In this one-off, field-worn and deeply personal episode, surgeon Richard Villar speaks directly to humanitarian healthcare workers — current and aspiring — about the hidden truths of medicine in conflict and disaster zones. This is not just about broken bones. It is about broken systems, broken ethics, and broken people — including ourselves — and what we so often forget to fix. Drawing on decades of experience in war zones and disaster areas, Richard moves beyond the cinematic version of humanitarian medicine to expose what really happens: chronic infections without follow-up, elective conditions that spiral into crises, children whose fractures do not heal because they are starving, and patients left without prosthetists, rehabilitation, or even beds. He challenges the idea that evacuation equals salvation, unpacks the ethical tightropes many medics walk — neutrality versus survival, silence versus truth — and reminds us that moral injury is real. That the system can break us slowly. And that pretending otherwise does not help anyone. This episode is a call to honesty. For doctors to see that we think differently — evidence-led, patient-first, fixer-minded — in spaces driven by power and destruction. For healthcare workers to rethink what help means when continuity of care is rare, and even the best surgical outcome may unravel with time. For anyone contemplating humanitarian work to face the truth: you will not be a hero. You will be a witness. A presence. A teammate. And sometimes, just a short-lived source of hope for those left behind. Richard also speaks movingly about the unseen cost borne by those who stay at home — the partners, families, and friends who carry the burden of your absence, who lie awake at night, who hold the home front together while you serve elsewhere. If you have already worked in these settings, this episode will resonate. If you have not but have thought about it, this may be the push you need. You do not have to wait until retirement. You do not need to change your life. Just one mission. One week. One trauma workshop. One act of listening. This podcast is not a brand or a campaign. It is a moment of truth. A compass. A reminder that the bones of conflict are not only anatomical — they are systemic, ethical, and emotional. And if we are brave enough to see them clearly, perhaps we can help set some of them right. Listen if you’re a humanitarian doctor. Share it if you know one. Let it challenge you. Let it ground you. Let it prepare you.

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