Has anyone here trained as an Aesthetic practitioner?

[UpUpUpU]

I am a registered professional but have no beauty therapy experience or practice but am very interested.

I would love to set up a business doing aesthetics (all kinds, not just botox and fillers).

There seems to be many ways to go into this and I am completely overwhelmed!! Has anyone done this as a registered HCP and can point me in the right direction?

Thank you in advance.

You have to be at least a nurse to become a Botox practitioner

I have the relevant clinical qualifications. Its what I potentially do next that’s confusing.

Have you got colleagues that have done it? I work with several nurses, pharmacists etc who have gone into aesthetics. Can you prescribe or have you got someone who can prescribe for you?

I’ve been considering it myself.

I’d check how much your insurance/clinical indemnity would cost! It may put you off!

Yes I can prescribe so that’s not an issue.

I don’t know if it’s feasible to do as don’t know where to start. Insurance would be something I’d look into once I knew if it was something I’d be willing to do but appreciate this will be expensive (and rightly so).

Yet there are many beauticians out there that don't have HCP.qualifications somehow getting hold of prescription only products! Unregulated industry.

It’s a bit of a minefield still for anyone not registered with the NMC, GMC or GDC. I’m a HCPC registered paramedic, and while many training providers will train paramedics, the HCPC is quite vague about us practicing aesthetics and won’t give us definitive approval. If you’re an independent/supplementary prescriber, they’re also vague on allowing you to prescribe for aesthetics as all prescribing needs to be within your scope of practice, which for paramedics could limit us to the emergency pre-hospital arena rather than a non-traditional paramedic profession. Of course, it could be argued that having completed a certified training course aesthetics becomes part of your scope and I know plenty of paramedics who prescribe for aesthetics, but as I said the registering body are not keen to officially condone this.

Voluntary aesthetics safety accreditation organisations have been incredibly hostile towards paramedics and openly state they are not suitable clinicians for aesthetics. I had a long dialogue with Save Face some years ago and found myself going round in circles trying to advocate for my paramedic colleagues and I. All clinicians involved in the dialogue were in Advanced Practice and already working and prescribing at a much higher level than a traditional nurse. It was very frustrating, and I don’t think much has changed in the years since.

Of course, as a registered clinician yourself, you will be able to find a training provider and set yourself up an aesthetics business. It is just worth being aware of the politics and potential pitfalls if you aren’t on the NMC, GMC or GDC registers. If you are a paramedic, I’m happy to point you towards a paramedic specific aesthetics support group. I’m sure equivalents exist for other professions, but haven’t come across them personally.

I am on the NMC register.

I think this sounds like too much hard work to even work out where to start!

I would put it into ChatGpt - I did it just now and it was really helpful. There's too much to paste in here and you can tweak it. Say you're a British nurse and can prescribe as otherwise it gives too many options.

I just wrote out a huge reply and lost it 🤦‍♀️ I’ll try a concise version below!

I wouldn’t be put off - as an NMC registrant you’ll find this a lot more straightforward than other professions. Start by researching training providers and familiarise yourself with the NMC specifics on aesthetics.

Do you already have a good up to date knowledge of the industry and treatments/procedures available? Have you got an idea on the range of procedures you’d like to provide?

There is a relatively new Level 7 qualification which many are moving towards as the industry (hopefully!) becomes more regulated. It’s obviously more expensive, so your initial training will depend on how much you want to initially invest. I went for basic fillers and Botox initially, then as I had registered as a limited company I invested all profit into further training and qualifications. Bear in mind training courses are short, and you’ll be practicing autonomously right from the get go which can be daunting.

As for training providers, there are lots of cowboy ‘aesthetics training academies’ popping up - I wouldn’t touch these with a barge pole. Go for a large, doctor-lead company with excellent reviews from other NMC registrants. Bonus points if anyone you know personally or professionally can recommend a good one which offers solid ongoing support. They will also be able to advise on the legalities and insurance and so on.

I would join a Facebook support group for HCPs in aesthetics - I wouldn’t bother with the non-medic support groups as a lot of chat is political and won’t be relevant to you. The standard of practice from some practitioners on some of those groups is also incredibly poor and quite shocking!

Aesthetics can be a great career if you go into it with a plan and a good knowledge of the industry. Good luck!

Thank you for your reply. Very helpful!
I will continue to research ☺️