What Surgical Training Doesn’t Teach You About Being Yourself

In this episode of Fem MD, host Dr. Lauren Umstattd sits down with Dr. Maheetha Bharadwaj, a urology resident, educator, and content creator.Maheetha shares her journey into medicine, from her early love of science and the arts to choosing urology—a field that blends surgery, patient care, and navigating sensitive topics with empathy. She offers an inside look at the realities of surgical residency, including long hours, on-call challenges, and mentorship in a traditionally male-dominated specialty. Maheetha also discusses her work in gender-affirming care and how she uses social media to educate the public, demystify medicine, and connect authentically with a broad audience.This episode highlights the dedication, creativity, and passion required to balance medicine, mentorship, and innovative outreach in today’s healthcare landscape.Dr. Maheetha Bharadwaj, 4th year Urology Resident at the University of Washington, dancer, advocate, and social media creator. Her journey sits at the intersection of medicine, art, and advocacy. She studied Biology and Biomedical Informatics at Stanford, spent a year at Cambridge learning genomic medicine, and worked in bioinformatics at Memorial Sloan Kettering before heading to medical school. Beyond the lab and clinic, dance has been a constant for nearly 20 years. She has choreographed works exploring patient experiences, including an Indian Classical Dance narrative on the journey through a cancer diagnosis, later published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Her work has earned national recognition, including the Joseph Collins Foundation and Massachusetts Medical Society scholarships.Now, as the 2025-2026 Artist-in-Residence with The Hippocratic Collective, she is creating a new dance project highlighting human connection and sexual dysfunction. Her path to urology was inspired by seeing women surgeons online. Seeing so many women have such different paths in surgery inspired Dr. Bharadwaj to gain the confidence to do the same. During residency, Dr. Bharadwaj has also built a powerful voice on social media. Through dancing skits, educational videos, and humorous creations like the “Medical Kardashian Skits,” she empowers, educates, and entertains, helping restore trust in medicine and inspire the next generation. Her videos have reached millions, sparking conversations about disparities, residency life, and women’s health research. Her goal is to use creativity, humor, and advocacy to build community and show future surgeons, especially women and those from underrepresented backgrounds, that there is a place for them in medicine. Outside the OR, you’ll find her choreographing, creating content, and building bridges between medicine and the arts, always reminding us that healing comes in many forms.Host: Dr. Lauren UmstattdConnect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_mdGuest: Dr. Maheetha BharadwajConnect with Maheetha:@dancing_uro_dochttps://www.hippocratic-collective.com/members/maheetha-bharadwaj-mdPresented by: @HippocraticCollective