The BACN have worked hard over many years, using evidence and reasoning to argue that the delivery of invasive aesthetic treatments should only be performed by a qualified healthcare professional, such as a nurse or doctor. Unfortunately, for too long, medical aesthetics has been glamourised within the media, and there has been a lack of understanding of the speciality from the government.
Due to the ever-changing rotation of ministers, they fail to consider what is truly required to deliver a safe and effective treatment, clinical management of the patient, and how they are cared for if they return with side effects or adverse events. The skills of a registered nurse are beyond the needle in the skin, and our wider depth of knowledge is essential for patient wellbeing and safety. This comes from the minimum of 3 years training as a nurse, on wards and at the sharp end of clinical practice. Our training and subsequent working as qualified nurses in a hospital setting has enabled us to consult, assess, diagnose, review medications, consent, carry out complex procedures in complex scenarios, give patient care physically and psychologically, become independent non-medical prescribers, and become advanced nurse practitioners.
Why become an independent non-medical prescriber?
Being an independent nurse prescriber has become increasingly important for nurses who work within medical aesthetics, for both the welfare of our patients and for our patient management.
Ideally, we should be able to complete the full circle of care for our patients, and prescribing is part of this. The BACN does not yet know what any new legislation will dictate, but there is a strong likelihood for it to be a future requirement to be able to work independently. It is anticipated that the drive to increase patient safety will stimulate a change in practice, where a prescribing health care professional will need to be on site during all treatments where a prescribed medicine is used, or the management of a complication from a treatment needs a prescribed medication.
A prescribing qualification enables the medical aesthetics nurse in many ways, not least to fully look after the patient independently, but also to offer a wider scope of services that now encapsulate aesthetic medicine, such as wellness and regenerative medicine.
The prescribing process is shown to consist of much more than the issuing of a prescription, and the nurse is well suited to this holistic approach to patient management. Prescribing develops and encourages the critical thinking skills to question your own practice. It helps with reasoning and competence of drug prescribing, not only those aligned to your practice but of your patient's medication history also. Prescribing teaches you the interactions of drugs, the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Will any medication you prescribe interact with your patient's current medication? It's also worth noting that the Royal College of Nursing requires the prescribing qualification, along with other criteria, to become an advanced nurse practitioner.
Many BACN members have now utilised the BACN/Church Pharmacy Bursary Award to undertake the V300, and interested members can find the information and how to apply on the BACN website under education. The BACN is here to help you and we have experienced nurses who can mentor and support your applications. We also have access to a bursary for research and the Map-IQ Assessor programme which can also be found on the website.
BACN updates
Our membership continues to grow, with almost 1300 members, and we know how critical education, training and CPD is to our members. We have now constituted a new BACN Education and Training Committee chaired by Rachel Goddard. This Committee has developed an action plan which will be used to drive forward projects in this area in 2024. Management Committee member Linda Mather is creating educational content for new BACN nurses coming into the specialty, and our BACN Regional Leaders have looked at all the topics that members need support with and are keen to learn more about.
Our largest project to date in this area is the updating of the BACN Competency Framework for Aesthetic Nurses which is being led by Management Committee Member Anna Baker. This will be revealed at the BACN Spring Symposium in April. We are confident that these BACN competencies are more detailed and thorough than any other that has been produced by the aesthetic sector to date. It is testament to the experts who have contributed and written them, those who have peer-reviewed, and will set the context for many activities in education and training.
The anticipation surrounding the BACN Spring Symposium taking place at the King's Fund on April 19th has been incredible, and we are very lucky for it to be sold out once more. The day aims to cover a diverse range of new and dynamic topics tailored specifically for advanced practitioners in the field and has become a regular date in the BACN events calendar, so if you miss 2024 then be sure to attend in 2025.
Speakers include Dr Anoob Pakkar-Hull, Dr Patrick Treacy, Dr Wassim Taktouk, Dr Nichola Conlon, Claudia McGloin and BACN nurses Julie Scott, Michelle Mclean, Helen Hunt, Fiona Wondergem, Anna Baker, and Emma Wedgwood. We are very proud that 7 out of 11 of our speakers are nurses, and the BACN is committed to ensuring nurses take centre stage at our events. Tickets are already on sale for our flagship event, the BACN Autumn Aesthetic Conference, taking place on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th September 2024, once more at The Eastside Rooms, Birmingham. With some really exciting speakers to be announced, we have a whole load of ticket options available for you. We would love it if every BACN member could come along and be part of a very special two days for nurses working in medical aesthetics – and I hope to see you there!