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By Mabel ChuaSep 23
Social media can be a great place to bring awareness to your field and profession.
Medical professionals use platforms like Instagram to educate their followers and provide a glimpse into their daily lives as a doctor, nurse, or therapist. Their content shows the human side of their profession, which makes them relatable to their followers.
Who are the most popular medical influencers on Instagram right now, and what makes them so successful? Using Brandwatch Influence, we searched for the top medical influencers on Instagram. We looked for accounts with at least 100k followers, operating in English, based in the US or UK, and with mentions of medical terms like “doctor,” “nurse,” or “therapist” in their account name or bio description.
Top 10 medical influencers on Instagram
Here are the top 10 medical influencers on Instagram, ranked by average engagements:
Top 10 medical influencers on Instagram
| Rank | Influencer | Avg. Engagements | Followers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Adkins | 90.8k | 467k |
| 2 | Alex Kim | 87.2k | 744k |
| 3 | Sam Ellis | 75.3k | 355k |
| 4 | Hadley Vlahos | 61.4k | 450k |
| 5 | Steven Ho | 54.7k | 1.1m |
| 6 | BokHee An | 48.3k | 603k |
| 7 | Jamie McCoy | 46.3k | 250k |
| 8 | Nick Pappas | 46.3k | 196k |
| 9 | Dr Julie Smith | 45.9k | 2m |
| 10 | Dr Karan Rajan | 41.8k | 1.4m |
The top 10 is a diverse list of doctors, nurses, and therapists who work in hospitals, own their own practices, or have moved into the entertainment industry after working in healthcare. Let's take a closer look at each of these healthcare influencers and what makes them special.
10. Dr Karan Rajan
We start the list with Dr Karan Rajan, an NHS surgeon who uses his Instagram account to give helpful health advice and debunk health myths and viral health trends. He also has a podcast where he invites medical and scientific experts to discuss all things health, such as neuroscience, women's health, or nutrition. He has over 1.4 million followers on Instagram alone.
9. Dr Julie Smith
Next up is Dr Julie Smith, a clinical psychologist who posts content on therapy and mental well-being. In her Instagram videos, she shares tips around mental health, whether it's reducing anxiety, setting boundaries, or breaking toxic thought patterns. Her videos average nearly 1.8 million views.
8. Nick Pappas
In eighth place is Nick Pappas, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hand surgery. On his Instagram account, he likes to share his experiences and daily work with a good dose of humor and relatable memes. And it works. His engagement rate of 7.75% is well above the median of 1% for similar accounts.
7. Jamie McCoy
Jamie McCoy is a licensed therapist who specializes in trauma recovery. On her Instagram account, she posts tips on mental health, trauma, and grief, and she likes to use relatable memes to lighten things up. For example, this video reminding her followers to rest without feeling guilty has been viewed over 40 million times at the time of writing:
6. BokHee An
Next up is BokHee An, who plays a scrub nurse on the medical show Grey's Anatomy. You may be wondering what she is doing on this list. Did we make a mistake in our analysis? No, of course not. BokHee An was also a scrub nurse in real life, and besides posting behind the scenes of the show, she also shares her experiences from her professional life.
5. Steven Ho
In fifth place is Steven Ho, a retired ER tech who is now pursuing a career as a comedian, and his sketches are all about medicine. From everyday experiences of medical staff to unusual and bizarre patient cases, his hilarious videos average 1.7 million views.
4. Hadley Vlahos
Next is Hadley Vlahos, a registered nurse who specializes in hospice care. In her videos, she talks about her work, how people grieve, and how to prepare for death. While these are heavy topics, she approaches them with a positive attitude and her videos average over 1.8 million views.
3. Sam Ellis
In third place is Sam Ellis, a dermatologist from California. On her account, she shares her expertise on all things skin related. From how to spot skin cancer, to how to treat cuts, to the importance of wearing sunscreen, her account is full of helpful advice. Her videos average 2 million views, and this video of her talking about photos and self-image has been viewed over 21 million times:
2. Alex Kim
The entry in second place is Alex Kim, a pediatric and neonatal nurse. On his account, he shares the reality of his work life with his followers, sharing honest realities but always with a good dose of humor. He's not afraid to say that he's underpaid for his job, but he also shares why he loves his job. And this honesty is a success, as his reels are played an average of 1.43 million times.
1. Tony Adkins
At number one is Tony Adkins, a physician assistant for pediatric neurosurgery at Children's Hospital of Orange Country. He became known to a wider audience when he went viral as the "dancing doctor," dancing with his patients. Children's hospitals are a tough place for everyone involved, and Tony brings some joy to his young patients, families, and followers. It's no wonder his Instagram account is popular, with his videos averaging 1.47 million views.
Finding the right influencer for your brand
Medical influencers can be valuable partners for brands to reach new audiences. They are experts in content creation and know how to turn serious topics into easy-to-understand and educational content. Followers see them as trustworthy and authentic, and working with them gives brands the opportunity to reach audiences that may be difficult to reach through traditional marketing, while building trust and credibility with their target audience.
Aljoscha Nienhaus
Senior Insights Consultant at Cision
“Quickly being able to garner insight on health influencers and trends on social media is not only essential for marketing but also for PR aiming to cut through the noise and combat fake news on drugs or active ingredients.”
With influencer marketing tools like Brandwatch Influence, brands can easily identify influencers who align with their brand values and manage their influencer relationships in one place.