Breaking into aesthetics!!

[nurseaj2017]

Hi all! I am a new member to allnurses but I have been using it as a helpful resource for a while now. I am now 9 months away from graduating from my ABSN program in Houston, Texas. I am trying to begin to look around for places to work that interest me or find someone that will take me under their wing as a shadow student before graduation. I have learned a lot about myself over the past year and I am interested in working outside of the hospital for many reasons. One area of extreme interest is aesthetics. Unfortunately, I have no experience in the field and as I said, I will be a new grad with no nursing experience either. I understand what I am looking for may be a challenge to find but does anyone work for or know of any places or personally hire new grads into this field? I have found a few places that claim they will train but I'd prefer to hear from someone personally. I am willing to move outside of Texas, either to the Denver area, Seattle area, or if absolutely necessary, different areas of California. It is hard to find many places hiring here in Houston and there are many current postings on this topic without responses. I hope that I am able to get a response from the lovely community here and thank you so much in advance!

[RNgirly07]

Hello there! I am an aesthetics nurse working for Ideal Image. I know there are offices in Texas and Colorado (not California for sure). We have hired new grads and the training is completely paid for. Depending on the state, you may need to be an NP though. It's an awesome, low stress, fun job! Good luck with your nursing career. If you have any questions you can message me. I have also worked in ortho, medicine, and OR, and I am in NP school now.

[nurseaj2017]

Thank you so much for replying! I have seen on Indeed some openings for RN's at Ideal Image but it is nice to hear from someone actually working there. In Texas you do not have to be an NP but I will be going down that route sooner than later. I would really like to get my foot in the door somehow and show my interest early on so I was just wondering if the setting is a good one for students or if you feel it is a good environment for shadowing. I know some nurses suggest going into med/surg or the hospital first but I also have been encouraged to go after what I want so I am going to do my best to make it happen. Thanks again!

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

You absolutely DO NOT have to go the 1 year of med-surg route once you graduate in order to do anything else. I did not accept that as something for myself and my career and I set my sites with laser precision on figuring out what I needed to do to make what for me (pediatric hemonc at a premier children's hospital) was my ultimate goal.

That said, I do not have much in the way of offering anything other than general advice for your journey. If you voice your interest in aesthetics nursing to clinical instructors and preceptors, maybe you can kind of put feelers out there and see what you get. If you can find several places that require the kind of nurse you aspire to be, call them up and see if you can shadow. Make your best impression. If they allow you to shadow repeatedly, take advantage of that offer. Make your face known and familiar and associated with enthusiasm and positive energy (and, please, bring your resume the first time you shadow). Meet who you need to meet and see what other nurses did to get to where you are. Don't give up on the vision. Whatever you need to do during school to enhance your resume and remain competitive is no longer extracurricular -- it's absolutely mandatory!

Good luck!