“Inform and raise awareness.” This is the leitmotif of Audrey, Nawale, Ilyass and even Sophie. All four are doctors: radiologists or even dermatologists. But they lead a double life: they are also content creators. With a clear objective, that of fighting against medical misinformation that has invaded the Web.
“After Covid, there was an explosion in the number of doctors who went on social media to spread information. I really felt that users needed reliable medical information,” continues who today directs The French Radiologist. Medical outreach Instagram account followed by 139,000 subscribers.
Fight medical misinformation
“Misinformation abounds on social networks,” says DoctorIZA, an anatomical pathologist, followed by 127,000 users on YouTube. “For the general public it was very difficult to differentiate between professional content and influencers who claim to be doctors. Now it is a little easier with the measures implemented by YouTube.”
In fact, since 2022, the platform has “labeled” some of its videos to allow Internet users to identify medical sources. This January 16, YouTube decided to go a little further. In collaboration with the College of Physicians, the social network has launched a letter of good practices aimed at professionals who speak online. It establishes ten principles to promote “the deployment of reliable health information”, while respecting the obligations already imposed on doctors.
Something “good” for DR_Nawell2.0, followed by 4,500 subscribers on YouTube and 84,000 on Instagram.
It is also for these reasons that Dermato Drey (87,500 subscribers) was launched in 2019 on YouTube. “I realized that in consultations people tended to have the same questions about dermatology: moles, warts, acne… And instead of repeating it to one person at a time every day, it was worth making an explanatory video,” he says. the dermatologist
Once upon a time life was a source of inspiration.
Audrey insists: the idea is not to give “a one-hour lecture.” He prefers to make videos of about ten minutes to “convey information in a fun way.” I got a lot of inspiration from cartoons like this. Once upon a timeI see the show It’s not rocket science“she smiles.
An opinion shared by DR_Nawell 2.0: “I try to make educational videos and illustrate things with humorous content. It is perfectly possible to talk about serious things but with humor.”
For his part, the French radiologist is committed to multiformat. If some of her posts discuss radiology cases, she also likes to vlog “her life as a radiologist” and talk about issues facing the medical profession, such as sexism or medical deserts. At the same time, it produces It’s your departmenta popular broadcast, helped by a production company. “The key is to adapt to the codes of social networks,” he smiles.
But starting to use platforms, when you are a doctor, is not necessarily easy. “The first barrier is ourselves. We wonder a lot what people will think of us, especially at a professional level. And then, before graduating, I did not feel legitimate to pursue medical information careers on the networks,” she insists.
And that requires rigor. “I use a lot of literature to help me. Furthermore, I have 10 years of experience that I can draw on and if I write something incorrectly, I explain it in comments or descriptions,” emphasizes Dermato Drey.
“I am not an influencer”
Therefore, it is a time-consuming activity. The French radiologist, for her part, tries to record her videos whenever she “has a moment”, for example during her lunch break. “But I’m not tied to a production schedule.”
“A one-minute video is not a minute of work, it is an hour of editing, hours of research, filming, comment management…” he continues. “And then, I can’t delegate the editing, because you have to have a minimum of medical knowledge to do the editing.”
“A single video is a month of preparation,” confirms DocteurIZA. “And then social networks continue to be a complement.” In fact, all the professionals interviewed are unanimous: they are still doctors rather than content creators. “I give myself a little time a week to create content, but that doesn’t mean I’m an influencer. Above all, I am still a doctor,” insists Dr_Nawell 2.0.
Therefore, professionals generally prefer to reject associations. “It is a way to have total freedom in my editorial choices and to be transparent with users. It is very appreciated,” he summarizes.
Source: BFM TV
