HC Resident Travel Grants

This May 1st, Hippocratic Collective officially turns 1!

To celebrate this momentous occasion, we’re launching the new Hippocratic Collective Resident Travel Grants.

If you know us, you know we’re here for the long haul: to change the culture of medicine and medical education, and to support physicians and physicians-in-training however we can.

Because if one of us survives, all of us survive.

These grants are for travel that helps you become a better physician: a conference, course, creative project, research opportunity, or something we haven’t even thought of yet.

To apply, submit up to 250 words on why this travel will make you a better doctor. We’ll be choosing the most creative, thoughtful, and mission-aligned submissions.

Applications open May 1 and close May 22.

Recipients will be notified by June 5.

This cycle, we’ll award two $750 grants to U.S. resident physicians.

And this is not a one-time thing. Bookmark the HC Resident Travel Grants for fall 2026 and beyond.

Reflections on One Year

There’s a version of the doctor that you’re expected to become. You can feel it pretty early on - not in anything that is declared outright, but in what gets rewarded, what gets overlooked, and what gets quietly shut down. 

Be reliable. Be efficient. Be agreeable. Care deeply, but don’t take up too much time or space doing it. Have opinions, but know when not to voice them. 

Over time, that version of yourself gets reinforced enough that it starts to just feel like…who you are. You Are Doctor. But if you’ve found the HC and are reading this now, our guess is that you might not be comfortable with that life. 

For many physicians, the real tension is not ultimately the hours or the workload or the burnout (although these don’t help). It’s identity. It’s the slow recognition that the person you’re becoming inside this messed up system is not quite the person you envisioned when you chose this path. That maybe you’re more creative than your job allows. More outspoken than your environment allows. More ambitious than your role is designed to accommodate. 

There isn’t much language for that feeling. And the masses tend to snuff this line of conversation out almost immediately. “Oh you want to complain about being a doctor? Boo-hoo, this is what you signed up for.” So it gets folded into safer, more corporate-friendly speak - burnout, resilience, work-life balance. Things that sound manageable. Individual. Fixable. 

But if you’re anything like us, you’ve probably been silently screaming, Fuck That, for a while now. So we’ve been trying to exercise that voice for the past few months. In more serious, in-depth explorations of the systemic flaws of medicine and medical training, but also in satire. 

The powers-that-be in medicine take themselves very seriously, but rarely acknowledge the absurdity of what is being demanded or painted as a positive to those within its grasp. And there is something cathartic about calling out the double-talk. So many within medicine have never really experienced life or careers outside of medicine, and can easily be fooled into thinking that this is normal. It’s not. 

The American Medical Association sending out an email to all of its members celebrating the end of burnout for residents. Late-career physicians and the general public insisting that residents don’t deserve to be fairly compensated for their work because they are “learners.” The list goes on and on.

And when people read our responses and laugh, and maybe even feel a little uncomfortable, that’s usually when something clicks. Either in them or the person they forward it on to. Because if you haven’t been radicalized by simply existing within this broken system, then we’re here to be that force. 

It’s not you being difficult. It’s not just you “not adapting well enough.” It’s not just a bad rotation, or a tough year, or a personality mismatch. It’s a pattern, and you’re not alone. And once that pattern has been exposed, it becomes a lot harder to convince yourself or others that this is just something that needs to be handled individually. 

Next time you hear yourself levy a complaint or criticism about your role as a physician, and then immediately qualify it with some version of, “but of course I’m honored to even be in this position,” stop. Ask yourself where that reflex came from. Gratitude and criticism are not mutually exclusive. And a system that requires constant martyrdom in order to justify its conditions is not usually one that holds up well to scrutiny. 

You are allowed to want more than this version of the role. You are allowed to question the constraints that have been placed on you. You are allowed to imagine something different. This is what we believe in and what we will continue to give voice to. 

It’s a shift that may not look dramatic from the outside, but it’s where everything starts.

A Few Of Our Favorite 'Progress Notes' From April

Residents: Know Your Worth

By Liz Malphrus, MD, MPP

I knew going in that as a resident, I was going to be underpaid. What the pandemic did was swing a harsh, interrogation-style lamp onto the system that keeps it that way. And once I saw all those ugly pores and wrinkles and unsightly hairs sprouting over the surface of things, I couldn’t unsee it.

We Did It! The AMA Solved Burnout!

By Mances Frei Hard, MD

Huge news out of the American Medical Association this week: resident physician burnout is down to 28.6%! Of course, not long ago, the AMA was reporting that 50% of residents were experiencing burnout, but now thanks to this new AMA-exclusive survey and data analysis, the burnout rate has been cut in half in just 2 years!

What is Graphic Medicine?

By Ryan Montoya, MD

Graphic medicine is, quite simply, comics about medicine. These stories can come from patients, family members, physicians, nurses, caregivers, or anyone who has found themselves inside the strange, emotional, frustrating, and occasionally beautiful world of healthcare. If you have ever read a comic about illness, recovery, caregiving, addiction, disability, or the healthcare system, you have already encountered graphic medicine - you just didn’t know the label.

A Note from Hospital Administration

By Latha Panchap, MD

Many of you may be reticent, given the doomsday landscape outside our doors, to leave your house and family to attend your shift at work. While we empathize and understand, we also want to remind you of your duty as a healthcare employee to show up for your patients and colleagues, including those involved in non-urgent, scheduled elective surgeries and procedures. Those who are unable or unwilling to report will risk unpaid leave and possible evaluation for termination.

What If I’m Not As Confident As Everyone Thinks I Am?

By Iya Agha, DO

Confidence isn’t something you magically gain once you reach a milestone. It doesn’t come with your white coat, your acceptance letter, or your residency badge. If anything, new levels come with new insecurities because now you’re surrounded by people who are just as driven and capable as you are. So if you feel a little shaken, that doesn’t mean you’re in the wrong place. It probably means you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.

Careers for Physicians Outside of Residency

By Kate Buhrke, DO

If you went to medical school, you’ve built a skillset that extends far beyond residency training. You learned how to think critically, learn, synthesize, and communicate complex information, sit with people in vulnerable moments, lead teams, and make decisions under pressure. Those abilities do not disappear because you did not finish residency or left the bedside.

The Pitt on Why Residents Can't Have Boundaries

By Liz Malphrus, MD, MPP

You figure out the zero-sum math pretty fast as a resident, because they tell you at orientation, just not in so many words: Service. Professionalism. Collegiality. All of these words (which describe real things that are great!) are what will be repeated back to you if you try to do what Joy does. And not just from the faculty; they’re words your co-residents will use as well. Hell, I've said them myself, though I'm not proud of it.

Your Podcast Binge List

We linked some YouTube and Spotify pages for you, but click here to listen to any of our shows on the platform of your choice.

• Social Rounds - Tony Chin-Quee, MD, Ryan Montoya, MD & Janet McMordie, MD - Inside Medical TV: Real Doctors, Fake Medicine & Unexpected Fame

• Fem MD - Lauren Umstattd, MD & Lindsey Pennington, MD - Facial Plastic Surgeon Reveals: Patient Red Flags, Pricing, and Building a Practice

• Surgeons with Purpose - Mel Thacker, MD & Dr. Sonya Sloan - The Rules of Surviving Surgery

• Surgeon, Interrupted - Frances Mei Hardin, MD - USMLE Step 1 Failure to U.S. Doctor: IMG Journey No One Talks About | Imane Tarib, MD

• The Other Human in the Room - Joan Chan, MD - Joan Explores IFS - Part 2

• Cut & Tell with Dr. Liz Malphrus | The Truth About Residency (That No One Says Out Loud)

Explore Our Growing Podcast Network

Here’s what’s live and ready for your next commute, call-room break, or coffee run:

• Social Rounds - Tony Chin-Quee, MD + Frances Mei Hardin, MD

• Fem MD - Lauren Umstattd, MD

• Surgeons with Purpose - Mel Thacker, MD

• The Other Human in the Room - Joan Chan, MD

• Surgeon, Interrupted - Frances Mei Hardin, MD

• Cut & Tell - Liz Malphrus, MD

Want to Get Involved?

Since launching, we’ve been blown away by how many physicians have reached out asking, “How can I get involved?”

Here’s how:

• Submit your writing for consideration on our blog

• Pitch us a creative idea or original column

• Apply to be a guest on a podcast

• Follow us and share our content on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube 

The Collective only works because of voices like yours, and there’s always room for more.

Until next month,
The HC Team

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