Dr Danielle Jones, also known as Mama Doctor Jones, is an American (OB/GYN) and doctor influencer. Across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, she has more than 2 million followers.

In this amusing and informative episode of the Better Together podcast, Dr Sam Hazledine finds out how Jones has built such a large and loyal following and uncovers the steps for other doctors looking to create a platform.

Dr Danielle Jones’  journey into medicine went a little differently from that of her peers. She originally planned to go into psychology until she realised that it wasn’t for her. 

“At the same time as I had this realisation, my dad was experiencing some complications and needed a lung transplant.”  

When her dad was very sick, Jones sat at his bedside, where she experienced a deeper calling. 

“I just looked at the people and thought the difference between good healthcare and bad healthcare is how it’s delivered, and I thought...I could be a good healthcare deliverer.” 

She realised she could learn science but also wanted to be a genuinely good doctor. “I wanted to learn to provide good care to families going through things that are terrible or sometimes wonderful.” 

After this, Jones decided to apply to medical school, and that is how she ended up where she is today.

Moving to New Zealand:

“I hope Jacinda is going to be my best friend!”

Jones jokes to Dr Sam Hazledine about the New Zealand prime minister. 

Jones and her husband first visited New Zealand in 2011. After that, they fell in love with the country and decided to move there one day.  

“We returned with the kids and rented an RV to travel the South Island. The kids loved it! We really fell in love with the culture, the lifestyle, and the people, and the things to do outside, so we decided to try and make the move. “

Due to the pandemic, the prospect of getting into the country was low, and Jones faced many roadblocks on the way (including the whole family catching COVID-19!).

“The Invercargill job opened up, and I applied. The people at Southland Hospital were wonderful and seemed like great people to work with which is why I ended up accepting the job.”

Social media:‍

Dr Danielle Jones got into social media in 2009. " It was very odd back then as a medical student to be blogging your way through med school or to be on Twitter.” 

She felt that back then, it wasn’t socially acceptable for doctors and that her peers found it unusual. 

At this time she didn’t have a goal for the account: “It was a creative outlet. I liked to write, so I just wrote about my experiences, and I quickly realised that Twitter was a really great place both for learning and for connecting.” 

Jones describes her social brand as “edutainment.” It is meant to be entertaining, and you leave after accidentally learning something. 

“I always wanted my presence online to be like if your best friend was a gynaecologist and you were at coffee talking about pap smears.”

Jones took a break from social media to have her twins and work, then in 2017, she started up again on Instagram under the Mama Doctor Jones brand. “My goal was really just to educate, and to advertise my practice - really quickly I noticed that there was a lot of growth happening that I hadn’t anticipated.”

When Jones realised she was on to something, she started making goals, and that’s when she started her YouTube channel. 

“I did have goals when I started YouTube, but I never thought it would be what it is today -  almost a million subscribers. It’s insane!”

‍

Tips for other doctors looking to grow a following:

Niche down: figure out who you’re talking to, and then what you will talk about comes pretty quickly. It doesn’t have to be one health topic; it can be an age. I speak to 20 - 30-year-olds. Try inventing an avatar for your niche and structure every post just for them.‍

Do it for the love: I have been so successful because I have a genuine interest in social media marketing! You have to enjoy it. Find something you love talking about, learn the platform, learn the algorithm, and learn the community!‍

Up-skill: I listen to podcasts about how to succeed on the platforms I use.  ‍

Keep showing up consistently: Sometimes people start, but they don’t keep showing up because it is a thankless job in the beginning. However, you need to keep going if you want to grow a following. ‍

Create valuable content: If you create valuable content for the person you are talking to, you will grow your platform.‍

Don’t try to be everywhere:  I wouldn’t start trying to be everywhere; it’s too much work. Start on one platform, and then you can branch out onto a new platform once you are comfortable there. ‍

Never fight in the comments: always take it to your platform if you want to debunk something. Sometimes, the comments are like a red rag at a bull, but they never end with you feeling like, “That was worth my time.”‍

Find your community: The OB/GYN community all support each other, and we are all friends; it’s not competitive. ‍

You can learn from fake medical influencers: I follow some of the accounts that share misinforming medical information because they are able to create content in a way that makes people want to push it out and share it. I learn from them. I also can use them to create content by debunking their myths. Often, these fake medical influencers are actually selling something: “Everything your doctor didn’t tell you!”

The benefits of social media: ‍

“Social media could never replace clinical medicine because I love being at the bedside, but I do feel that social media is much better for reaching way more people than you ever could on a clinical basis,” explained Jones.

“A single post reaches more people than I would ever reach in my clinical career, which is a huge opportunity and a big responsibility.”  

Jones is able to spend time on social media discussing topics like the COVID-19 vaccination and safety in pregnancy, which is valuable to people who aren’t getting enough information from their clinic visits and need a place to go where someone could actually sit down and explain the science. 

“The more doctors we get online, the more doctors we have speaking about evidence-based medicine, the better!”

‍

The downside of social media:

Jones explains how right now, there are a lot of hate-fuelled posts towards doctors, especially people talking about COVID-19 vaccinations, and you need a thick skin to deal with these. 

“People are saying the COVID-19 vaccine is going to take out the whole planet because it is meant for population control, but why would they want to take out their entire country? What good would that do? They won’t have people who are able to work. They won’t be able to do anything! This is capitalism -  they don’t want to kill you!” Jones laughs. 

Jones admits that sometimes she struggles with decompartmentalising “I am constantly checking messages. I used to try to respond to everyone, but now I do my best. I get 1-2 thousand messages a week, and that doesn’t even count comments.” 

Jones explains that her “edutainment” style is not the same as that of some other doctors on social media, and it sometimes negatively affects the kind of media opportunities she gets because people want the “serious doctor.”

“I am not the uppity doctor on CNN, but I feel like my reach on a person-to-person level is so much greater that I don’t care.”

Jones has one assistant who helps her with Facebook content, but she does 99% of everything else herself (to put this in perspective, Dr Hazledine points out that she is managing an audience half the size of New Zealand!). 

Dr Danielle Jones isn’t afraid to call out misinformation online, but she picks fights with ideas and not people. 

Although she commands an audience of over 2 million, her primary goal in life is to be a “good person and a good mum.”

Audiences across the world have taken to her because she talks to them like they’re “real people, which they are!” 

I get emails like, “I’ve never got a pap smear, and now I’ve gone because I understand why it is important.” 

The transgender community has been incredibly helpful to me in learning how to use more gender-neutral language, especially when talking about a field that has been so traditionally “gendered.” Jones gets messages saying:

“your platform is the only place which I feel like I can come and learn about gynaecological health as a trans man or as a non-binary person. Everywhere else just gives me such bad dysphoria.” 

“I think that it is really important that those people have equal access to education,” Jones explains. 

If Jones could go back to her 18-year-old self she would say: “learn Spanish. It will be extremely valuable for delivering labours in South Texas!” and also, “You don’t have to be perfect. You are smarter than you give yourself credit for; do what is right and follow your gut, and you’ll make it.” 

Listen to the podcast episode:

‍

‍

Dr Amanda Thomson’s simple tips for better mental health

Dr Amanda Thomson knows what it is like to go without. She’s from an underprivileged background and had to work hard to become a doctor. It’s left her wanting to help people live their fullest lives, whatever their circumstances.

“My family was relatively underprivileged and I had to move out of the family home to complete my secondary education, which wasn’t particularly ideal,” she says.

Amanda splits her time between the Sunshine Coast region (Australia), where she works in youth mental health, and at an Aboriginal medical centre, where she works with the Butchulla people of the Fraser Coast.

“I am incredibly fortunate to work in two areas I am especially passionate about – youth mental health and indigenous medicine for our First Nations people. I feel very blessed to be able to provide quality care for these often underprivileged populations.”

As a doctor and mental health advocate, she focuses on youth mental health and caring for people in remote areas. She’s worked in youth detention and in remote areas like Mount Isa and Arnhem Land. Her roles are linked by her desire to help people overcome challenges and live their best lives.

“I enjoy engaging and encouraging people in all circumstances to dream big and help them realise that anybody can overcome adversity and challenges, and I enjoy helping them find ways in which to do so.

“For youth and adolescents in particular, life can often be so overwhelming even in the best of home life circumstances. Being able to be there and encourage and support young people to reach their full potential and live their fullest lives brings me an immense amount of joy and job satisfaction.”

It was working in a detention centre that drove Amanda to make a difference in mental health and Indigenous health. While working at the centre, she witnessed the high incarceration rates of Indigenous youth and became determined to make a positive change.

“It both saddened and angered me in equal parts and really was the driving force for me to proactively pursue a career in youth mental health and indigenous medicine.”

She hopes that by helping the young people she works with to improve their own health and wellbeing, she can lower the statistics.

“We discuss lifestyle factors which are so commonly overlooked. Things like establishing a daily routine, getting adequate restorative sleep, eating a wide variety of fresh foods to power the brain, finding some exercise ideas that are enjoyable for the patient, building connections/relationships with friends and family, and developing passions/hobbies.”

Ultimately, everyone needs to attend to their own health and wellbeing. It’s a fact not lost on Amanda, who recognises that poor mental health is an issue within the medical community too.

“Doctors, by nature, are generally very caring people. It is very easy to over-commit, particularly when working in under-resourced areas. I think one of the main things I have learnt throughout my years of working in mental health is to make a conscious effort to create time for self-care and to learn how to set boundaries at work in regard to workload so as to maintain my own mental fitness and to ensure every patient receives the time that is required to provide optimum care.”

As a doctor, solo mum, and mental health advocate, we asked Amanda for her simple tips on how to feel better and improve your own mental health and wellbeing.

Dr Amanda’s simple tips for better mental health

Priorities

I know this can be so very challenging with family commitments, children, long work hours, study, etc. However, it really is possible (if you prioritise it), for everybody to schedule some time for exercise, to eat nutritious foods, to connect with friends, or work on your passions.

Awareness

It is so very important to find time or create time, to pursue mental fitness for yourself.

A routine can help

I am a very busy working solo mum of two children who participate in extracurricular activities both before and after school, so I really do appreciate it is often very difficult for doctors to create some ‘protected’ time for themselves. Myself personally, I find having a routine helps enormously with creating some protected time for myself.

Exercise

I go for a walk or run right next to the kids’ school when I drop them off on the days that I don’t start work until 9 am, or I run around the oval while they do their sports training.  Sometimes, I’ll squeeze in an early morning HIIT class at the gym while the kids get ready for school.  Recently, with the COVID pandemic, I’ve downloaded various apps that allow me to do some short exercise sessions in my garage with no equipment needed. I can do this while the kids get ready for school or after I’ve put them to bed.

Eat well

Eat a variety of nutritious foods. The way in which I make this work is to cook extra every night when I’m cooking the evening meal, then pack the leftovers for my lunch. It’s such an easy way to eat a balanced meal during the day and there is no extra effort required.

Take time for things you enjoy

It’s so very important to create time to pursue your passions. I love relaxing with my guitar whenever I can, getting outdoors to do some photography and keeping fit with high intensity training and weights.

Dr Mark Seaman is in his final year of GP training, he is a mental health advocate, fitness enthusiast, and trustee for You Okay, Doc? A mental health charity for doctors.

In this article, Mark chats candidly to Medworld Institute about what inspired him to become a doctor and offers advice for other doctors looking to take care of their mental health and wellbeing. 

Tell me a bit about yourself and why you wanted to become a doctor.

I often wonder what exactly drew me to medicine as well.  I was not sure what I wanted to do as a career path and had many different ideas eventually coming down to choosing between training as a vet or a doctor. I loved science at school and learning how and why things work the way they do - especially how animals and the human body works. 

I also grew up working in pub kitchens from a young age. I enjoyed meeting new people and being part of a service industry, which I think has helped me with shift patterns and working in pressurised teams.

I did not go straight to medical school (medicine was not really even on my mind when applying for university) and I did a degree in Biomedicine in the north of England, which was a great experience, and I developed a lot as a person. During the studious part of my undergraduate degree, I realised I enjoyed learning about the pathology of disease more and more and that working in a lab was not for me.  I think this combination led me to know I wanted to do something that helped or provided a service whilst also keeping alive my love of learning. What made me commit to applying for medicine was a survival first aid course I did on which there were some paramedics and doctors who encouraged me to apply. I then spent a year working as a healthcare assistant and a chef at a local pub to save for medical school, which I was fortunate enough to get into.

What area of medicine are you currently working in? 

I am currently in my final year of GP training.  During medical school, I thought I would pursue surgery as I like practical problem-solving tasks and enjoyed theatre but during my foundation years, I realised I also enjoyed medicine a great deal, so I pursued a further two years of medical training in the Republic of Ireland and got my MRCPI. During this time, I started thinking about what speciality I wanted to spend my career in, I realised I could not pick one and enjoyed everything in parts, which led me to return to the UK to start GP training. 

I think that is one of the great things about medical training, there are always lots of choices and it's okay to be unsure and change your mind.

Have you ever experienced burnout, if yes, can you tell me a bit about it and how you got through it?

I have been asked this question a fair few times now and often considered what burnout means. It is defined as unmanageable stress rooted in the workplace, with feelings of exhaustion, dissatisfaction with or negative about your job, and being less efficient at it. Have I felt the exhaustion? Yes. Have I felt negative about my job? Yes. Have I been less productive during those times? If I am honest with myself, then probably yes. I have certainly had low points where I have felt all of those, particularly during the height of the pandemic on the medical rota but also at separate times on certain jobs throughout my career.

I feel burnout can be a spectrum, with signs at the beginning that if you can recognise you can take actions to help yourself  -the problem is often it's hard to notice it in ourselves and this is why having honest and supportive friends, family and colleagues can be so important. 

We all need to look out for each other and ask simply are you okay from time to time - checking in on yourself and asking the same question honestly can also be helpful. 

If you find the answer is "no I am not okay", ask yourself why and what it is, can you do something to change it? For me taking a break was important, I took leave and focused on myself and on returning to work. I made sure I did the simple things like taking breaks, checking in with friends, spending time on hobbies and going to the gym.

I see that you are a passionate advocate for mental health and wellbeing. Was there a specific incident that motivated you to get involved in this field?

There has been no one particular event that I can pinpoint and say is why it is so important to me, but rather multiple events throughout my career so far, including my time at medical school, that have highlighted the importance of mental health and wellbeing. The mental health and wellbeing of ourselves as doctors was something I can't recall being well addressed at medical school, but I think it would have helped a lot.

From a young age, I have been enthused about physical wellbeing and fitness, though it has only been in recent years that I have started to understand that mental fitness is just as important. At the foundation of our wellbeing, we have our health, which is equal parts mental and physical. 

To get the very best out of ourselves, I am a firm believer in developing an understanding of yourself which is very much a journey. 

Learning what gives you energy and what makes you as a person whole. It's different for everyone and starting to look inward and exploring what keeps you well and whole is something I recommend everyone try.  There lies an endless supply of resources on wellbeing out there, but learning what works for you and what you enjoy doing for your wellbeing will be unique to you -that is what I believe will make it sustainable and beneficial. 

What do you do to look after yourself and your own mental health and wellbeing? 

I am sort of continuing on from the last question here and starting off by saying what works for me won't necessarily work for you.  I think there are key pillars to mental health that include; sleep, being active, having a network (friends, colleagues, family), having a purpose (it doesn’t have to be your job it can be a hobby!), and nutrition. 

 By no way or means am I always doing well at all of those, but I really do notice the difference when I do. I am lucky, I enjoy going to the gym and running but that doesn't have to be the way that someone else stays fit and active. 

I think finding something that’s good for you and you enjoy is often the key to sustaining a good habit. 

I also love reading and try and make sure I read a book that is not related to the day job every day. Through the pandemic, I also started drawing again which is a great way for me to let my mind wander.  

I do check in on myself regularly, often when running in the countryside I let my thoughts drift and see if there's anything bothering me subconsciously and if so during the run I often manage to think it out and feel settled by the end.

Can you tell me a bit about You Okay Doc? What does the charity do? and why did you choose to get involved as a trustee? 

You Okay, Doc?  is a mental health charity for doctors that was set up by one of my best friends from medical school (Daniel Gearon) and co-founded by a psychotherapist (Chris Cherry). 

The impetus for starting the charity was a tragic physician suicide by the founder's cousin.  The charity was set up to try and fill a real gap and need for supporting doctors' mental health. 

It has really grown in the last two years with the provision of Huddles which are therapist-led small group sessions doctors can attend to discuss their wellbeing, podcasts, webinars, events and an ever-growing community within the charity to help normalise talking about mental health and wellbeing of doctors and provide help where we can. 

I got involved initially as a founding ambassador because I really believed in the purpose of the charity and what it can do to help doctors wellbeing.  I have been lucky enough to be a part of it and really enjoyed the process.  It's an amazing team and community to be a part of. I agreed to take the position of a trustee when it was offered as I was very involved anyway in the charity and wanted to help be part of its growth.

From your Instagram, I can see you spend a lot of time outdoors and focus on physical fitness. How do you prioritise to create such a positive work/life balance? 

Well, I certainly don't always get it right, especially not initially. 

I think it is important where you can to prioritise the things you enjoy and try and make the most of them. 

I make things work around the job and also remember that it is healthy to leave work/handover and take time for things outside your job. It can be very easy with exams, projects, audits, and portfolios to let them eat up your free time - which happened at the beginning and still does occasionally, though less so as I am better at setting boundaries within my personal time and work time for these things. I am more productive at work and better for it.

Do you have any advice for other doctors who want to prioritise their own health and wellbeing? 

Remember it is a job, it can be a great job with so many amazing experiences and opportunities, but it is still a job. 

Prioritising your wellness is not selfish and it certainly isn't always easy but it will help you have a happier career. If you are just starting to look at your own wellbeing it can sometimes be overwhelming, start small find things you enjoy and build on these. Small sustainable actions beat sudden unsustainable ones every time.

‍

For more, follow @dr_marks_journey on Instagram.

‍