Doctors on social media: Does a line need to be drawn on medical influencers?

Despite a growing number of young doctors and medical students pursing side income through social media, the jury is still out on whether it is beneficial or harmful to their careers.

According to an article on MedPage, there are “ethical gray areas” when it comes to side jobs for physicians, with little advice from institutions on what students should or should not do on their personal social media accounts.  

Medical influencers who have a large number of followers across social media platforms can monetize their pages by creating sponsored posts advertising everything from supplements to cars. Some even attend networking conferences to grow their brand and gain more followers.

Although having a following on social media is becoming more accepted, it still has the potential to hinder a young person’s career.

“If anything, it could be viewed unfavorably by admissions committees. There’s more risk for them if you make them look bad or if they think you’re not serious about medicine. Sometimes older generations may not be as accepting of the benefits of social media. It can be seen as distracting you from pursuing clinical medicine,” said Kevin Jubbal, MD, a YouTuber with over 1 million followers on his channel focused on physician and student lifestyle content in an interview with MedPage.

Read the full article here.

Reference

Lou N. Side jobs not all roses for the next generation of doctors. MedPage Today. June 24, 2020. Available at: https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/medicaleducation/87238