The Compassion Incision: Surgery, Storytelling, and Social Justice

What's really happening behind the scenes in modern medicine? In this episode of Too Curious MDs, Dr. Farah Karipineni, an endocrine surgeon and writer, joins us to explore the emotional and ethical landscapes of modern medicine. Through personal storytelling, she sheds light on the sacredness of doctor-patient encounters, the challenges of being a woman of color in surgery, and the healing power of narrative.

Dr. Farah Karipineni is an endocrine surgeon, writer, and associate professor at UCSF Fresno whose work lives at the intersection of medicine, narrative, and justice. A graduate in comparative literature turned physician, she brings the sensibilities of a storyteller to the operating room and the classroom, centering empathy, presence, and the human experience in every encounter. As a mother of three and a woman of color in surgery, Dr. Karipineni speaks with bold clarity about the emotional toll of medicine, the beauty of bearing witness, and the radical act of choosing joy in a system that often dehumanizes both patient and provider. Through her writing and advocacy, she champions a more compassionate, inclusive, and reflective model of healing.

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Dr. Farah Karipineni

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karipinenimd/

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/farah.karipineni

https://myndwalla.com/2018/09/27/theres-no-heartbeat-by-farah-karipineni/

https://www.instagram.com/karipinenimd/

Organizations that speak to social justice

https://liveagainfresno.org/ 

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Additional references from the episode

“I told her that the human body was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. And that it was a privilege to cut it open and see what was inside. I said that to see the beating heart was to be in awe of life itself.”
— Abraham Verghese, Cutting for Stone

Kristin Neff is a leading psychologist and pioneer in self-compassion research. Here are her some of key writings and contributions:

Major Books

• Self‑Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself (2011)

• Fierce Self‑Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive (2021)

• The Mindful Self‑Compassion Workbook (2018, with Chris Germer)

• Teaching the Mindful Self‑Compassion Program (2019, with Germer)

• Mindful Self‑Compassion for Burnout (2024, with Germer & Benton)
• Focused on alleviating stress and preventing

Siddhartha Mukherjee, a physician and Pulitzer Prize–winning author, wrote "The Laws of Medicine: Field Notes from an Uncertain Science" (2015).

1. A strong intuition is much more powerful than a weak test.

• This law emphasizes the importance of clinical intuition and judgment, especially when diagnostic tests are ambiguous or limited.
• Mukherjee argues that experience, pattern recognition, and understanding of context often guide doctors better than overreliance on imperfect data.

2. “Normals” teach us rules; “outliers” teach us laws.

• This law highlights the idea that exceptions or anomalies can reveal deeper insights into how biology works.
• Studying outliers—like unusual disease presentations or rare genetic conditions—can lead to breakthroughs in understanding and treatment.

3. For every perfect medical experiment, there is a perfect human bias.

• This law speaks to the inherent subjectivity and bias in both clinical practice and research.
• Mukherjee stresses the need for humility, critical thinking, and awareness of cognitive biases that can distort medical decision-making.

• Medicine is not a “perfect” science—it’s an art of navigating uncertainty.
• Probability and narrative are central to how doctors think.
• The importance of ethics, storytelling, and the human dimension in treatment.
• A critique of over-mechanizing medicine—reminding us that it's as much about people as it is about biology.

• Based on Mukherjee’s experience as an oncologist, teacher, and researcher.