In residency, you learned how to operate. In Empowered Surgeons, you learn how to become whole again.
EMPOWERED SURGEONS
You have the power to design success as a surgeon on your terms, and it’s simpler than you think.
I know because I’ve done it.
You don’t have to escape your current job or get an MBA. All you have to do is meet the human underneath the scrubs, trust that you know what’s best for you (and your patients), and take deliberate action toward goals that are yours, not someone else’s. That’s the simple framework we teach inside Empowered Surgeons Group.
Questions? Check out the FAQ page here.
“My career doesn’t feel like I thought it would”
You used to dream of life as an attending surgeon. You imagined taking care of patients, operating, climbing the academic ladder, making money (finally), and mattering. You knew it would take hard work and sacrifice, but, you thought, it will all be worth it. So why doesn’t it feel worth it? That’s the arrival fallacy, my friend.
And you’re working within a system that makes your life miserable…
An inbox of endless patient messages, pushback from insurance companies, and the constant fear of being one mistake away from losing it all. Your brain doesn’t even register good patient outcomes anymore. It’s too busy worrying about bad reviews, surgical complications, and being blindsided by a lawsuit. The stress feels untenable. I know what you’re going through. I’ve been there too, and I know how to meet those feelings of overwhelm, frustration, and burn out — and create something from them.
A Coaching Program Created Specifically For Surgeons by a Surgeon
I walk you through everything you need to know to navigate life after training.
The roadmap to becoming a surgeon was laid out for you. But, after residency and fellowship, you become the map maker. Designing the map of your life doesn’t have to feel like driving in the dark in the middle of a storm. I’ll teach you everything you need to know and everything you don’t.
The result? You’ll say “no” to that late add-on and get to your kid’s swim lesson - without feeling guilty. You’ll be proud and energized by the way you manage yourself when equipment fails in the OR, clinic is overbooked, patients have complications, and challenging cases come in on call. You’ll have capacity to pursue creative projects that light you up. You’ll practice in a way that honors you, the asset.
This isn’t about walking away from surgery or giving up your dreams.
It’s about creating a sustainable, fulfilling version of the surgeon you want to be, while reconnecting with the reason you fell in love with this work in the first place: to have a positive impact.
A note from Mel–
From Dissection to Integration: Becoming Whole Again
The Empowered Surgeon Program + Plan
Coaching is not the same as therapy. Here’s what it is.
Therapy focuses on healing past emotional traumas and mental health issues to help a non-functional person become functional. Coaching is future-focused and meant to uplevel you to the next, most capable and purpose-driven version of yourself.
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” As a coach, I am your thought partner. Everything boils down to mindset. The thoughts in your brain become beliefs, and those beliefs create emotions that drive actions, which produce results in your life. If you want a different result in your life, you have to change your thoughts and beliefs. That’s the heart of coaching.
What You Get By Practicing The Empowered Surgeon Method:
1– Clarity About Your Environment– AKA It’s Not Just YOU
Toxic martyrdom, perfectionism, vertical hierarchies, and pretending have plagued surgical training culture since its inception, and this program will show you how these mindsets skew your sense of self and sense of the world.
2– Clarity About Yourself– AKA What You Control and What You Don’t
The Anatomy of a Surgeon Module is the first set of teachings. It will teach you how to manage your most powerful tool—your brain—and how to read your body compass to make decisions based on truth and intuition, not fear.
In the Surgeon Self-Concept Modules, you’ll learn how to evolve your identity from trainee to expert. You’ll learn the important concept of essentialism. And you’ll learn how to evaluate and extract value from OR cases, whether they go exactly as planned or not.
The Mastering Emotions Module will teach you the power of emotions, which emotions keep you stuck and how to generate emotions that move you forward, like curiosity, creativity, courage, motivation, and service. The Capacity Classroom will teach you how to protect your energy.
The Mastering Drama Module will teach you the Drama Triangle and The Empowerment Dynamic, two essential concepts to understand and apply.
You’ll integrate these skills in the real world. You’ll make mistakes and revert to old patterns. That’s normal and exactly why we coach every week. You can’t fail. You either get the result you want or you learn.
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Implementation is the hardest part. Many of the concepts we cover in this program are not going to feel new to you, but hearing them said in many different, surgeon-oriented ways will help you internalize them and implement them in your day to day life. Like learning a new language, these skills take practice. By rewatching the modules, you’ll see them with fresh eyes and get new insights each time. You have lifetime access, so take all the time you need.
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You’re going to face mistakes, missed expectations, and frictions. Patients are going to have complications. You’re going to say “yes” when you really mean “no”. You’re going to feel unsafe. This is why we coach every week. I will coach you through those moments. Together we will extract meaning and identify a clear path forward. With each weekly mini-transformation, you’ll open the portal to a whole new perspective.
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You’ll discover how viewing life as cyclical rather than linear can reignite your sense of purpose. You'll explore how common yet limiting mindsets—such as the arrival fallacy, the sunk cost fallacy, and the illusion of golden handcuffs—shape your thinking and how to reframe them for greater clarity and fulfillment. Through engaging exercises, this workbook will guide you in redefining your self-perception and deepening your connection to the world, helping you cultivate a confident and grounded sense of self.
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A unique and empowering community for surgeons who are jazzed about personal development. You’ll share your fails and celebrate each other in a non-judgmental space curated for surgeons.
Here’s What You Get
Don’t spend another day wondering why you didn’t choose derm
JOIN The Empowered
Surgeon Group
Surgeons,
This self-directed program offers modules designed to fill the gaps left behind after training. Residency taught you physical and intellectual resilience; this program will teach you emotional resilience, a skill essential for success and sustainability.
In addition to the self-directed learning, you get coaching support from me, a master certified coach and surgeon. Our weekly coaching call happens via Zoom every Wednesday at 4 PM EST for 1 hour. If you can’t make it, that’s okay. Replays are available in the member portal.
What makes me an expert? Twelve years as an ENT surgeon, hundreds of hours coaching surgeons like you, and proof of concept.
I’ve seen firsthand how these frameworks transform lives. I’ve applied them in my own practice and put them to practice in the lives of my clients. I know this works.
What’s Included:
✔ Lifetime access to the Empowered Surgeon Modules: self-directed videos covering essential concepts.
✔ The Empowered Surgeon Playbook (digital copy) for hands-on, introspective application.
✔ Lifetime access to the Empowered Surgeons Facebook Group, a curated community for peer support and shared experiences.
✔ Coaching replays for easy integration if you miss a live session.
If you’re an introvert, don’t worry. You’ll gain transformation simply by observing your peers being coached. You can absorb the material at your own pace, whether you show up in person or not.
This program is designed to give you the emotional strength and clarity you need to thrive in your surgical career. Are you ready?
Still undecided? Check out our FAQ page here.
What Clients are Saying
When you join us…
Here’s what you’ll get today:
Immediate Access to the Empowered Surgeon Modules
Immediate Access to the Empowered Surgeon Playbook in PDF form
Immediate Access to Empowered Surgeon Facebook Group
Immediate Access to the Zoom Room for Wednesday Weekly Calls
Immediate Access to Call Replays
Hey there, I’m Mel
I’m a master certified coach and ENT surgeon with twelve years of post-training experience. On paper, my life looked perfect. I was the highest-earning partner in my private practice. I had the house, the job, the family—the version of success I’d been told to want.
And yet, something was missing.
When I found coaching, everything changed. Suddenly, I understood why so many of my colleagues were quietly miserable, stagnating until retirement, chasing titles, and competing in a game that never felt fulfilling.
Coaching gave me language for what I’d always sensed: that success without alignment isn’t success at all. It’s survival.
From that moment, I made a decision to live and practice differently.
And I couldn’t stop asking myself, Why don’t we learn this sooner?
I became a Professional Certified Coach through Martha Beck’s Wayfinder Coach Training Program in 2024 and then a Master Certified Coach in 2025.
Spending hundreds of hours coaching surgeons from every specialty has taught me exactly what they struggle with, why those struggles exist, and how to make them better. I’ve applied the same tools to my own life and seen their impact in the clinic, the OR, and at home.
You don’t have to live in a constant state of angst, frustration, or overwhelm.
You don’t have to count down the days until your next vacation just to feel human again.
I know how to help you create something deeper—purpose, desire, and freedom—in the life you’ve already worked so hard to build.
I’m also a wife, mother of two, TEDx speaker (find my talk here), marathon runner, and podcaster.
I’m so excited you’re here!