Balanced Medics was born from me wanting to make a place that I wanted as a medical student and intern.
Honestly, I didn’t know about available resources for doctors until I was PGY3. I wish I knew in medical school! That had me thinking, how can I help spread the word about the common issues doctors face as well as share the many ways we can find support? The answer – social media!
Most medical students and doctors in training are aged around 18-35. What do 18-35 year olds do when they’re experiencing issues? Go on social media, look at memes, watch TikTok reels, follow people on Instagram that share encouraging messages and join FaceBook groups. It’s the way we search for answers as well as a shared common experience. It’s a way to feel less alone.
Social media is often anonymous, so we don’t need to publicly voice how we feel to colleagues or fear repercussions of being honest.
Social media is a vehicle for promoting awareness of doctors’ health and the services available to us.
Doctors’ Health Service Using Social Media
I cannot spread the word enough about the Australian Doctors’ Health Service Network. In December 2022, I went to the Australasian Doctors’ Health Conference where The Doctor’s Health Advisory Service Western Australia (DHASWA) shared how they used social media to increase awareness of their service.
Medical student Britt Suann & Associate Professor Helen Wilcox presented their talk: Social factors: using social media strategies to increase awareness of doctors’ health services. Their social media strategy increased engagement and following of DHASWA within a year, and hopefully in doing so increase the awareness of the service.
Takeaways
I hope this website, social media and podcast help you to listen to other people’s stories, find the resources you need and help you to explore all the options life has for us.
How else do you think we can utilise social media for the good of our health?