What do you do when a patient says “I love you”?

Is it ever okay?

And why do residents have less mobility than college football players?

On this episode of Social Rounds, Frances Mei Hardin and Tony Chin-Quee are joined by a very special guest: Frances Mei’s partner (and longtime behind-the-scenes editor), Colin. Together, they unpack:

1. Patients getting too familiar with their doctors
2. Professional boundaries in medicine (and how to hold them without being cold)
3. Why some patients choose doctors based on attractiveness 👀
4. Dating invites from patients (yes, really)
5. And a surprisingly compelling idea: a residency “transfer portal” inspired by college football

If athletes can change programs, why can’t resident physicians?

This episode blends humor, honesty, and structural critique of medical training—covering everything from awkward patient encounters to why lack of mobility keeps residents trapped in unhealthy systems.

🎙️ Social Rounds is where medicine, culture, and real life collide—no institution spared.

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🔗 More shows and writing at hippocratic-collective.com

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

In this episode of Social Rounds, Tony Chin-Quee, Frances Mei Hardin, and Ryan Montoya kick off 2026 with chaos, candor, and consequences.

The conversation starts with a surprisingly brutal EHR statistic—what it means to be in the zero percentile (or the 99.97th)—before spiraling into a sharp, necessary discussion about social media in medicine. Should medical students and residents be influencers? Is authenticity worth the professional risk? And why does the medical establishment still punish visibility while quietly profiting from it?

The trio breaks down the uncomfortable truth: the internet is written in ink, medicine is deeply unfair, and “just being yourself online” can have real-world consequences—especially for trainees navigating competitive specialties and institutional gatekeeping.

Later, they shift to medical news, unpacking the FDA approval of a non-hormonal medication for low libido in menopausal and post-menopausal women, why it took so long, and what it reveals about whose discomfort medicine takes seriously.

The episode wraps with a lighter—but still thoughtful—final segment on solo travel, unconventional relationships, music recommendations, and the surprisingly dark origins of the words “cliché” and “stereotype.”

Unfiltered, funny, and honest—this is Social Rounds doing what it does best: saying the quiet part out loud.

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Ryan Montoya: @ryan_montoya_art

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

In this episode of Social Rounds, Tony, Frances Mei, and returning “friend of the pod” Ryan Montoya get honest about joy—how medical training erodes it, how it’s weaponized against trainees, and what it actually takes to reclaim it.

From phone detoxes and small daily creative rituals to reading fantasy novels in secret and hiding cultural lunches in elementary school bathrooms, this conversation moves from playful chaos to deeply personal territory. The trio also debuts a new segment, Majority / Minority, unpacking the first moments they realized they were “different” and how those moments shape identity, ambition, and survival in medicine.

Funny, uncomfortable, and unexpectedly tender, this episode is a reminder that joy isn’t frivolous—it’s protective.

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Ryan Montoya: @ryan_montoya_art

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

Tony shares a moment that restored his faith in humanity: a vaccine discussion in a parents’ group chat that didn’t implode.

From there, he and Frances Mei unpack why rational health conversations feel so hard to come by, especially in the U.S.—and why community matters more than ever. The episode winds down with real-life holiday talk: family traditions, work-life tension, vision boards, and how people actually reset for the year ahead.

In this episode of Social Rounds, Frances Mei and Tony take on a dynamic that almost every woman doctor has felt but few talk about openly: dating while out-earning your partner. They dig into the cultural scripts that still tell women to downplay ambition, the discomfort some men feel around female success, and the quiet identity negotiations that happen inside modern relationships.

Instead of offering tidy answers, they share real stories, ask better questions, and explore what it means to build relationships that can hold two full, complex people. It’s a sharp, honest conversation about money, ego, partnership, and the freedom that comes from refusing to shrink.

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

In this week’s Social Rounds, Tony & Frances Mei pull back the curtain on one of medicine’s worst-kept secrets: sycophancy. Why do so many trainees learn to smile, nod, and swallow their opinions? And how did we get to a place where disagreeing with an attending feels riskier than doing the wrong thing?

They unpack the unwritten rules of hierarchy — the quiet calculations trainees make to stay safe, the way questionable comments get brushed aside, and how all of this chips away at psychological safety and moral clarity. Along the way, they swap stories, compare notes, and even draw parallels between medical trainees and AI: two systems trained to please instead of push back.

It’s honest, a little uncomfortable, and very on-brand for Social Rounds — a conversation about power, integrity, and whether medicine is finally ready for a culture where people can say the quiet truth out loud.

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

This week on Social Rounds, Frances Mei, Tony, and the self-appointed “voice of the people,” Dr. Ryan Montoya, descend into absolute chaos.

What starts as a simple Thanksgiving check-in becomes a masterclass in disastrous feedback stories, violent revenge fantasies in hospital hallways, and the single worst metaphor ever uttered on this show (“Plantation Rock”… yeah, we go there).

We debut a new segment — Friendly Fire — where Ryan grills the hosts with increasingly deranged rapid-fire questions.

Superpowers, worst movies, seat-choice ethics on airplanes, January 6 alibis, and which specialty you want in your pandemic bunker… it only gets more unhinged.

If you’ve ever wondered how doctors actually talk to each other, or what happens when three people with no business podcasting together decide to do exactly that, this is the episode.

Chaos, confession, loyalty tests, and a little holiday peacekeeping. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Ryan Montoya: @ryan_montoya_art

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

In this episode, we dig into the exploding trend of breast-milk sharing—an underground practice driven by desperation, inequity, and a system that leaves new mothers to fend for themselves. We trace how social pressure, economic strain, and impossible postpartum expectations push parents to seek milk from strangers online, often without any medical screening or safety oversight.

We talk openly about the real risks: contamination, harmful substances, and the absence of public health protections. But the larger question is the one no one wants to touch—why do women have to rely on unregulated networks in the first place? This episode pulls back the curtain on a growing public health crisis and asks what it would take to build a society that actually cares for mothers and infants.

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective