Cut & Tell is where medicine gets honest.

In this episode, Dr. Liz Malphrus gets real about the hidden economics of residency training, and why so many residents feel trapped, undervalued, and burned out before they ever become attendings.

With just weeks left before finishing plastic surgery residency, Liz reflects on what she wishes someone had told her on day one: know your worth.

She shares:

• Why residency is a job—not “just training”
• How the system keeps residents financially powerless
• The reality of working 80-hour weeks for low pay
• Why residents can’t simply “leave” like other professionals
• The emotional and financial cost of medical training
• How healthcare depends on resident labor
• Why anger about the system may actually be justified
• What needs to change for the next generation of physicians

From pandemic ICU shifts to the culture of silence in medicine, this is an unfiltered conversation about labor, identity, sacrifice, and the true cost of becoming a doctor.

If you’ve ever wondered why residents are burning out, or lived through it yourself, this episode will hit hard.

🎧 New episodes of Cut & Tell every Thursday.

Cut & Tell is where medicine gets honest.

In this first episode, Dr. Liz Malphrus, a plastic surgery chief resident, opens up about what residency is actually like, beyond the polished narratives. From the hidden curriculum of training to the emotional weight of becoming a surgeon, this is a candid look at the parts of medicine that are usually left unsaid.

She shares:

• Why residency culture is built on silence
• The paradox of learning on real patients
• How competition and comparison evolve over time
• Why the first year in practice may be the hardest
• The problem with traditional “advice”
• And what it means to document this transition in real time

This episode sets the tone for the show: unfiltered conversations about training, identity, and the reality of becoming a physician.

If you’ve ever wondered what residency is really like—or lived it yourself—this is the conversation you’ve been waiting for.

🎧 New episodes of Cut & Tell every Thursday.