The medical aesthetics nurse is someone with whom many people are not familiar, but the job is experiencing rapid growth as more and more people turn to advanced medical solutions to mitigate visible signs of aging. The aesthetics nurse is a medical practitioner, someone who is trained and certified to perform a range of non-surgical, anti-aging treatments, such as those involving cold therapy, lasers, and skin rejuvenation.
What is the Average Salary for a Medical Aesthetics Nurse?
Nurse practioners, with whom aesthetics nurses are associated by dint of requisite certifications, earn significantly more than the default average for registered nurses: nearly $110,000 per year. However, nurses who are employed in private plastic surgery practices may earn substantially more.
What is the Starting Salary for a Medical Aesthetics Nurse?
The starting salary for nurses across the board is on the rise thanks to a pronounced need for new nursing professionals. Aesthetics nurses earn more than $95,000 per year as an average starting rate, thanks to the steady growth in demand for their services.
What are the Key Responsibilities of the Position?
In terms of procedure, the medical aesthetics nurse needs to stay on top of the latest developments in aesthetics and plastic surgery. They are responsible for assisting with surgical procedures, including preparing the operating area, and monitoring patient vitals during a procedure. They are also responsible for carrying out the individual treatments involved in non-surgical procedures, many of which may take multiple sessions over the course of weeks or months. These may include injections, laser treatments, heat- and cold-based therapies, and a range of skin rejuvenation therapies.
What Skills are Needed?
The goal of a medical aesthetics nurse is to improve a patient’s psychological self-image through the mitigation of aging signs, resulting in a more youthful appearance overall. This combines the traditional nursing skill set, in which a patient’s health and overall well-being must be assessed, with the need to be able to evaluate a patient’s mental well-being and psycho-social health. The aesthetics nurse’s therapeutic responsibilities require familiarity with a range of procedures and devices that are not covered by a standard nursing program.
What are the Educational Requirements?
A Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing degree is the preferred degree program for becoming an aesthetics nurse. While it is not necessarily required, it represents a substantial qualifications boost within this highly competitive field. An Associate’s Degree in Nursing may be enough to secure employment within a hospital or clinical setting, but a more advanced degree is almost certain required for employment with a private practice. In addition to a BSN, the ideal candidate will have experience in a related field of nursing, as well post-baccalaureate certification.
Rewards and Challenges of Being a Medical Aesthetics Nurse
It’s difficult to overlook the compensation available to the aesthetics nurse when outlining the pros of the position. The average starting pay for a registered nurse is approximately $66,000 per year; that’s high, relatively to many professions, but an aesthetics nurse can expect to earn up to $30,000 more than that, per year, right away. In addition, the aesthetics nurse assists directly with helping patients feel better about themselves, and offers a certain amount of job satisfaction as such. In terms of professional challenges, the field of aesthetics medicine does provide an experience that is not universally well-received, and it lacks the life-saving aspects of other surgical fields. Additionally, the aesthetics nurse has a varied and demanding set of responsibilities, drawing upon skills otherwise inherent to several different branches of nursing.
How to Get Started
In addition to the appropriate degree program, most often a BSN, an aspiring medical aesthetics nurse should possess 2-4 years of experience in a related field of nursing. Examples of potentially relevant nursing fields include dermatology, which relates directly to skin care and skin rejuvenation, as well as operating roo nursing or emergency room nursing. Both OR and ER nurses possess skill sets which tie in closely in several respects to the demands that will be made on the abilities of an aesthetics nurse. A wide range of colleges and professional associations related to plastic surgery and aesthetics medicine offer certifications relating to aesthetics treatments, anti-aging therapies, and face and body sculpting. The current ranking credential in this regard, the Certified Plastic Surgical Nurse (or CPSN) credential, is offered by the Plastic Surgical Nursing Certification Board. This requires that a candidate be a licensed RN, and have two years’ experience working in plastic surgery. It is required to reach the highest levels of compensation within the profession.
What is the Future Job Outlook Like?
America’s population is growing rapidly, and a substantial number of people belong to aging generations (most notably the baby boomers, the only generation recognized as a distinct demographic by the US Census Bureau). Thanks in part to a widespread regard for the merits of a youthful appearance, more and more people are turning to plastic surgery and aesthetics medicine to help maintain their self-image. Anti-agathics and “anagathics,” once the domain of fringe science fiction, are now an increasing focus of popular science and technology writing (as well as seeing an expanding role in a wide range of media). From 2011 to 2012, the number of aesthetics nursing positions available in the US increased by 3.1%. The average annual growth rate for all professions, during this same period, was less than 1%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not track medical aesthetics nursing data separately from that of registered nurses, but it does note a projected 10-year growth rate of 12% or more (significantly higher than the national average) for other skin-care and aesthetics specialists.
As America’s aging population grows, and a fascination with a youthful appearance endures as a benchmark in our society, anti-aging treatments will continue to increase in popularity. Most sources of information agree that there are decades of specific growth potential left in this particular specialization of the medical and healthcare industry within the United States.
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