Survival tips for new doctors in post-quarantine Hong Kong

by

Vam Cheng, Director of Good Union Corporation Limited shares his thoughts on the aesthetic medicine landscape in Hong Kong as COVID-19 becomes endemic and how young doctors can thrive, and not just survive.

The pandemic has made it more challenging for new doctors to enter the industry, leave alone establish themselves, according to Cheng who distributes energy-based devices and injectables to aesthetic physicians through his company Good Union Corporation Limited. He was the Head of Sales and Marketing for Allergan when Botox, the first brand of botulinum toxin A was first launched and approved for cosmetic use about 20 years ago.

A 2015 market analysis by Frost & Sullivan estimated the value of the Hong Kong medical aesthetics industry to be around HK$8.1 billion (US$10.32 billion) in 2021, representing a compound annual growth rate of 8.9% over five years. Thanks to a growing acceptance of and demand for aesthetic procedures, the growth of this sector was expected to outpace even that of traditional non-medical beauty services (1).

When COVID-19 descended upon the world, knocking the industry’s upward trajectory off course, Hong Kong was not spared. China’s zero-COVID policy and mandated closing of non-essential services resulted in the closure of aesthetic medicine practices for a total of more than 190 days since lockdowns began, from April 1 to May 5, 2020, July 19 to August 28, 2020, December 10, 2020 to 18 February, 2021, and January 5 to April 21, 2022 (2,3). This has led to the rise of the unemployment rate in Hong Kong from 5.2% in 2021 to 5.4% in 2022, with over 50,000 people from the beauty industry left jobless, furloughed, and/or suffering severe financial losses (4,5,6).

Master many treatments, not just popular ones

The pandemic and the ‘Zoom effect’ have resulted in the increasing popularity of some treatments, such as mesotherapy, laser therapy and injectables which are able to rejuvenate the skin and correct conditions such as post-acne hyperpigmentation and mask-ne, acne caused by frequent mask-wearing.

“Mesotherapy and laser therapies are considered among the easier, entry-level treatments for new doctors because they can be picked up within a day or even a few hours. These treatments are not only popular after quarantine was lifted, but are also more easily accepted by patients as they are considered largely non-invasive,” says Cheng.

“However, with aesthetic medicine practices reopening and more people becoming more accepting of such treatments, I believe combination procedures that are tailor-made to individual needs will become more popular. So for new doctors to thrive, they should strive to master different types of treatments, not just the popular ones, because good long-lasting and comprehensive results can rarely be achieved with any single treatment.”

Leverage on digital platforms to upskill

Digital learning opportunities and platforms proliferated while in-person training and seminars were put on hold during the pandemic. This was attractive to young doctors on a budget, as some of the online training offered by product suppliers and online academies were less expensive than in-person sessions, and some were even complimentary.

This was a silver lining for distributors who have had to bear the increase in costs of distributing products to their customers caused by disruptions to supply chains across the globe. “Fortunately, distributors like me have been able to offset the hike in such costs by organising our training online instead of in-person; in-person events being typically more expensive to put together than online events.”

“Although online training is no substitute for hands-on training conducted by seasoned trainers, attending training online is better than not attending any training at all,” Cheng adds. “Online training is useful for young doctors to gain fundamental knowledge and skills, including delivering the right messaging to their patients about what treatments can or cannot do, and how to ensure consistent results across all patients.”

Pent-up demand opens up more avenues to hone skills

The closure of aesthetic practices during the quarantine order deprived younger doctors of opportunities to practise on real patients.

“From even before the pandemic, patients who go for more invasive procedures such as injectables tend to prefer to be treated by more experienced practitioners. This leaves the younger doctors to perform routine and less invasive treatments, such as those requiring energy-based devices. While these skills are necessary, younger doctors were losing out on exposure to practise more invasive procedures on patients, procedures which also tend to be more lucrative,” explains Cheng.

“However, since businesses began reopening in Hong Kong recently, there appears to be pent-up demand driven by patients keen to undergo treatments after a long hiatus. This is good news for younger doctors who rejoin group practices as full-timers, as seasoned practitioners are unlikely to be able to meet the demand by themselves, and I’m seeing them give the younger doctors a shot at practising a wider range of procedures on these patients.”

Capitalise on social media to raise awareness on aesthetic procedures

“The acceptance rate for medical aesthetic procedures in Hong Kong is still very low compared to other countries in Asia, and this is largely because our doctors do not want to risk alarming the authorities, although the rules on promoting medical treatments and practices are not much different from those in Taiwan, China and Singapore,” says Cheng.

His advice for young doctors is to leverage on online and social media marketing to educate the public on the safety and efficacy of such procedures in Hong Kong.

“Doctors can reap the benefits of online and social media marketing successfully and without raising alarm bells if they learn how to do it correctly. In addition to keeping themselves abreast of the latest rules and regulations, doctors can talk about aesthetic medicine treatments in general, and refer to products by their generic names and not by their brand names on their websites and social media platforms.”

“If doctors can work to increase the current acceptance rate of aesthetic procedures which is currently at 3% to 8%, they can look forward to as many as 250,000 patients spread across the city’s 300 to 400 currently active practitioners. That’s a market just waiting to be tapped on,” he adds.

Key takeaways:

  • Comprehensive results cannot be achieved with any single treatment, so strive to master several procedures, instead of just a few popular ones.
  • To improve your skills, seek out training opportunities.
  • Use social media and online marketing to raise awareness of aesthetic procedures, educate the public on safety and efficacy of procedures, and increase the acceptance rate of aesthetic procedures.


References:

Dismiss ad

This will close in 0 seconds