Enquiries have been coming in this week regarding the advertising of Aesthetics courses – “no qualifications necessary and no previous experience in beauty and aesthetics is required”.
At Luxton Aesthetics, as medical professionals adhering to a code of conduct, we aim to educate and provide information to the public, enabling them to make an informed decision when choosing a practitioner/procedure.
Advertisements like the one referred to above, give the public the impression that ANYONE can become an Aesthetic Practitioner, injecting dermal fillers and botulinum toxin. These courses then often enable unqualified, non-medical individuals to carry out such practice. The industry has had an influx of unqualified, non-medical individuals, thus increasing the risk of malpractice and complications.
Aesthetic medicine, as the name suggests, MUST be performed by a doctor or nurse specialist within this field. A nurse providing an independent aesthetics service which includes the injecting of botulinum toxin, MUST hold a separate Independent Prescribers Qualification. Without this qualification, they are not legally allowed to inject botulinum toxin independently. This qualification can only be studied having gained over 3 years’ experience within a clinical setting.
When individuals ask us what is required to become an ‘aesthetics practitioner’, we advise the following:
- A medical/nursing degree (3-5 years study)
- Obtain a medical/nursing licence with the GMC/NMC
- Gain a minimum of 3 years’ experience within a relevant clinical setting
- Apply for an Independent Prescribing Qualification (1-2 years study)
- Complete a PG (post graduate) specialist qualification within aesthetics (1-2 years study)
In every industry, there will always be those looking for a short-cut, and those attracted by what seems to be a ‘lucrative’ opportunity. But these short cuts come at the cost of others. Such procedures are incredibly high risk – even more so when performed by unqualified individuals. Those non-medical practitioners do not have the knowledge and skills to react and treat a procedure that has gone wrong. All medical prescribing practitioners will be aware of the complications and know how to correct and treat them. They will also be on a government medical register, which enables medical practitioners to be monitored closely and removed from the register if necessary, losing their licence to practice. Non-medical practitioners are not on a register and therefore cannot be held accountable.
Unfortunately, those companies offering courses to the public requiring no previous qualifications, are there to take your money. Having completed the 1 day to 6-month course, you are left to your own devices, with often no insurance and no experience. Any complications you cause your patients will come back to you, potentially leaving you in a serious situation. Is it worth the risk?
