Coffee No Cream Ep. 73 - This Black Female Surgeon Made the Cover. Then Her Partners Walked Out.

Dr. Paula Harmon made the cover of Atlanta magazine's Top Docs issue.

A few months later, her partners were walking out the door, and she was pregnant with baby number five. I found Dr.

Paula on TikTok and went straight down the rabbit hole. She's a pediatric ENT who performs surgery in Atlanta, a mom of five, has an MBA, and runs a multi-location practice.

She's also one of the funniest guests I've ever had on this show. But her Coffee No Cream moment stopped me cold.

When she announced her pregnancy, her practice went from seven doctors to three in about a month. As she sees it, the plan was for her to fold.

Instead, she was filling out applications for travel doctors on the hospital tray while she was in labor. That practice is still standing, and she's scouting a fourth location.

We also get into how she went from getting rejected by every medical school she applied to, to acing her boards with one strategy nobody had ever taught her. She breaks down what board scores really say about a doctor (not much), the difference between a plastic surgeon and a cosmetic surgeon, and how to find a doctor you can trust.

Plus the scalp story behind the video that made me reach out, what tight braids and sew-ins can do to your scalp, teens and HPV, vaping, insurance companies, concierge medicine, and why a surgeon drove an '03 Tahoe until 2018. If you've ever been the one everybody counted out, or you're building something while people whisper about you, this one's for you.

Content warning: This episode includes discussion of child abuse, including sexual abuse, from 42:32 to 55:42, as well as graphic medical descriptions and strong language. Follow Dr.

Paula Harmon: Instagram TikTok YouTube Like, subscribe, and share this with someone who’s about to get an offer. ⏰ Timestamps (0:00) Cold open (0:15) Intro and content warning (3:17) Meet Dr. Paula Harmon (5:32) Rejected from every med school (7:01) "Don't taste the money" (8:28) The test strategy that changed everything (11:10) How board scores decide your specialty (16:02) Great marketing vs. great hands (19:20) Plastic surgeon vs. cosmetic surgeon (21:07) Word of mouth vs. online reviews (22:05) Finding a doctor you trust (24:59) Pregnant in residency (28:51) IUDs, hormones and menopause (31:30) How she runs it all with five kids (34:37) The scalp abscess story (graphic) (41:02) Braids, sew-ins and scalp health (41:31) Content warning: child abuse (55:42) Teens, oral sex and HPV (1:01:21) Vaping (1:02:52) Her Coffee No Cream moment (1:05:57) Leaving academia for private practice (1:09:17) Keeping the practice alive through COVID (1:11:02) The MBA they wouldn't pay for (1:14:56) The Atlanta magazine cover (1:17:25) The hate from inside (1:18:09) Partners head for the exits (1:22:40) Recruiting doctors in labor (1:25:32) Where the practice is now (1:26:52) Insurance companies and the front desk (1:33:33) Concierge medicine (1:38:43) "I don't look like what I've been through" (1:40:33) The surgeon in the '03 Tahoe (1:45:07) The Escalade lesson (1:47:47) Wrap-up (1:51:07) Why a surgeon started posting