Opening or closing the door to aesthetics?

Should aesthetics be a field of practice for anyone other than doctors, dentists and nurses? It is fair to say that most medical professionals in aesthetics (doctors, dentists and nurses) are relatively unified on the matter of lay persons being prohibited from performing injectable treatments, but where there does appear to be some division is on other professions, like the wide array of healthcare professionals (HCPs) whose presence in this sector is growing.

Whereas some individuals are adamant that this is not a field of medicine that should be opened up to anyone beyond doctor, nurse or dentist, others have a more left-field view, acknowledging that it is not always a black and white issue. As with any topic, once we delve deeper than the surface of this debate it becomes very clear that this issue is about something more complex than a mere title.

Almost a year ago, the Private Independent Aesthetic Practices Association (PIAPA) was approached by a physiotherapist registered with the Health & Care Professionals Council (HCPC) to enquire about membership with the association. Our automatic response was that we accept only nurses, doctors and dentists; however, once pressed for an explanation, we found it increasingly difficult to explain why this was, other than a historical unwritten consensus that only these professionals were sufficiently experienced enough to perform non-surgical aesthetic treatments.