Ehab Badran
Join me on a journey to grow your career, build your brand, and create new opportunities. Let’s take your success beyond the scrubs! 🚀
The Moment You Start Treating Your Career Like a Checklist
A few months ago, I was talking to a colleague who looked completely drained. Not burnt out, just… empty. When I asked what was going on, he shrugged and said something that stuck with me: “I don’t know if I’m building a career anymore… or just ticking boxes.” And honestly? I felt that. Because at some point in surgery, many of us stop living our careers and start completing them. The Checklist Life We Don’t Notice Happening We all start with ambition, big dreams, excitement, curiosity. But...
When Surgery Becomes Identity
A few years ago, someone asked me a simple question: “Who are you outside of surgery?” And for a moment, I didn’t know what to say. I had answers ready for everything within the profession — training level, specialty, exam history, career direction. But outside of that? Total silence. I realised something I think many surgeons quietly feel: We don’t just do surgery. We become it. It creeps in slowly; through long hours, high stakes, and the constant pressure to perform. Until one day, surgery...
Three Hospital Problems Surgeons Would Fix in 24 Hours
There’s a moment every surgeon recognises, that shift in atmosphere when you step out of theatre and into the wider hospital. Inside, everything hums with purpose. Outside, the rhythm breaks. One minute you're in a space where every action is deliberate… the next, you're navigating a system where simple tasks become unnecessarily complicated. It’s in that contrast, the clarity of the OR versus the clutter of the hospital, that the real problem becomes obvious: We’re trained to thrive in...
The Myth of the Perfect Surgeon
A few years ago, I remember finishing a long case late at night. It wasn’t complicated, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t perfect. I replayed every step in my head while driving home. Every suture. Every decision. Every moment I could’ve done something slightly better. It wasn’t guilt — it was that familiar knot in your stomach that comes when your brain whispers: “You should’ve done it differently.” That voice is loud in surgery. It starts in training, grows during your...
Does Surgery Still Reward Talent… or Obedience?
When I first stepped into surgical training, I believed one thing with absolute certainty: Talent would always rise. If you were good with your hands, sharp in theatre, and reliable under pressure, then naturally your career would take care of itself. The system would notice. Your skill would do the talking. But it didn’t take long to see cracks in that belief. The pattern I couldn’t ignore On more than one occasion, I watched colleagues — brilliant, talented surgeons — get overlooked. They...
Stop Collecting Letters. Start Owning Your Worth.
A few weeks ago, I was chatting with a surgical colleague. We got into the usual “what’s next?” conversation; the kind surgeons often fall into. He told me about an upcoming fellowship he was applying for. Not because it was in a subspecialty he truly loved, but because he felt it would “look bad” not to have it. He already had MRCS. FRCS. A diploma. An MSc. But somehow, it still didn’t feel like enough. When I asked him why he needed this fellowship, he paused for a long time. Then he said:...
Why Surgeons Struggle with the Business Side
Let’s talk about something most medical professionals quietly avoid: business. We’re not trained to think about visibility, personal brand, or strategy. We’re trained to think about anatomy, outcomes, and exams. From day one of medical school, the focus is clear: Study Pass Practice Progress And the end goal? Consultant level. That’s the finish line, right? Except… it’s not. Because what nobody really explains is that consultant is just a new starting point — not the end of the journey....
The Gold You’re Sitting On: A Message to Surgeons
A few months ago, I was asked to give a short talk to a group of surgical trainees. Nothing fancy. Just some practical tips and common pitfalls I’d picked up over the years. I wasn’t expecting much from it. Honestly, it felt too basic to be helpful. But afterwards, one of the trainees came up to me and said, “I’ve never heard someone explain it like that. That one trick for dealing with post-op bleeding? Game-changer.” It stopped me in my tracks. Because what felt completely normal to me —...
What’s Stopping You From Monetizing Your Knowledge as a Surgeon?
It’s Not About Selling Out It’s about showing up, sharing value, and building something that lasts. You became a surgeon because you care. About precision. About people. About doing work that actually matters. You didn’t go into medicine for attention, social media clout, or extra side hustles. You went in to help. But now, years in — after thousands of hours, hundreds of cases, countless lessons — you’ve accumulated something far more valuable than your CV: Perspective. The kind of...
Relax, No One’s Watching You That Closely (Really!)
Ever feel like every decision you make in the OR, every comment in a meeting, or every case you post online is being intensely scrutinized? Like everyone is secretly judging your skills, knowledge, or performance? That’s the Spotlight Effect in action; our tendency to overestimate how much other people notice and evaluate us. This bias was first identified in a 2000 study by psychologists Thomas Gilovich and Kenneth Savitsky. In their experiment, they asked students to wear an embarrassing...
Join me on a journey to grow your career, build your brand, and create new opportunities. Let’s take your success beyond the scrubs! 🚀