All opinions appreciated about becoming an aesthetic RN

[Arkrn]

Hello to everyone. I have always enjoyed this site, and learning from the postings of fellow nurses. Now, however, I find myself in the position to stand on the other side and respectfully request any input from any and all of you concerning an issue that is very important to me. I have been an RN since 1985......and also flew as a Flight Attendant. Five years ago, I was diagnosed with a rather annoying case of metastatic bone cancer. I was given sort of poor prognosis (6 months or less).....yet.....after chemo, radiation, and some surgery....I am doing fine. As still on maintainece chemo once a month. Either I am truly blessed......or some sort of alien.......or both. I do not divulge this for any pity.....as I am very joyful and do not really wish for any. At any rate, I had to leave my flying career, and have returned to nursing part time. Currently working for a hospice PRN.....and doing some research for a group of attorneys here in Little Rock. However, the field of aesthetic nursing has really caught my eye (and man...did that ever hurt ) I requiired some facial reconstruction, and the dermal fillers available today have been a godsend. I have looked into several courses that offer such training.....and am leaning towards the Aesthetic Enhancement Institute. The tuition is around $3,500 for dermal filler instruction.....which would take the majority of my savings. However, I personally feel I would enjoy this type of work.........and am excited at the possibility of pursuing it. My questions are 1) Is it truly possible to earn a decent living working in the profession, 2) How does one go about getting a medical director to work under, 3) Are there any former students of the Aesthetic Enhancement Institute....and if so....how do you rate the training and are you in the field currently?, and 4) I do not wish to open up my own shop.....but work contract with the several skin clinics locally. Well.....for those of you who have not dozed off by now because of my long-winded missive. any opinion of assistance you could provide will be very much appreciated. Thank you, and my very best to you all..

[mharrah]

First off, it's wonderful that you're doing so well after such a poor prognosis.

I attended AEI. I thought the instruction was wonderful while I was there. There was excellent hands on training with real people and plenty of time to ask questions. I was disappointed, however, at their lack of response to my emails after I got back home and had some questions especially since they claim to be there for you for life. I still feel that their training is probably the best though. So if you go, try to think of all the questions while you're there. The way I started out is this: I took the facial aesthetic courses, went home and ordered the chemical peels, practiced on myself several times then my family and friends and moved on from there gradually increasing. I opened up a little office and soon after bought a microdermabrasion unit (which I'm still making payments on and have not profitted from yet :-( ) I really enjoy doing the procedures. However, this summer, my clientele dropped off the face of the earth. My business has not recovered yet, and I am in the red and had to get a full time nursing job with a wellness company to pay for my aesthetic business debt (but I like the new job). So this means no time to spend at my own office, which makes it look like a closed business and lowers clientele interest even more. So I may have to close soon. I'm not trying to be pessimistic. I guess I'm just suggesting to really consider the cost of your business and if you can afford it. Even if you don't have your own business, the cost of training, insurance, etc, is still a lot. I wish you the best of luck. I would love to see individual nurses succeed in this area, because I think nurses do it best!!