Is it a coincidence that Laura Dowling also sells supplements?
I’ve given this whole phenomenon of selling your looks and the perceived value of your credentials to make money online some thought. I’ve a few former classmates that are trying to break into this space. They almost all end up doing something with diets, aesthetic medicine, skincare or these useless supplements.* But why?
You can’t make extra money as a doctor/health professional selling regulated drugs or even advice, because medical advice isn’t a unique, trademarked or a scaleable product. This is due to ethics and regulation. It can also get you in legal trouble or put your licence in jeopardy if you try to promote prescription drugs for your own gain or give blanket, one-size fits all advice.
What you can sell to the masses using your credentials is a book about something, your social media personality (or lack thereof), skincare or supplements which are tangible and easy to ship.
Or if you are actually very intelligent or a visionary, you can create a medical device and slap your name on it. But you’ll probably need product developers, engineers, marketers, regulatory admin people, solicitors, angel investors, etc. to make it happen.
So if you are a bog standard GP that wants a quick euro, what do you do? Make an insta page, wear some nice form fitting clothes, and market yourself, selling your privileged lifestyle as something attainable through your Aesthetics practice and supplements.
I’m so tired of the sell outs on social media flouting nonsense and quite rightfully decreasing public trust in our profession.
The guilty ones: Dr Laura GP, Dr Sam Bunting (not a dermatologist lol), Dr Doireann, and Huberman labs. There are countless others but I don’t have the ability to keep up with all the charlatans.
* they weren’t the best and brightest in their class, and are usually GPs because plastic surgeons in this space have marketable skills that pay a lot more. And hospital consultants make enough money and have enough of a public reputation to protect to want to stay away from the instahun life.
Btw im not dissing GPs, my husband is one, we know many others and the majority of them have no interest in ripping off patients or the public with unfounded, poorly researched treatments for problems that either don’t exist or would go away on their own.