The Misinformation Epidemic in Aesthetics with Dr. Michele Shermak
Dr. Michele Shermak is on a mission to clear up the confusion surrounding plastic surgery. With med spas on every corner and social media full of mixed messages, she’s passionate about making sure patients get the right information from the right sources.
That passion led her to chair the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ Public Education Committee, where she’s elevating patient education across the board.
Dr. Shermak breaks down what sets board-certified plastic surgeons apart, from the focus on safety and credentials to the importance of finding a provider who truly listens.
She also opens up about the challenges of teaching multiple generations, her favorite creative ways to share trustworthy information, and how platforms like Instagram are shaping the next wave of patient education.
As AI revolutionizes aesthetics, Dr. Shermak shares both excitement and caution about how tools like chatbots might change medical education and communication—and why accuracy and privacy still come first.
Recorded live at the ASPS Annual Meeting in New Orleans.
About Dr. Michele Shermak
Dr. Michele Shermak is a board-certified plastic surgeon, widely regarded for her exceptional patient care and meticulous, individualized approach to aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. She’s internationally recognized for her expertise in breast and body contouring, combining innovative techniques, compassion, and clear communication to ensure every patient feels confident and supported from consultation through recovery. Dr. Shermak sets the standards for excellence as a director on the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and focuses on patient safety, natural results, and personal connection throughout every procedure.
Learn more about Baltimore plastic surgeon Dr. Michele Shermak
Follow Dr. Shermak on Instagram @micheleshermakmd
Guest
Michele Shermak, MD
Plastic surgeon in Baltimore, Maryland
Host
Robin Ntoh, VP of Aesthetics
Nextech
Presented by Nextech, Aesthetically Speaking delves into the world of aesthetic practices, where art meets science, and innovation transforms beauty.
With our team of experts we bring you unparalleled insights gained from years of collaborating with thousands of practices ranging from plastic surgery and dermatology to medical spas. Whether you're a seasoned professional or a budding entrepreneur, this podcast is tailored for you.
Each episode is a deep dive into the trends, challenges, and triumphs that shape the aesthetic landscape. We'll explore the latest advancements in technology, share success stories, and provide invaluable perspectives that empower you to make informed decisions.
Expect candid conversations with industry leaders, trailblazers and visionaries who are redefining the standards of excellence. From innovative treatments to business strategies, we cover it all.
Our mission is to be your go-to resource for staying ahead in this ever-evolving field. So if you're passionate about aesthetics, eager to stay ahead of the curve and determined to elevate your practice, subscribe to the Aesthetically Speaking podcast.
Let's embark on this transformative journey together where beauty meets business.
About Nextech
Industry-leading software for dermatology, medical spas, ophthalmology, orthopedics, and plastic surgery at https://www.nextech.com/
Follow Nextech on Instagram @nextechglow
Aesthetically Speaking is a production of The Axis: theaxis.io
Theme music: I've Had Enough, Snake City
Announcer (00:06):
You're listening to The Aesthetically Speaking Podcast, presented by NextTech.
Robin Ntoh (00:13):
Welcome back to the Aesthetically Speaking Podcast. I'm Robin Ntoh, your host today, and I have with me today Dr. Michele Shermak. And Dr. Shermak, what better way for our listeners to learn about you other than you're a board certified plastic surgeon? Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Dr. Shermak (00:29):
Okay. I'm a board certified plastic surgeon who practices in Baltimore. I've been in practice unbelievably since January of 1999, so it's been a long time. I have been very involved with all the different organizations within our specialty. Interested in ethics, public education, and just always trying to keep my finger in the sauce, I guess, just so I can stay abreast of all the new things going on because plastic surgery is one of the most innovative medical specialties in all kind of aspects. So just trying to stay involved so I can keep on top of everything.
Robin Ntoh (01:11):
Yeah. I would say I would add to innovative and energetic and sometimes entertaining and so many, so many. But it is that specialty that everybody wants to know more about. There's a lot to it, but there's also a lot of information out there that we know is not the right information. And so I want to dig right in. We are live at ASPS in New Orleans, and so great opportunity for us to talk about your chairing public education, which oh my goodness, that's something at NextTech that I am really hyper-focused on. I love education. I speak a lot on the different generations and how we actually educate within our practices. And there's so much that we can talk about today, but tell us a little bit about what your chair, what your role does within the organization.
Dr. Shermak (02:00):
This is a position I had been gaming for for so long because I'm very passionate about education and really excited about the potential for what we can achieve here. I think there's some data point where actual board certified plastic surgery education permeates the media so much less, probably at least 20% to 25% relative to non-core providers, med spas and non-board certified plastic surgeons. So at any rate, the public education for the society has just blown up in the best possible way. Within the past five years, there's been an increasing say fingerprint onto social media. We have become very accessible to local media outlets, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, all the major outlets really have an incoming person at the society who just tosses it out to anyone she knows who can get on a call with them as quickly as possible to try to tell what the real story is.
(03:11):
There's just so much information out there that is confusing, it's misleading, it's inaccurate. And this committee position for me is so important in just giving proper information to the public and serving as a resource to the members, the board certified plastic surgeons who are members of the ASPS.
Robin Ntoh (03:36):
You mentioned it. There's medical spas and they're growing. I mean, we just talked about this a few minutes ago, one of my other sessions that there's more than 15,000 of them, and they're continuously growing. And we recognize that when you think about the world of plastic surgery, yes, there are compliance guidelines around what the state and what federal guidelines are there. And obviously as a physician, those are going to vary state by state. But I go back to the society in and of itself, and board certification especially, really holds physicians, plastic surgeons accountable and within check to really provide a level of compliance that is, I go so far as to say, bar none because you really are hyper focused on the regulatory compliance realm of really supporting what plastic surgery should be and how you educate and what you're doing out there. And I argue that that is a struggle in the world of med spa, because there's so much going on with med spas, but they don't have that same level of cohesiveness.
(04:44):
When you think about where they're mandated, their only mandate comes from a state level. And so it makes it more complicated, but at the same time, I think it also, from a public consumption perspective, should realize from plastic surgeons, they're banned together. And what brings them together is the society and the board.
Dr. Shermak (05:06):
So med spas have, I would say the emphasis is different, the med spa world versus the board certified plastic surgery office. So med spa world has a lot of money for marketing and they have franchises. So their emphasis is on marketing and they just blow up, I'd say the internet, Google with their presence. And patients gravitate there because they see what they see. Board certified plastic surgeons are far more focused, I think, on techniques and safety and patient care. And it's like marketing is kind of one of those necessary evils that we have to deal with. And so we're micromanaging everything, patient care, and then you have to deal with marketing. So we're not as kind of, I think, easy to find as a med spa. And it's the same thing beyond med spas is travel tourism. The people who are going to Mexico and South America, and it's all the same thing. It's just they're kind of being presented with this opportunity for easy, cheap plastic surgery, and really that's just not the right focus at all.
Robin Ntoh (06:27):
Well, first and foremost, medical supas are really meant to be non-surgical, and the plastic surgery arena is really meant to be rejuvenative as well as restorative. You think about, from an education perspective, plastic surgeons are trained head to toe. They're there to look at not just the form and function, but also things that are non-surgical as well. I mean, you do the non-surgical. Sure. So I think that education is just as relevant, but I think it gets overshadowed a little bit because the med spas place such a big place in the marketplace. And I think that that's where you guys are, I see having to be more reactive to what's happening in that very disruptive arena right now.
Dr. Shermak (07:12):
Right. I mean, I think people just need care. They need care before, during, and after. And I just feel that with med spas, it's just kind of like check in, get your procedure, check out. I just don't think they're very interested in the patient. This is a big personal decision. It's important to maintain safety. It's just good to enter knowing that you're going to be put in the right hands and someone is going to be taking care of you. And it's like you say, we're such a kind of wide spectrum of personalities and approaches. So you really have a choice. You should find the person who you have the best chemistry with. And that's super important. And I feel like the beauty of marketing actually and getting the word out ahead, I feel like the patients kind of know who they're going to meet before they even come in, which has been great.
(08:10):
It's almost like they've kind of vetted you through your social and what they've seen. And then they come in and they're like, "Yep, I already feel it. " And that really, I think, makes the process, the communication process, much easier too because they're not trying to figure out things like they kind of do their homework, I guess, beforehand.
Robin Ntoh (08:30):
Well, I mean, a plastic surgeon, to be board certified, they have to go through a level of credentialing and testing, and then they also have to maintain that. And so I think that it's important for the public to have that insight, which I appreciate is a big part of what you're sharing and what you're putting out there is to provide that level of education. It's critical. Right.
Dr. Shermak (08:52):
I mean, there are lots of fake boards too. So people will say they're board certified in cosmetic surgery. So board certification is actually, there are only 24 boards and they're all under the umbrella of the American Board of Medical Specialties. So there are lots of, I hate to say it, but they're just fake boards. They're not a true board. And it's like you say, we are held to a process to get board certification. You have to pass a written exam, you have to pass an oral exam, the oral exam based on your cases and the way you would manage cases. And then just like you said, we have to maintain our certification now. Every five years, we have to do certain steps to prove that we're staying above and maintaining performance in what we're doing. So thank you. You've done your homework for sure. I'm just sitting here listening to all these excellent speaking points.
Robin Ntoh (09:51):
Well, it's true, but let's drill down and double click on public education also is a component of patient education. I go back to, there's a generational component to this too. So from a patient education perspective, I think that this is where the society thinks about public education and meeting those needs across all those generations. And how do we actually lean into that? And what types of things are you doing within the society to think about those?
Dr. Shermak (10:24):
So this is a very broad area, and I'd say we have various components to it. Number one is our social media, and we are trying to stay ahead with topics of interest, topics generated by celebrities that people are interested in. So our social media is amazing and just keeps getting better and better. At the meeting, they generate so much content here because everybody is here, so we can do it in person. And it's just a really great opportunity for the society to really start cultivating all this amazing content and keeping it fresh though. And I would say the other way that we're working again is with the media and making sure that we're accessible to the reliable media outlets. And a lot of these outlets are things that I haven't even really heard of, but they're these social media outlets and I can't even remember the names like numbers and suites and things like that that people are going to for this information that the younger generation.
(11:28):
And then finally, we're actually upgrading our website, which is a huge process. You kind of have to maintain the strength of the old website while you merge into a new website, a new era, a very AI-focused area, which we're trying to stay ahead of. And really the arms of the website are very much for the public education, also for our membership to stay abreast of what's going on within the society and what our patients want to know. So the website update is just going to be a year-long process and it's very exciting.
Robin Ntoh (12:06):
Well, because your website has a component that it is for your members that they have their own unique login, which to your point, provides insights into what's going on in this internship because it's vast, it's changing. But then you have the public facing version as well to provide that holistic, truthful information that is endorsed by the society, which is the Plastic Surgery Society.
Dr. Shermak (12:27):
Right. Plus we also have our foundation arm. So that's our research arm. People in the public who are interested in seeing what kinds of grants are going out there, or if they are really committed to breast cancer. For example, they can see what opportunities there are to contribute in a bigger way. And our society is very excited about the foundation, especially nowadays research funding is really, as we know, becoming much more challenging with areas that people used to get money from or just drying up because of economics, because of federal funding. So the society has gained much more importance in that. And that's been a very interesting area too, to see some of the important work that people can contribute to and the important work that's actually being done as a result of those contributions.
Robin Ntoh (13:19):
This is so exciting. I've had an opportunity, well, just over the past 24 hours being here at the show, being reminded that you also have a lot of young surgeons and they're coming at these different stages and immersing them and they're being educated and learning from the senior members or other physicians. And let's talk about the hot topics. I mean, let's talk about AI. You brought it up. Share some of the challenges, but yet some of the things that you think are unique that are helping you out in your area.
Dr. Shermak (13:54):
Well, I think AI, the way ... It's kind of this gray area that nobody really ... Or kind of like this Pandora's box of, we just don't know how AI is getting the information, how can we impact the algorithm? And we're hoping that board certified plastic surgeon is somehow feeding into this algorithm. But I'd say how people are going to impact this algorithm and the information that AI is giving is scary. And we're having to think more about how we're going to incorporate AI because it's fast. I was talking to a company about trying to basically address frequently asked questions, FAQs and have our little bot get the conversation going because we can really make a positive impact in someone's perspective of us if we get on them fast. But I'm concerned about that. What if someone has a question that the bot doesn't answer right?
(15:01):
So I think we've just got to figure out how we can really populate these algorithms in a precise way and make sure that the patients are getting proper information. I mean, I would like to say we're at the head of this thing, but the slope is going so high, so fast, and the technology incorporates information so quickly that ... And it'll kind of take it a step further, which is like ... I mean, we've been kind of afraid of this for a long time. Thank you, Elon Musk, but I think that we're just going to have to try to stay ahead, but also be very reactive very quickly to what we see. And I don't know how we can impact that.
Robin Ntoh (15:49):
So the question hasn't been answered, but the question's definitely out there. How are we going to do that? And how do we make sure our physicians are understanding and aware of that so that what our management is required of them to monitor it is in place. And that is one of the things that's concerning because the moment you make something patient facing or prospect facing, then you have a whole new level of compliance and regulatory that you've got to deal with.
Dr. Shermak (16:15):
Right. Plus protecting patient privacy.
Robin Ntoh (16:17):
That's absolutely right. And so there's a lot of different ways that AI can help physicians. And we've been talking about operational efficiencies behind the scenes, but the moment that you make it available to your patients, there's a different level of regulatory that we have to consider. So yeah, questions out there, but is it answered yet? No, I don't believe it is.
Dr. Shermak (16:39):
Yeah. Protection is really the key. Patient privacy protection, cyber protection, it gets whole level of complicated.
Robin Ntoh (16:47):
But you're actually thinking about it. And I will say that that may not be a common theme, but it also is kudos to the society for actually recognizing that it is something that is relevant and should be discussed and should be leaned into. It doesn't mean you have to have an answer today.
Dr. Shermak (17:09):
Sure. There is going to be a talk later this afternoon, I think, by someone high level at Microsoft about AI. And I am actually not geeky or technological, but I'm going because I need that. Yeah.
Robin Ntoh (17:25):
Well, I mean, it's changing so quickly and there's so many ways that we could talk about it, but this has been really informative. Is there any other things that you'd like to share about things that you guys are working on?
Dr. Shermak (17:38):
I would just say just making sure that you follow us, follow the society is just a great way of getting content almost on a daily basis.
Robin Ntoh (17:52):
Let's remind our listeners, what is the website address for the society?
Dr. Shermak (17:56):
Plasticsurgery.org.
Robin Ntoh (17:57):
Well, Dr. Shermak, this has been very enlightening and I so appreciate that this is a big focus for the society. I'm excited about it.
Dr. Shermak (18:05):
Oh, I just love this committee. We do so many committees and so much time on calls and et cetera. This has just been a labor of love. It's just been incredible. And I love that the society has done such a nice job focusing on it.
Robin Ntoh (18:21):
And I do too, because this is so good for the industry to have this.
Dr. Shermak (18:24):
Yeah. Great.
Robin Ntoh (18:25):
Well, thank you for joining us today.
Dr. Shermak (18:26):
Yeah. And thank you for partnering.
Robin Ntoh (18:28):
I love it. Thank you.
Announcer (18:31):
Thanks for listening to Aesthetically Speaking, the podcast where beauty meets business, presented by Nextech. Follow and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. Links to the resources mentioned on this podcast are available in your show notes. For more information about Nextech, visit nextech.com or to learn more about TouchMD, go to touchmd.com. Aesthetically Speaking is a production of The Axis, T-H-E-A-X-I-S.io.