Healthcare Podcasting May Advance Medical Careers

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According to Pew Research Center, 75% of Americans 12 and older listened to a podcast in the month leading up to the study. This equates to millions of listeners enjoying podcast episodes on everything from daily living to politics to murder mysteries. 

There are thousands of medical and healthcare-related podcasts too. Not only have they enhanced the professional growth of the people hosting these podcasts, but they also help n listeners learn more about medicine and how to lead a healthier, safer life. 

If you’re interested in sharing your passion and expertise in medicine with the world via podcasting, you’ve come to the right place. Before we offer tips on how to launch a successful medical podcast, let’s explore the benefits of doing so. 

Benefits of Launching a Medical Podcast 

Launching a medical podcast takes a lot of work and a serious commitment. So, before you start, you’re probably mulling over whether or not the effort is worth it. The following benefits say it is. 

Build Your Professional Credibility

The medical field is full of professionals with great talent and expertise. Sure, you can build a name for yourself in the sea of competition over time. But launching a podcast could help fast-track building your professional credibility. 

You have an opportunity to show what you know and provide insights that positively impact patients, fellow medical professionals, and the industry as a whole. In sharing your expertise through your unique perspective, you’ll build a personal brand.

When people start to support you and your brand,  it’ll make you feel good about what you’re doing, and your self-image will improve. And that new self-image and confidence will translate into greater professional success because having a high self-worth often translates to a bigger desire to perform well and take initiative. 

Enhance Career Growth

All of the efforts you’re putting in to grow your professional credibility through your podcast will lead to greater career growth. The more established your podcast becomes, the more recognition you’ll get. Not just from listeners, but from your colleagues and managers too. 

Whether you show them the work you’re doing on your podcast or they catch wind of it through another source, your reputation in their eyes will start to grow. So long as your podcast is accurate, insightful, and meaningful. 

Launching a podcast shows a lot of determination, leadership, and skill. All of which are necessary for a higher position in medicine. Your managers will be more likely to consider you for a promotion when they know you’re building something like this all on your own. 

Expand Your Network Reach 

When you offer valuable information and a fresh perspective on meaningful healthcare-related topics on a polished podcast, others will want in on that. So, you’ll have a chance to interview and work with experts and professionals across the industry. 

Establishing these relationships could lead to job and project opportunities that help elevate your medical career. 

Share Valuable Insights for Healthcare Providers

Healthcare professionals endure a lot in their careers, from demanding work schedules to losing patients to having to keep up with ever-changing medical information. Medical professionals must be supported adequately and given the tools and data they need to excel. 

You can contribute to this with a podcast geared toward helping healthcare professionals. For example, your podcast could be about how to have healthy work-life habits in a demanding healthcare role. 

Or, you could cover trending topics in the medical field, like cultural competency, and interview experts about them. You could also be like Ian Drummond, 4th-year medical student who hosts The Undifferentiated Medical Student, a podcast for medical students who feel lost and need guidance in finding the right career path for them. 

Sharing valuable insights for healthcare professionals helps not only your career but those working around you. 

Help Patients Better Understand Medical Information

Sharing meaningful insights for healthcare professionals is one way to go with your podcast. Another way is toward patients. You could create a podcast that helps patients better understand medical information and ways to maintain their holistic health. 

The House of Pod is a great example of a podcast geared toward patients. Two doctors and a man named Joe explore as many health-related topics as possible and answer questions from listeners to help them grow their health literacy. 

Many people don’t understand basic healthcare information, let alone how to move forward in their health journeys. Only 12% of Americans have good health literacy skills, according to a Health Literacy Reports publication made in 2022. 

Your podcast could be the guidance they’re looking for. You could change someone’s life just by sharing what you know. 

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Tips for Starting a Medical Podcast 

A medical podcast can help advance your healthcare career in many ways. If you’re ready to start your podcast to reap these benefits, keep in mind that the process is detailed. 

You’ll need to plan the details of your podcast, purchase suitable equipment, create and record engaging content, edit it, and promote your podcast among other things. Use the below tips to kick-start your medical podcast successfully.

Determine Your Direction

First, determine a clear direction for your medical podcast along with a definitive audience for it. It’ll help you stand out faster and reach people that want your content. 

What’s your idea for your podcast? Do want to cover modern-day healthcare topics like Dr. Shikha Jain does in her podcast, Oncology Overdrive? Or are you looking to cover a specific niche like Dr. Jonar de Guzman does in his podcast Glass Half Healthy about chronic health issues.

What overall topic and sub-topics do you want to cover? What’s your plan for your first few episodes? What’s the vision for your podcast over the next 6 months? A year? Five years? 

Write down or digitally document every detail you can think of about your podcast. Having a blueprint before you start anything will help ensure you’re progressing toward the following you envision. 

A Catchy Name For Your Podcast

The last thing you want is for people to be unable to find your podcast because the title is too complex or doesn’t make sense for your content. Think about the following when choosing a podcast name: 

• Your personality and who you are ;

• What your podcast is about;

• What your brand represents; 

• Your target audience; 

It’s a good idea to ask people in your target audience for feedback about your name. For example, if you’re targeting healthcare professionals, take a few name suggestions to work and see what your colleagues say. 

Don’t spend so much time choosing a name that it stops you from moving forward in the launch process. But don’t make a hasty decision about it either. 

Choose the Right Format

Being all over the place with your podcast format could turn listeners off. You want to choose something that you know you can be consistent with and that represents the feel of the kind of podcast you’re trying to create. 

For example, let’s say you’re going for a professional podcast that discusses statistics, medical processes, and other technical medical topics that help healthcare professionals in their various roles. 

An interview podcast format where you interview doctors, nurses, and other experts could be a good direction to go. You would just need to make sure that you can get someone to interview for every episode. Take a look at Docs Outside the Box with Dr. Nii Darko for inspiration. 

In addition to your podcast format, determine the length of each podcast episode and how often you want to publish new episodes. Again, it’s important to choose what you can be consistent with. So, if it’s ten-minute episodes with new ones published once a week, do that. If it’s one-hour episodes three times a week, do that. 

Decide Where You’ll Host Your Podcast

You probably don’t have a website to host your podcast on. If you do, see what the options are there. Otherwise, you need to research suitable podcast hosting platforms. 

Many podcasters use Apple Podcasts or Spotify. But Buzzsprout, Podbean, Simplecast, and Captivate are also great choices. Which one you choose depends on your budget and what you’re trying to accomplish with your podcast. 

There are platforms with free plans that have at least the basic features you need to launch a podcast. So, don’t let a lack of finances stop you from pursuing your medical podcast. 

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Create a Logo and Cover Art

Creating a solid logo and cover art for your podcast is one way to separate yourself from the thousands of medical podcasts out there. Your logo is a part of your branding. It gives a glimpse into who you are and what you’re offering. Not to mention it’s a visual branding element that people almost always see. 

We recommend working with a graphic designer that specializes in creating logos if you aren’t adept at it yourself. That way, you can guarantee a compelling logo that reflects you, your brand, and your podcast. 

As far as the cover art for your podcast, it’s one of the things that will draw listeners in if it’s interesting and bold enough. They’ll see the artwork and, hopefully, it will inspire them to click on your podcast link and listen. 

Don’t clutter your cover art with words or overbearing graphics. Instead, use as few words as possible to communicate what your podcast is about if you really want to include writing on your cover art. Then, use graphics and colors intentionally to bring out the personality behind your podcast. Working with a professional for your cover art is also a good idea if need be. 

Ensure You Have the Proper Equipment

You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on equipment right out of the gate. However, you need certain tools to get your podcast up and running. The basic tools you need to start a podcast are: 

• A good desktop computer or laptop

• A quality microphone

• Headphones

• Podcast recording software

• A camera (if you’re doing a video podcast)

You can add a mixer, acoustic treatments, windscreen, mic arm, shock mount, and other non-essential tools that make the podcast experience better later on when your podcast audience grows. 

For now, stick to getting the basic equipment. Buying everything used can save you money. Or, if you know any podcasters, ask them if they have any equipment they’re willing to give away because they’re upgrading. 

Create Engaging Content

At the end of the day, no one will listen to your podcast if it isn’t engaging. You must make sure that whatever you record, it’s interesting, valuable, and entertaining. It’s the only way to ensure people listen to your episodes from start to finish. 

Practice speaking into your microphone to ensure everything sounds right. Prepare for every podcast episode with notes on what you will talk about and how the episode is to unfold. Then, start recording. 

Let everything flow naturally and don’t worry about mistakes, as you can edit those out later on. It’s important to let your personality shine. Listeners are more likely to make a connection with you first and then your content.

Final Thoughts

Moving up in the medical field is challenging, to say the least. Thankfully, you don’t have to rely solely on managers to mention your name when a promotion is up for grabs for career growth. 

There are plenty of things you can do to take the reigns of your professional development, like starting a medical podcast. Share your expertise with a wide audience and build your professional credibility and network with a successful medical podcast.