What a fabulous month March has been, with the glimmers of spring arriving and the start of some promising medical aesthetic events. While I was not personally present for this year's event, I thoroughly enjoyed watching from afar how everyone interacted and came together for the Aesthetics Conference and Exhibition (ACE) and even more so delighted in the outcome of the Aesthetics Awards ceremony. The British Association of Cosmetic Nurses (BACN) took home the award for Professional Initiative of the year for their code of professional conduct. This is an extremely important piece of work that will help to lead the way for nurses in medical aesthetics. Well-deserved congratulations are due to Anna Baker and Sharon Bennett (chair of BACN), the driving forces behind this remarkable piece of work, which highlights the ethos and key principles of medical aesthetic practise for nurses. Given the unfortunate recent press negative coverage related to unsafe practice, this work comes at very appropriate timing. The very fact that BACN nurses are striving to regulate their practice and regularly highlight the absolute necessity for good practice will undoubtedly bring us even more credibility and respect. This professional code was a huge project that was a result of the contribution and input of many experienced aesthetic nurses who should be feeling very proud, especially when considering the other exceptional pieces of work that were submitted into this category.
It was also heartwarming to see Julie Scott win aesthetic nurse practitioner of the year at the Aesthetics Awards ceremony. Julie also spoke on success and professionalism at the BACN Spring symposium on 29 April 2022. A further congratulations goes out to Aine Larkin, Emma Heaney and Susan Young, who all stood out in this year's awards. All these awards are a real credit to the aesthetic nursing profession and reflect a celebration of best practice within medical aesthetics.
A great deal has already been said and written about the need for change in a profession that is regularly brought into media attention, and not always for the right reasons. In the current climate, change is inevitable. For the first time, we are seeing a wide range of reactions and initiatives from the Government and regulatory bodies that clearly point the finger to genuine willingness to clamp down on poor practice. The increasing and frantic reporting from the media on both unethical practice and the use of inappropriate products, such as ‘black market Botox’, has likely accelerated the process (Wace and Morgan-Bentley, 2022). In all fairness, as the health secretary and others have highlighted, the vast majority of medical practitioners demonstrate good practice. However, complacency should be avoided at any cost, and our profession will gain a great deal by adopting zero tolerance towards those medical professionals who either facilitate or conduct unsafe practice.
At all times, nurses should adhere to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of conduct, which encompasses the pillars of prioritising people; practising effectively; preserving safety; and promoting professionalism and trust (NMC, 2015). We must align together with our medical colleagues to share a common goal of shaping what is required and feed this back to key stakeholders to promote safety in medical aesthetics, particularly in regard to injectable invasive treatments.