Working notes, open questions, and projects in progress. If any of this is your territory too, I’d love to hear from you.
Last updated
With Lauren Nosanov at the ACS Clinical Congress, 2026
Most on my mind right now
Building conversations, not just audiences
I’m writing again through The Listening Surgeon and developing #UnmaskMedicine as a collaborative space for clinicians, patients, families, and advocates.
I’m especially interested in how we move beyond sharing stories and building audiences toward connecting people, recognizing common challenges, and actually working together.
I’m also reconsidering the role of social media in medicine: which platforms serve meaningful conversations, which encourage collaboration, and which primarily reward visibility?
Rethinking surgical education in the age of AI
I’ve been thinking about how AI changes what we need to teach, practice, and assess in medicine.
Are we defining competence by the skills physicians need to care for patients, or by the skills physicians traditionally needed to demonstrate during training?
I’m exploring ideas for #FOAMsurg: collaborative, accessible surgical education that connects clinical reasoning, real cases, oral board preparation, and lifelong learning.
Medicine’s hidden curriculum
I’m writing and thinking about the distance between what institutions say they value and what their cultures actually reward.
Power, consent, professional identity, neurodiversity, advocacy, and the experiences of trainees are all part of this conversation.
I’m particularly interested in how we move from recognizing institutional contradictions to changing the conditions that sustain them.
Currently working on
Oral board preparation
The written boards are behind me! I’m preparing for the spring 2027 ABS Certifying Examination and interested in connecting with others who want to study and work through cases together.
Research and collaboration
Recent conversations at the ACS Clinical Congress opened some exciting possibilities for research and collaboration, particularly at the intersection of surgery, palliative care, and the patient experience. I’m exploring a new grant opportunity and connecting with potential collaborators.
Advocacy and community
I’m helping develop the AOSA Advocacy & Activism Committee while exploring ways to connect individuals and organizations already working to improve medicine.
The next chapter
Having finished general surgery residency, I’m exploring how to bring together clinical surgery, palliative medicine, research, education, and advocacy, with longer-term interests in burn care and surgical critical care.
Dr. Mary Brandt · Houston Methodist DeBakey CV Education
Physician wellness has felt even more pressing since September’s Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. What would a real revolution in how we care for physicians actually change?
If you’re a physician who is struggling, the Physician Support Line (1-888-409-0141) is free and confidential. In the U.S., anyone can call or text 988. More support, and the advocacy to make seeking it safer, on Mental Health in Medicine.
What’s on your mind?
If anything here overlaps with something you’re exploring, researching, questioning, or building, I’d love to hear from you.
