The pandemic put a spotlight on health care workers and inspired many to pursue a career in medicine. The record number of applicants comes as the U.S. faces a projected shortage of physicians.
6. Fauci Effect: Medical School Registrations
While closing our series on the rise of Dr. Anthony Fauci, we must talk about “Fauci effect,” a term coined in his name to show exactly how much influence he has had on the American youth and public. There has been a disproportionate rise in medical school applications, and it has been attributed to Dr. Fauci. While another comparison is given of increased Military applications after the terrorist attack of 9/11, the comparison here is not directly made with the incidence of coronavirus, but rather with the excellent work that has been demonstrated by Dr. Fauci.
In this podcast from the nytimes.com/daily, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, who became the face of information related to the COVID-19 pandemic talks about his experiences along the channels of US government’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic broadcasted in April, 2020. Dr. Fauci propagated the right information amidst the floating false news all over social media in the moment of crisis. He became the face of truth and facts. He had always been mentioning the need for social distancing and using masks that also led people to indulge in conspiracy theories. But he always seemed to stand tall with calmness, and guide the nation. Here, we bring back again the idea of wanting to be closer to Dr. Fauci, that we discussed in context of the doughnuts. And what better way to be closer to Fauci than to walk in his footsteps and become a doctor. Nothing speaks “Fauci is our hero” better than “we’ll become doctors because Fauci was a doctor and he saved the country.”
Being the leader of the COVID-19 task force, Fauci knows the importance of media in reaching out to the millions, hence uses the opportunities carefully. We have discussed in this series about Fauci being covered by the meme world and the Hollywood. But these were the indirect acts of reaching out to people that resulted from his popularity. Fauci directly worked with many national media outlets, celebrities like Steph Curry, spoke at football games to reach the maximum possible audience. He knew the platform he has, and he has made a complete use of that platform to share his narrative.
Media, too, perpetuated that COVID-19 was a gigantic problem and made Fauci the hero. This podcast is a perfect example of how media is used in order to form a public image of a person. Fauci throughout his journey uses the appropriate platforms at accurate times to uplift his image. Media broadcasted the magnitude of the pandemic and it had a fair share in making Fauci a household name. Medical school applications increased 18% during the pandemic as mentioned by Forbes. Due to Fauci's effectiveness and his expertise in his field, he has acted as a leader in the unprecedented times of a pandemic. This is why many have attributed the increase in the Medical school applications to his work, and it has been called the Fauci effect.
Using students’ voices in the podcast and featuring their stories in the podcast is an attempt to personalize the statistics. Media helped the contributions of doctors and task force leaders to come to light. However, it is the attribution of the values that a good physician must have to a singular person - to make him the image that corresponds to all the first responders and medical staff that have helped the United States in overcoming the pandemic - that makes this an advertising idea. Nobody can sell all doctors and first responders as well as one can sell a singular face who has all the values of the medical community.
The question we would like to leave you with is, who is the advertiser behind the rising popularity of Dr. Fauci, who wants Dr. Fauci’s face to be sold, and why do they want that to happen?