So, you want to be a media doctor?

Abstract

One thing doctors sometimes struggle with is breaking down statistics or scientific information for a general audience. "It's always good to use an everyday example to illustrate a point," said Dr. [Susan Biali]. Metaphors work well, too. As Dr.

Headnote

It takes patience and hard work to become a go-to expert, but it can be rewarding to have a platform for discussing health issues

Imagine the ability to share new medical evidence or lifestyle I advice with thousands or even millions of readers, listeners or viewers? That's what lured Dr. Mike Evans, a.k.a. the "YouTube Doctor" and a staff physician at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, to social media. His videos educate viewers on everything from concussions to exercise in fun ways with simple take-home messages, and his channel gets 400,000 views a month. (Dr. Evans is also the "house doctor" for the CBC Radio program Fresh Air.)

Recognizing that "the biggest care networks are peer to peer," Dr. Evans said he loves getting the chance to share health advice in a way that can become viral (in the good way) between friends.

Indeed, with social media, blogs and an insatiable 24-hour news machine, it's an exciting time to be a media doctor and it's easier than ever to participate in mass-messaging.

But interviews, articles and TV or radio appearances take up a lot of time and pay little. They can also require a lot of flexibility. Vancouver's Dr. Susan Biali, whose media credits include articles and interviews in Self, PsychologyToday.com, Martha Stewart Living and the Washington Post, was once given 24 hours' notice to fly to New York for a Today Show appearance.

And while doctors may be OK with long hours and weekend interviews, what can be harder to accept is the loss of control. It's the journalist who asks the questions and decides what quotes to use. And when someone gets it wrong, "you have very little recourse," said Dr. Yoni Freedhoff an obesity expert in Ottawa who blogs at www.weightymatters.ca and is frequently quoted in the media on nutrition and public health policy.

Still not dissuaded? Good, because Canadians could use your help to separate fact from fiction. Here are steps you can take to launch a media career or side-project.

1 Think about how media work fits into your schedule

The nice thing about media work is you can do as much, or as little, as you like. For example, Dr. Biali focuses her days on writing, speaking engagements and lifestyle coaching, and does "very part-time medical work." Dr. Freedhoff, meanwhile, takes 20 to 30 minutes to write his daily blog and fits in five to 10 media interviews a month around his clinic hours at the Bariatric Medical Institute. Others may wish to engage in smaller scale ways-for example, writing letters to editors or speaking to parents' boards at schools, suggests Dr. Freedhoff. "In general, doctors don't advocate as much outside their offices as they ought to," he said.

More intensive media engagements-such as Dr. Evans' videos, which each take a month to prepare-will require you to look for grants, collaborators or funders. For example, the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael's supports Dr. Evans' videos.

As you engage with media, try to get a handle on how many interviews and how much blogging or tweeting you need to do to reach your goals, and what's feasible for your schedule.

2 Don't expect a big financial payout

While some outlets will pay an honorarium of a few hundred dollars to land a big-name doctor on a panel discussion, for the most part, media interviews don't pay. "You don't get rich doing this," said Dr. Freedhoff. "You've got to love it and feel it's important."

So think about why you want to engage with media; perhaps it's just for a one-off campaign, perhaps it's to promote a book. For Dr. Evans, it's about the fun of working with filmmakers, designers and illustrators and the ability to reach a mass audience. For Dr. Freedhoff, it's about the opportunity to add his voice to important debates. For example, his Feb. 23, 2012, blog post sparked the rapid closure and retooling of a fatshaming Disney World attraction called "Habit Heroes," after the Los Angeles Times and Reuters picked up his criticisms.

3 Build your online presence

Once you have a website with articles or a blog, "the media will often find you on their own," said Dr. Biali. (It's useful to hire an expert in search optimization to increase your chances of being noticed online, however.) Try to engage the people you hope will one day promote your messages, such as fellow media doctors and health journalists. You can reply to their tweets in thoughtful ways, or comment on their blog posts, for example.

But don't expect to be an overnight sensation. Dr. Freedhoff said, "Nobody was reading my blog at the beginning," and in the Twitter-verse, everyone starts at zero. You can do everything right, but it still takes time, many months or even years, Dr. Freedhoff noted, to build an online following.

4 Prepare for interviews

Initially, interviews can be intimidating. You can boost your confidence by taking some time to think about your key messages and the questions you'll likely be asked. If the topic is controversial, think, too, of the worst question possible and how you'd deal with it, Dr. Freedhoff suggested. You can always ask journalists to send some of their questions beforehand (they may or may not oblige).

One thing doctors sometimes struggle with is breaking down statistics or scientific information for a general audience. "It's always good to use an everyday example to illustrate a point," said Dr. Biali. Metaphors work well, too. As Dr. Evans explains in his YouTube video on stress, "You can't control the wind but you can adjust your sail." In many ways, simplifying complicated evidence into a few minutes of air time can be more difficult than talking for half an hour; you'll want to perfect your messages so they're as concise and clear as possible. "It takes a lot of time to make things short and simple," Dr. Evans explained.

Also, think about what you wouldn't want to be quoted as saying. Journalists may honour "off the record" agreements, but they may not-it's more of a journalistic code than a law. For this reason, Dr. Freedhoff always assumes he's on the record. "You need to be confident and comfortable that what you say, you could be saying to the world," he said.

Sidebar

You don't get rich doing this

-Dr. Yoni Freedhoff