Aesthetics Nursing

Specialties Aesthetics

Published

Hi all--

I am really interested in the medical aesthetics thing--botox, stuff like that. Anybody know where I can get trained? I live in Colorado, by the way.

THANKS :p

The best and only way I know of to get the information regarding the laws in any state is to call the state, department of nursing, and speak with someone about the laws. Ask them to direct you to their website, which will list their respective laws in writing. Just ask them directly "I am a nurse, can I perform aesthetic procedures in this state without a physician? If so, which procedures? Then, find it in writing. You wouldn't want to trust one person's verbal advice this much! Some states allow for an NP to practice aesthetic medicine independently (among them Washington, Arizona, New Mexico). Some states allow RN's to perform aesthetic procedures only if a physician is present--these procedures are usually limited in scope. Other facilities will allow an RN to perform extremely limited procedures if they have a medical director physician who is not ever or seldom present at the facility. So, you see, it can really vary. Finally, an insurance agency working with people all over the US to insure aesthetic procedures will also be well versed in what can/can't happen in the various states.

Well I have an interview with a doc starting a Medical Aesthetics business tomorrow to work prn to start. Currently he is performing Botox out of his office and wife's hair salon/spa. Any words of advice?

This will be my second interview regarding Medical Aesthetics. I did not get the first job I applied for. It was taken by an LPN with experience in Botox and lasers. Can LPN's perform these procedures in other states as well? I live in TN. Apparently the NPA does not address this at all for TN. I am a little discouraged 'cause I figure an LPN would perform these functions with a lower fee than RN's.

To all of you interested in Esthetics Nursing and all of you working in this field of nursing: HELP! I did goto the Esthetics Skin Institute in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and was trained by Sasha Parker. I spent a small fortune in training, then purchased equipment, etc. Set up shop doind microdermabrasions while looking for a physician so I could do Botox, etc. That was 2 yrs ago! I still have not found a physician to work with me. I did microdermabrasions and wonderful skincare using her line of skinecare, which is wonderful by the way, but you could, and I did, go broke trying to earn a living that way. No doctor will work with me especially in Florida where the Board of Medicine, which regulates doctors, has directly addressed this issue of RNs doing injectibles and clearly stated it was illegal for RNs to do this is this state. When I spoke to Sasha and her staff and told them this "law" came out several months before I spent my life savings going into this, they should have known this, they should have told me this, etc. They told me "the Board of Medicine does not regulate Nursing, only physicians and since the board of nursing has not directly regulated this practice we can go ahead and perform these procedures". Well isn't that great?! So, now I am looking for a doctor to work with me who will be directly going against his governing board. Where do you find a doctor like that? And if you did, would you really want to work with him? Even is you were perfect, eventually something can go wrong, or even just have some one make a complaint, and where do you think your doctor will be? Standing behind you? I don't think so. Not at the expense of his license anyway. So, the moral of this story is I WASTED A TON OF MONEY. Although it seems like it would be a profitable field, and even fun, it ain't gonna happen! At least not in Florida....has anyone had any better experiences with this than I have had? Please reply.

I hate that for FL nurses who went through that course. There is not much you can do except move if you want to perform injectables.

I had no problem here in TN finding a medical director. I actually had to choose out of 2 docs.

Well I am excited to say I injected 3 syringes of Restylane, 100 units of Botox and performed a dental block (not all on the same patient)! I was great. I thin I found my niche!!!

Specializes in Gyn, dermatology, aesthetics, wellness.

Tiffany,

FL seems like such a difficult state to deal with when it comes to this practice. I don't have any words of wisdom. But I hope things work out for you someway, somehow. I think the reality is that we are all going to eventually have this problem...one state at a time. I'm In WV, and we are not up to date on things like FL is. but I'll probably have the same issue several years down the road.

Tanya,

Great to hear that you're doing well! What percentage do you get to keep? Is the doctor there when you do your procedures? Reading your post makes me want to go take the dermal fillers course at AEI (where I learned peels, micro) BUT READ BELOW

Everbody, here is my current issue. I want to learn Botox and Restylane now. BUT I currently don't have a physician for what I'm doing (peels, micro) because I don't have to have one here. But with dermal fillers, I would have to? right? because no matter what state you live in, only a doctor can order those injectables. right? correct me if I'm wrong. SO could a resident be my ordering physician? I've met a few very competent residents here. One in particular who has become a good friend, is finishing up his general surgery residency and starting plastic surgery residency. I would love it if he could be my medical director.

I am finding a recurrent problem. Prospective clients ask "do you do botox", "do you do permanent makeup" etc. And I have to say No. And basically they walk away, and I don't get any business from them. So that's why I feel the need to add more procedures to my practice.

Hey gals

I work entirely free of md involvement. it's the only wasy to go. check your state regs and sometimes they are vagur. here in colorado we can do perm makeup, microderm, lamprobe for skin tags, brown spots etc. i care not to do the fillers because the insurance for one will kill you, it is highly competative so it has driven the prices down and you have to pay an md to sponsor and the spa a fee it;s not worth it. my advice is try to do it yourself so you can keep your profit. i work approx 2-3 days a week, got my husband a DC to go back to nursing school and now we wrok together in a small office low overhead and making outstanding money. NO BOSS

in conclusion do your homework before entering one of the courses that promise. it is up to us to check all avenues in every state we wish ot work.

We haven't decided on a percentage for me yet. Still working on the details. The Botox and Restylane I did today was at cost to my friends, not money made for the MD or myself today.

The MD was there today to verify that I know what I am doing. From here on out, he'll be a phone call away.

You absolutely need an MD for fillers. If you have to choose, take the Botox course first. Botox is in higher demand. Find out if you need an MD for permanent make-up in your state. PM cosmetic tattooist. She is a wealth of info.

I do not know if a resident could be your director. I would think not.

Good luck.

Tiffany,

FL seems like such a difficult state to deal with when it comes to this practice. I don't have any words of wisdom. But I hope things work out for you someway, somehow. I think the reality is that we are all going to eventually have this problem...one state at a time. I'm In WV, and we are not up to date on things like FL is. but I'll probably have the same issue several years down the road.

Tanya,

Great to hear that you're doing well! What percentage do you get to keep? Is the doctor there when you do your procedures? Reading your post makes me want to go take the dermal fillers course at AEI (where I learned peels, micro) BUT READ BELOW

Everbody, here is my current issue. I want to learn Botox and Restylane now. BUT I currently don't have a physician for what I'm doing (peels, micro) because I don't have to have one here. But with dermal fillers, I would have to? right? because no matter what state you live in, only a doctor can order those injectables. right? correct me if I'm wrong. SO could a resident be my ordering physician? I've met a few very competent residents here. One in particular who has become a good friend, is finishing up his general surgery residency and starting plastic surgery residency. I would love it if he could be my medical director.

I am finding a recurrent problem. Prospective clients ask "do you do botox", "do you do permanent makeup" etc. And I have to say No. And basically they walk away, and I don't get any business from them. So that's why I feel the need to add more procedures to my practice.

You don't need an MD to do permanent makeup or microdermabrasion anywhere that I've heard of, it's only cosmetic injectibles which require a MD with an account at Allergan (for Botox) and a DEA number for prescribing drugs. A resident can be your ordering physician. I met two RN's while going thru training and one of their boyfriends was a PA who did all the ordering for them. Sweet deal.

But I really would like to ask you all if you really have much call for permanent makeup in your area of the country. Here in N. FL the only people who get it are oriental and I know an oriental lady who does it. She doesn't make very much, travels from beauty salon to chiropractic to massage therapist, etc. doing a day here and a day there. That way she services all areas of the city and can keep herself in business.

What do ladies have done?

In FL to remove hair you have to have a separate licensing. You have to be a licensed electrologist.

The way aesthetic nursing went away in FL was the doctors went to the legislature and asked for a law when no nurses were looking or paying attention. Keep informed in the area where you work. And I don't want to give you the impression that no nurses do it in FL, down in S. FL there are lots of them breaking the law. The clients don't know. They just want to save some money instead of paying the plastic surgeon to do their Botox. Maybe I will move? RN's doing this in other areas of the country write in and tell us about your experiences where you live - what sells. What price.

Re what the laws are from state to state: Don't just check nursing boards. In FL the nursing board is real vague about nurses doing cosmetic injectibles (which is fine) but the Board of Medicine, which regulates doctors, directly outlaws it. So to find a medical director is impossible. You are trying to find someone who goes directly against their governing board.

You all need to read the aesthetic nursing thread started up above by NurseKimberly to read more about what others are doing. I tell about my experience with aesthetic nursing and it's not good.

So you are saying that as an RN, I do not need a Medical Director to perform micropigmentation? Legally, my RN license covers me? Where can I find out for sure? There is not much about it in the Nurse Practice Act.

You don't need an MD to do permanent makeup or microdermabrasion anywhere that I've heard of, it's only cosmetic injectibles which require a MD with an account at Allergan (for Botox) and a DEA number for prescribing drugs. A resident can be your ordering physician. I met two RN's while going thru training and one of their boyfriends was a PA who did all the ordering for them. Sweet deal.

But I really would like to ask you all if you really have much call for permanent makeup in your area of the country. Here in N. FL the only people who get it are oriental and I know an oriental lady who does it. She doesn't make very much, travels from beauty salon to chiropractic to massage therapist, etc. doing a day here and a day there. That way she services all areas of the city and can keep herself in business.

What do ladies have done?

In FL to remove hair you have to have a separate licensing. You have to be a licensed electrologist.

The way aesthetic nursing went away in FL was the doctors went to the legislature and asked for a law when no nurses were looking or paying attention. Keep informed in the area where you work. And I don't want to give you the impression that no nurses do it in FL, down in S. FL there are lots of them breaking the law. The clients don't know. They just want to save some money instead of paying the plastic surgeon to do their Botox. Maybe I will move? RN's doing this in other areas of the country write in and tell us about your experiences where you live - what sells. What price.

So you are saying that as an RN, I do not need a Medical Director to perform micropigmentation? Legally, my RN license covers me? Where can I find out for sure? There is not much about it in the Nurse Practice Act.

I don't know that much about micropigmentation - like I said not many ladies get that here. The oriental lady who does it here also teaches it. I'm certain she is not an RN - she may have a MD somewhere I am not sure.

The Nurse Practice Act varies from state to state but the fact that it is not specifically addressed is what most RN's are counting on. "If it isn't specifically outlawed then we can do it" seems to be the idea. It will take awhile for the legislative bodies to move - to catch up with trends. I only know CA and AZ have specifically addressed this. Maybe you girls know of others?

Like I mentioned in my long-winded statement above, the doctors in this state (FL) are the ones who moved quickly on the legislation. The electrologists moved so quickly (to make it to where you have to have a separate license to remove hair)no on realized the legislation had happened. You have to find out about the laws in your particular state. And take my bad experience and learn from it - just because others are doing it doesn't make it legal. The person who taught me said we could, later a doctor found the exact law for me and showed it to me before I would believe it.

Where you can find out for sure is from the people who provide your insurance - you bet they know.

I wanted to give my two cents here. I've been an aesthetic nurse since 2005, have my own med spa. I would have done better and made more money without all the stress by just being a regular floor nurse. I don't advise going into this field, it's an extremely expensive business to be in and if your paying a doctor, rent, equipment lease, ins, etc. you will soon find that there is nothing left over for you. Competition is fierce, laws constantly change, it's not a glorious high paying job as some may have you think.

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