After 3 years, the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses (BACN) finally got to hold its autumn conference. Occurring in the midst of national mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, the conference was opened by Sharon Bennett, BACN chair, presenting a fitting tribute to Queen Elizabeth, who was a patron of many nursing organisations and supported nurses and related issues throughout her long reign. This followed with a minute's silence while images of Her Majesty meeting and honouring nurses flashed up on the big screen. There was also a book of condolences that delegates could add personal messages to, which has joined the national book of condolence.
This year, the venue was a new one to the BACN: the Eastside Rooms in Birmingham. The first thing you noticed upon entering was the flower wall in the BACN colours, then there was the registration desk where delegate badges and goody bags could be collected. Despite having some teething issues with the audiovisual on the first day, this was rectified, and it did not detract from the very engaging programme.
The exhibition space had an intimate feel and was not intimidating for delegates, as they walked through engaging with exhibitors who consisted of sponsors, industry, insurance, media, products and treatments that can go towards enhancing their skillset and clinic spaces.
The delegates found the agenda to be relevant, educational and evidence-based, with some thought-provoking presentations. Subjects covered included sessions on psychosocial screening, with a theme of ‘perception drift’ that popped up in other sessions. This is regarding how a patient's perception might change after an aesthetic procedure, previous issues are now changed for other issues as they continuously change their baseline forgetting what they looked like before treatment (Sola and Fabi, 2019).
Other presentations helped in demystifying the proposed licensing system for regulated healthcare practitioners and what the public consultation exercise will be. Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration and VAT are definitely matters that bring fear and apprehension into the hearts of our members, and getting our nurses prepared for the major changes ahead is a continuing theme for the BACN. Along with the usual medical presentations and demonstrations, which were well received, Lorna Bowes gave an inspirational speech on her journey from being an NHS nurse to becoming a successful entrepreneur.
The BACN board and regional leaders would like to thank all presenters and companies that contributed to making this conference such a success.
On the Thursday evening, there was a social gathering, sponsored by Aesthetic Source, which celebrated its 10th anniversary at the conference, for networking and meeting up with colleagues and friends, many of whom we have not seen since before the lockdown. Thank you, Lorna Bowes.
Another thank you to the friendly faces of security who we recognised from Edgbaston, our previous venue, and, along with Danny Large, became part of our conference family. Finally, the BACN does not even realise how special an organisation it is, and having a conference for nurses and giving them safe spaces to acknowledge and celebrate their professional place in the field of medical aesthetics helps prove that. The BACN continues to grow, with nearly 1200 members now enrolled, we all look forward to our autumn round of regional meetings and our spring symposium in London. Alongside these member service activities, we will continue to campaign and make the case for medically led aesthetic treatments and training as we enter a critical phase in the development of new regulatory frameworks.