated unmet needs in childhoodHow trauma gets “stuck” in the body when fight-or-flight is inhibitedThe cycle of negative feedback in training, and how it impairs learning and emotional developmentWhy positive reinforcement—not criticism—is the most effective teaching toolHow to reconcile compassion for others with righteous anger and boundary-settingWhy mental self-flagellation is learned, not necessaryHow it’s possible to be a brilliant surgeon with the frustration tolerance of an 8-year-oldThe link between repressed anger and chronic illness (“Repression of anger will f*ck you up”)Somatic and schema therapy techniques that actually help you heal, not just copeModalities We Discuss:EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) – how moving your eyes during trauma recall helps decouple the emergency responseSomatic Completion – allowing the body to finish survival reflexes that were blockedImagery Rescripting – going back into a childhood memory and rewriting the experience to reclaim powerCore Insight:You can be competent, accomplished, and admired—and still be psychologically underdeveloped. It’s not your fault. But it is your responsibility to grow.Final Thought:Emotions are just data. Anger is not dangerous—it’s a vibration. Learn to feel it without reacting to it. Only then can you choose wisely.Join more than 83k others and follow Barlas on instagram here and join his reparenting community. We all know we need this.Join Empowered Surgeons Group here.

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• #49 Sky Diving, Surgery, and the Art of Trusting Yourself with Dr. Alexandra Kharazi

  In this episode, Dr. Mel Thacker sits down with cardiac surgeon, Dr. Alexandra Kharazi. Together, they explore what it means to operate—literally and figuratively—from a place of purpose rather than fear.We discuss:The emotional rewards of caring for high-risk cardiac patients who have few options leftThe "Black Swan" framework for surgical decision-making: a grounded process for choosing wisely when the stakes are highestWhy just because we can, doesn’t mean we should—and how she decides when not to operateWhy post-op cardiac care is never à la carte—and how communication defines outcomesWhy self-flagellation after a complication sabotages future decision-making—and how to shift from fear-based to mission-based thinkingWhat skydiving teaches about emergency preparedness, trust, and rapid executionHow anxiety, fear, and trauma must be processed after the fact—not in the middle of the ORUsing celebration and reflection to build self-trust and resilienceReclaiming your identity in medicine by anchoring to mission, not job titleThis episode is a powerful invitation to rethink risk, courage, and how we serve. If you've ever struggled with self-doubt, anxiety about litigation and complications, or the emotional toll of high-stakes surgery—this conversation is for you.Alexandra Kharazi, MD, is a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon, author, speaker and skydiver.​Dr. Kharazi is board certified in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery. She has publications in numerous medical journals including The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Innovations: Technology and Techniques in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, and Journal of Innovations in Cardiac Rhythm Management. In addition to her medical degree, Dr. Kharazi holds a masters degree in biology, having completed a masters thesis titled "Generation and molecular analysis of dominant negative alleles of anthrax lethal factor in Drosophila."Having received multiple honors and recognition for patient satisfaction, she has been featured in regional and national media outlets and peer-review journals, Medium, KevinMD, and Doximity among a few. Dr. Kharazi is the author of “The Heart of Fear” and offers realistic success plans that help her audience to become better … both personally and professionally.​She is a member of the American College of Surgeons.Follow Dr. Alexandra Kharazi on instagram here.Connect with her on her website here.Learn more about Empowered Surgeons Group here.

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• #48 Mindshifting

  Learn more about Empowered Surgeons Group here.In a profession that demands perfection and endurance, it’s easy to default to survival mode. But what if the real evolution happens when we shift from self-preservation to purpose?In this episode, we unpack the 6 core human needs—belonging, autonomy, mastery, esteem, trust, and purpose—and how understanding them can change the way you show up in the OR, in leadership, and in life.We dive into powerful mindshifts specifically for surgeons, like:🔹 Perfectionism → Service🔹 Scarcity → Abundance🔹 "I have to" → "I get to"🔹 "I don't know" → "I'm figuring it out"🔹 Triggered → Curious🔹 "I can’t say no" → "I only say yes when it’s a hell yes"🔹 Self-focus → Other-focus🔹 Waiting for the other shoe to drop → Trusting you'll be okay no matter whatThese aren’t just affirmations. They’re tools for resilience and power—the kind that help you lead, advocate, and operate from your values, not just your training.Whether you're burned out, bored, or just ready for something more aligned—this episode will help you remember what’s possible when you start leading from your whole self.

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