The Athlete-to-Surgeon Pipeline: Women Surgeons, Stress & the Athlete Mentality

On this episode of FEM, MD, Dr. Lauren Umstattd sits down with double board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Natalie Krane for a candid conversation about the surprising overlap between elite athletics and surgical training. From Division I soccer and career-ending injuries to residency culture, burnout, performance psychology, and personal wellness, they unpack the coping mechanisms that make high-achieving women successful — and the ways those same traits can quietly erode long-term wellbeing.The two surgeons discuss restorative breathing in the operating room, microbreaks during surgery, the psychology of performance under pressure, protecting life outside the hospital, and why “even baddies get saddies.” They also reflect on ambition, retirement, identity outside medicine, and the realization that women are allowed to “take up more space” — in medicine and in life.This episode is for every woman in medicine who has ever pushed through exhaustion, ignored her body’s signals, or wondered what it means to build a sustainable life alongside a meaningful career.Host: Dr. Lauren UmstattdConnect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_mdGuest: Dr. Natalie KraneConnect with Natalie @drnataliekranehttps://drnataliekrane.com/Produced by: The Hippocratic CollectiveSee more shows and content at hippocratic-collective.com