Social media for medical doctors: making enjoyable of sufferers is rarely OK

When utilizing humour on social media, don’t make sufferers the punchline, writes Dr Maria Li.

Social media shouldn’t be a brand new idea for medical doctors. More of us than ever are lively on-line, posting from the frontlines of care. Most of us imply nicely. But generally, even seemingly innocent content material creation can chip away at our credibility.

Ahpra’s social media guidelines aren’t prescriptive, however their message is evident: on-line behaviour is regulated the identical method as in-clinic behaviour. How we current ourselves on social media can have real-world impression — on us individually, and on the status of the career. Even when there is no such thing as a regulatory consequence, our status is all the time on the road.

That’s why it’s vital to know not simply the foundations, however the rules of accountable social media engagement.

This is the fourth article in my sequence exploring social media use for medical doctors. If you haven’t learn elements 1, 2 or 3, I like to recommend going again to put the groundwork.

Case examine: Ethan*

Ethan was an emergency registrar who constructed a following on TikTok by posting humorous movies about hospital life. Aimed at fellow medical doctors, many concerned him dressing up as sufferers and appearing out exaggerated stereotypes: the demanding affected person, the longwinded affected person, the one with a self-inflicted harm, to call just a few.

Colleagues discovered the movies relatable. Comments poured in:

“This gives me the s*#ts too!”
“OMG, I can’t stand those patients.”

Ethan believed his content material was innocent — it was satire, and the situations had been de-identified. But not everybody agreed.

A member of the general public lodged a proper grievance with Ahpra, describing the content material as demeaning. The regulator discovered the tone inconsistent with skilled requirements and took disciplinary motion.

“Just a joke”

Few issues bond clinicians just like the shared frustrations of observe. And in attempting to make gentle of these moments, some medical doctors sometimes slip into posts that poke enjoyable at affected person behaviours — normally pitched as an “inside joke” for friends.

The catch? Social media rewards what performs, not what’s skilled. When snarky content material positive aspects traction, the algorithm pushes it additional. Likes, shares and feedback give us prompt validation, whereas the algorithm feeds us extra of the identical sort of content material, subtly normalising it over time.

It’s simple to see how a one-off joke meant for colleagues can quietly flip right into a sample of public ridicule.

Case examine: Hayley*

Hayley was a health care provider who hosted a preferred medical podcast. In a latest episode, she and her co-host aired a section titled “Crazy questions patients ask,” swapping tales and laughing over widespread frustrations. At the time, it felt light-hearted.

But just a few weeks later, the present’s sponsor pulled their funding. A affected person advocacy group had raised considerations, calling the section mean-spirited and insensitive to the experiences of weak sufferers. The sponsor took the suggestions severely and walked away from the podcast.

Our viewers shouldn’t be all the time who we predict it’s

We generally assume that if content material is geared toward colleagues, then everybody else will merely scroll previous. But that’s not how social media works.

As I’ve mentioned earlier than, social media would possibly really feel intimate, nevertheless it’s a public stage with a large viewers and a everlasting document. You can’t management who sees your content material. Even if you happen to’re chatting with friends, sufferers and employers are nearly actually watching — and forming their very own impressions.

The energy imbalance

Don’t get me unsuitable, medical doctors are allowed to have a way of humour on-line. But there’s a distinction between laughing with our friends about shared experiences, and laughing at the individuals we glance after.

There’s an inherent energy imbalance between medical doctors and sufferers. And once we abuse that for laughs, we threat:

• undermining our personal status;
• damaging belief within the career; and
• discouraging sufferers from in search of care.

How would you are feeling in case your baby’s trainer made posts that mocked their college students? The identical dynamic applies to us and our sufferers, and it issues simply as a lot.

Before you publish

Take a second to examine in with your self:

• Would I be comfy if my sufferers noticed this?
• Would I really feel assured if my physician spoke this fashion about me?

If one thing feels off — even if you happen to can’t fairly title why — pause and:

• “vibe-check” it with a colleague;
• run it previous your medical defence organisation;
• tweak it; or
• delete it.

That’s not self-censorship. That’s skilled judgement in motion.

Final ideas

Social media might really feel casual, nevertheless it’s extra seen and everlasting than we realise. Our skilled obligations don’t finish once we take off our scrubs and choose up our cellphone — they comply with us into each area the place we characterize ourselves as medical doctors.

Patient care shouldn’t be leisure. And if we deal with it as such, we threat dropping one thing way more precious than followers: our status.

Stay tuned for future articles on this sequence.

*Ethan and Hayley are fictional, primarily based on actual examples of on-line behaviour.

Dr Maria Li is a common practitioner, a member of the World Health Organization’s Fides community of social media well being care influencers, the host and producer of The Safe Practice Podcast, and co-host of The Good GP podcast.

The statements or opinions expressed on this article mirror the views of the authors and don’t essentially characterize the official coverage of the AMA, the MJA or InSight+ until so said. 

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