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Find the most common questions and answers related to becoming and practicing as an aesthetic nurse in Ireland.
An aesthetic nurse is an RGN who trains in the aesthetic medicine field.
Step 1: Become a Nurse (RGN) by studying for your nursing degree (four years) available at UCC or DCU, amongst others. More information on the degree programmes can be found here and here. General guidance can also be found through the NMBI here.
Step 2: Gain at least three years of post-graduate general adult nursing experience. However, it is possible to start earlier in the aesthetic medicine field.
Step 3: Start training with a reputable aesthetic medicine training organisation. Remember, as a Nurse in Ireland, you cannot administer botulinum toxin. However, if you are going to work in the UK, Australia or Canada as examples, you can train in botulinum toxin and then practice in one of those countries.
Nurses make great aesthetic practitioners; with the proper education, you can build a rewarding career. If you want to become an aesthetic nurse, look at these courses. Aesthetic Skin Complete, Dermal Filler for Nurses.
A medical background is a minimum requirement to train in dermal filler.
You must be medically qualified to train in Ireland in dermal filler. A qualified nurse, doctor or dentist with current registration with the NMBI, IMC or IDC. Nurses cannot administer botulinum toxin in Ireland.
If you are an international learner, it is a requirement to hold a current medical or nursing degree and be able to prove membership to an oversight body. Depending on the course, you might also be required to prove your English proficiency. English language level of International English Language Testing Systems (IELTS) 7.0 in all components or equivalent will be required if English is not the learner’s first language.
Only NMBI or equivalent registered RGNs Midwives; Psychiatric nurses can train in dermal filler procedures. Dental nurses can train as aesthetic therapists.
There are two educational pathways for aesthetics. Aesthetic medicine and aesthetic beauty.
Aesthetic medicine requires a medical background, such as already being a nurse, doctor or dentist; from there, you can start your aesthetic medicine training. Typically you would start with a foundation course, from there, you can either work in the sector as an employee or start your own aesthetic practice.
Aesthetic beauty is the non-injectable side of aesthetics. Procedures such as skin peels, micro-needling, laser and IPL treatments, and many other modalities are available to the aesthetic beauty therapist. School leavers are able to start their career in aesthetic beauty by enrolling in a course such as this.
Mono threads are suitable for nurses to train in.
PDO thread lifting with the use of COG and Screw requires the prescribing and administering of local anaesthetic. PDO thread lifting is classified as minor surgery and needs to be performed in a sterile environment. Due to the usage of a local anaesthetic to perform the procedure, nurses in Ireland cannot train in thread lifting.
Thread training is PDO and is suitable for doctors, while nurses can train in mono threads.
During the PDO Thread Lift Course, a doctor will learn a combination of techniques to achieve mid and lower face rejuvenation for their patients, gain the ability to assess where different thread techniques may be appropriate and collect an extensive understanding of the PDO product along with the results that can be attained.
While PROFHILO is a good tissue stimulator, it is fifteen years old, and technology has advanced.
Jalupro Super Hydro could be better than PROFHILO due to the formulation with amino acids and peptides. It provides more hydration than PROFHILO and is suitable for clients with severely dehydrated skin. One of the major points of Jalupro Superhydro is it can be used in combination with Jalupro Classic and Jalupro HMW; this allows further tailoring of results to achieve a better aesthetic outcome than PROFHILO alone,
There is always work in the aesthetics sector for well-trained nurses.
Nurses have an integral role in the aesthetics sector. While it is true that nurses cannot administer botulinum toxin in Ireland, making finding work more challenging, nurses are still in demand for a range of procedures. Medical aesthetics, as the broader field, is a high-growth industry; even in a recession, the beauty sector is somewhat recession-proof. Ireland has many high-profile aesthetic nurses that have forged fantastic careers. Our company employs many nurses, and some of our educators are nurses. Aesthetic nursing is like any career; you get out what you put in; it all starts with the right attitude and fantastic training.
A degree in Nursing, Dentistry or Medicine is required for aesthetic medicine.
A medical background is desired to be a professional, insured aesthetic practitioner with oversight from a regulatory board. In Ireland, Nurses, Doctors and Dentists make up the majority of aesthetic practitioners. As most aesthetic practitioners come from the medical field, a degree in medicine, dentistry or nursing is required. Aesthetic practitioners then require qualifications such as a Level 7 in Aesthetic medicine or a CPD in dermal filler and botulinum toxin. Professional indemnity insurance is also required, and maintaining registration with the NMBI, IMC or DCI
Nurses are unable to administer Botox in Ireland.
Only doctors and dentists can administer botulinum toxin in the republic of Ireland. Nurses still have a solid career path in medical aesthetics delivering dermal filler, tissue stimulators or a host of other procedures, including platelet-rich plasma.
Currently, a master’s in aesthetic medicine is the closest to a degree programme in Ireland.
The Level 7 programme is the closest qualification to a degree. Training to a Level 7 standard provides a robust education foundation. From that foundation, you can then train in many other modalities like tissue stimulators, bio-remodellers, and advanced facial rejuvenation masterclasses. A degree programme in aesthetics will likely come out soon enough that it already exists in countries like Australia, so we anticipate it will not be too long until Ireland also has a degree in aesthetic medicine.
Unfortunately, the typical medical term “practitioner” has been hijacked by beauty therapists, mainly in the UK trying to look more legitimate for delivering dermal filler and Botox when a medical degree is required. It is more common now for the medical sector to use the term “medical aesthetic practitioner” so that the general public can identify professionally administered medical procedures. Nurses and doctors alike are encouraged to use terms such as Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Aesthetic Practitioner or Medical Aesthetic Practitioner. No longer is the term “practitioner” an indication of a medically licenced practitioner, and we need to be more diligent for the general public’s safety.
CQC is a UK initiative as such Irish practitioners do not need to be CQC registered as it is not applicable to Ireland.
However, using the CQC as a guideline for setting up and delivering advanced procedures could be seen as best practice. Ireland will have more oversight in time and setting up to follow best practices will future-proof your clinic.
Doctors, nurses and dentists that have already completed a dermal filler or botulinum toxin course can train in PROFHILO or other tissue stimulators such as Jalupro, Restylane Vital, SuneKos, Sculptra and PureSense Redensity 1.
Tissue stimulators are of the regenerative aesthetic medicine category as they stimulate the production of elastin and collagen. Perfect for clients with dehydrated skin who do not want the volume that dermal filler adds or look for the next level in skin health.
Any provider that says their course is the best for botulinum toxin training, and then you see it is a one-day course, it is not a good course.
No one, no doctor, dentist or plastic surgeon can gain competence on a one-day foundation course. We have lost count of the delegates that attend our training that has already done one, even two or more one-day courses only not to implement the training. A one-day foundation course is not training; it is an introduction.
Providing robust training with an outcome of confidence and competence is expensive and logistically challenging. Providing theory and practical training on a single day, logic alone dictates this is not a great deal of time to learn a new tactile skill with multiple indications. One-day botulinum toxin courses make providers a great deal of money; they are easy to run, low cost to host, and the reward is massive for the provider.
There is so much to learn apart from the tactile skill. Understanding patient needs, psychological drivers, and patient care. Protocols and dilution rates differ from brand to brand; effectiveness, and patient profile, are all components that go into an ethical training course. Patient physiology varies depending on age and lifestyle; all these things feed into product selection, technique and ultimately, the aesthetic outcome. It is not only impossible to be confident after injecting a bit of one face; it is wasting your time and money. We get a little hot under the collar with the state of medical aesthetic training as it is driven by medical professionals who should have a higher level of ethics.
The best Botox® certification is where you finish the training course feeling confident, competent to start implementing the procedures immediately and able to answer your client’s questions with knowledgeable confidence.
Aesthetic beauty provides a rewarding career for people wanting to enter aesthetics without holding a medical or nursing degree.
Level 4 qualifications are the follow on level after the level 3 qualification.
Level 4 in Laser & Light
Level 4 in Skin Peels
Level 4 in Skin Needling
These are just some of the Level 4 qualifications available to delegates without medical qualifications. There is also an entry course for school leavers. This Level 4 Diploma in Aesthetic Beauty provides school leavers with a rewarding career option without having to study in the typical tanning and nail qualifications.
No, in Ireland only Doctors and Dentists with current IMC or IDC regulating board registration can administer Botulinum toxin. Classed as a POM (prescription only medicine) Botulinum toxin requires prescribing to the patient before adminestering.
Today’s learners are looking for advanced skincare courses over traditional beauty therapy
It depends on the level you are currently at. If you hold no qualifications and are looking to enter beauty therapy, you require a foundation qualification. Typically, a Level 2 and 3 in Beauty Therapy include makeup, nails and tanning. Many of today’s learners are looking for a course that does not provide traditional beauty but rather looks to enter aesthetic therapy. Aesthetic therapy centres around the more advanced side of the sector. Examples are laser and light treatments, skin peels, micro-needling, and many other machine-based therapies. In this case, a course like the Level 4 Diploma in Aesthetic Therapy is more suiting.
Also known as an esthetician, cosmetologist, and beauty therapist.
Different countries call beauty therapists by different terms. Estheticians are in high demand. The job outlook for skincare specialists are excellent for the 2020s: The EU Bureau of Statistics has said that positions are growing at 17% PA between 2019 and 2029, a rate much more robust than the average job. The entire aesthetics sector is growing year on year and there seems to be no stopping the demand for well-trained beauty therapists.
Chemical skin peels for indemnity insurance require a Level 4 qualification.
Insurance requirements are driving the need for higher qualifications for many aesthetic therapies. Skin Peels, Micro-needling and Laser & Light (IPL) all require Level 4 qualifications to satisfy insurance requirements and provide safe treatment for the general public. All these courses are regulated by an external awarding body such as ITEC/VTCT. Typically before enrolling on these courses, you require a baseline qualification such as NVQ level 3 beauty therapy or NVQ level 2 in facials and skin care combined with a level 3 in anatomy and physiology (ANP)
CIDESCO was the most relevant and recognised qualification in the beauty and spa sector. However, times change, and now a Level 4 foundation course qualification provides a more relevant education than the CIDESCO diploma.
Learners who want to enter the beauty sector and are not interested in the typical tanning, makeup and nails can now enter the sector at level 4. Level 4 in aesthetic beauty provides a fit-for-purpose education to school leavers who want a rewarding career with a worldwide qualification.
Beauty therapists do not possess the correct medical background to administer dermal filler
Beauty therapists should not administer dermal filler. They do not hold the correct medical licence to address complications, such as using Hyaluronidases (POM) to dissolve filler, a family of enzymes that catalyse the degradation of hyaluronic acid. The magority of dermal fillers also contains Lidocaine. Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic which numbs the area; it works by stopping nerves from sending pain signals to the brain.
Becoming a skin care specialist starts with the right course
Level 4 in Aesthetic Therapy provides the perfect foundation for school leavers and mature-age students looking to become advanced beauty therapists. The course provides all the advanced treatments such as laser and light, skin peels, micro-needling, and advanced facials. The course is regulated and recognised worldwide.
Micro-needling for indemnity insurance requires a Level 4 qualification.
Insurance requirements are driving the need for higher qualifications for many aesthetic therapies. Skin Peels, Micro-needling and Laser & Light (IPL) all require Level 4 qualifications to satisfy insurance requirements and provide safe treatment for the general public. All these courses are regulated by an external awarding body such as ITEC/VTCT. Typically before enrolling on these courses, you require a baseline qualification such as NVQ level 3 beauty therapy or NVQ level 2 in facials and skin care combined with a level 3 in anatomy and physiology (ANP)
Many pathways exist for learners wishing to become a beautician in Ireland.
Traditional routes include the level 2 and 3 beauty specialists diploma in combination with the CIDESCO qualification. However, today learners are looking to become advanced skincare estheticians without the traditional beauty therapy foundation, i.e. no hair, nails, tanning or makeup. Learners are now able to enter the beauty sector at level 4. This advancement in qualifications provides a direct pathway for the school leaver that was never available until recently.
Find the most common questions and answers related to the regulated level 7 qualification.
For entry onto the VTCT (ITEC) Level 7 Diploma in Clinical Aesthetic Injectable Treatments, learners must:
Learners are not required to be independent prescribers as they will be supervised at all times by a qualified prescribing practitioner, who will have ultimate clinical oversight.
Registered doctors, dentists and nurses can enrol on the course. However, even with the level 7 qualification that does not supersede the Irish law as such nurses are still unable to administer botulinum tox in the Republic of Ireland.
International learners: Our theory programme is delivered online; this means that international students can complete the theory component and travel to Ireland only for practical training and examination requirements.
Local learners: As above, the theory can be completed online while attending college for the practical component.
RPL learners: If you successfully qualify for recognition of prior learning, it is possible to complete the qualification without attending the training academy.
What institutions and the level 7 call mentoring sessions we call practical training. Delegates go through their practical training with instructional doctors and nurses. Typically our training is 1:2 one watches while the other performs the procedure and then swaps. Each delegate is instructed by one of our medical educators.
Assessment is both work-based and observation based.
Formative clinical case studies (DOPS) – Externally set, internally marked and externally quality assured. The case studies contribute to the formative assessment outcome of the qualification.
Assignment – Literature review report – Externally set, internally marked and externally quality assured. Learners are required to prepare a literature review report (between 1,500- 2,000 words) literature review report on a clinically related topic relevant to aesthetic practice.
Assignment – Short answer response – Externally set, internally marked and externally quality assured. The short answer response assignment assesses knowledge and understanding from the breadth of content within the units.
Summative external theory examination – Externally set and externally marked examination. The examination assesses knowledge and understanding from the breadth of the content within the units. The external theory examination contributes to the summative assessment outcome of the qualification. The external theory examination will occur at the learning period’s end.
Summative final practical assessment (DOPS) – Externally set, internally marked and externally quality assured overarching assessment that assesses the learner’s technical skills and abilities. The final summative practical assessment contributes to the assessment outcome of the qualification. The summative practical assessment will take place on the final case study supervised treatment at the end of the learning period. Learners will be required to undertake a summative practical assessment for the following treatments:
Practical training days are based on full training days, supplemented by online learning materials and training videos. Mentoring sessions vary day by day. Training days are provided with varying dates and you select what suits you best, The rest of the course comprises theoretical reading, training videos and coursework – this can all be completed at your own pace. As such the full qualification from start to finish is flexible but can be completed from around 9 to 24 months.
All delegates that completed our foundation course in botoliumn toxin and dermal filler are eligible to apply for RPL. RPL will differ for each practitioner. It could be the vase you are a very experienced practitioner and can provide sufficient evidence of your previous cases and relevant CPD and training evidence. In that case, you may be able to simply complete a few written assignments to prove your theoretical understanding.
Taking into consideration what we just said in the previous question, the Level 7 diploma requires you to record 10 observed toxin treatments, 10 performed toxin treatments, 10 observed dermal filler treatments and 10 performed dermal filler treatments. All these treatments must be signed off by a Level 7 Trainer.
Learners must prepare a literature review report (1,500 words minimum) on a clinically related topic relevant to aesthetic practice, on the topic of aesthetic injectable therapies.
The qualification does not guarantee the depth or quality of training; instead, it provides a formal qualification that follows set guidelines for delivering that qualification.
Let us explain, you can attend two universities and gain two separate levels of education both grant you the same qualification, but one is known for delivering education head and shoulders above the other. For example, to achieve Level 7 in Aesthetic Medicine, delegates must observe 10 procedures and do 10. If you are learning 4 indications in that qualification, the reality is the delegate has only performed 2.5 procedures per indication.
Level 7 for aesthetic medicine follows a learning methodology of see 10 do 10. However, in our experience, that methodology lends itself to add-on skills when the practitioner has already been practicing. As an example, a masterclass extending skills for, say, jawline contouring. If the delegate is brand new to the discipline we find, and again this is only from our training experience, a delegate will not gain competence until approximately 30 procedures have been administered; or see 10 do 30.
Cookie cutter education does not lend itself well to tactile skills; people are unique and come from various backgrounds in the medical sector. Due to this fact, when A.T.A.I. deliver Level 7 aesthetic training, our practical training is customised per learner. On average, and in the context of Level 7 for Aesthetic Medicine, we operate in the see ten and do thirty methodologies.
Some practitioners wish to hold a regulated qualification in aesthetic medicine rather than a CPD qualification.
We grant 24 months to finish the qualification. However, if you require more time we are happy to arrange an extension.
Yes, another unique part about A.T.A.I. is how our school operates. We are a working aesthetic medicine clinic geared towards education. Patients attend the clinic for a reduced cost with the understanding they are attending an educational institution. This methodology of training in a working clinic environment adds another layer to the delegate’s education. However, you are encouraged to bring in a model as well and that person gains their procedure for free.
The clinical case studies are the formative practical assessments element of the qualification, utilising Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS). They are externally set by ITEC/VTCT and internally marked by our academic team. The clinical case studies must be achieved before learners can complete the final practical assessment.
The Level 7 Diploma is a UK initiative to provide an aesthetic medicine training programme regulated by an external awarding body, in this case, VTCT/ITEC. The JCCP, the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners, approved the diploma. The HEE, Health Education England, view the qualification as a positive move for the formalisation of qualifications for aesthetic medicine,
Yes, proof of regulatory registration in the home country will be required. In addition, an English language level of International English Language Testing Systems (IELTS) 7.0 in all components or equivalent will be required if English is not the learner’s first language. VISAs are required from some countries to study in Ireland, it is the responsibility of the delegate to attain all VISAs to attend practical training in Ireland.
A.T.A.I. brought a level 7 standard of training into Ireland in 2017. We identified a lack of robust training in the aesthetic medicine sector that continues to this day. Level 7 is based on a methodology of see 10 do 10; we also know this is still not at a level suiting the variety of delegates that attend foundation training.
Our training has always far exceeded the requirements of the UK level 7 programme, and now that we are delivering the regulated qualification, we continue to exceed the standards required to deliver this qualification. Producing outstanding aesthetic medicine practitioners does not come from the qualification granted. It is produced by the training standard of the delivering institution. The fame of institutions is nothing new; we all understand that in the academic field, specific universities are known for their education and thus provide graduates we more opportunities just for attending.
A.T.A.I. is known for producing practitioners with confidence and competence to practice. We achieve this brand recognition with a practical programme that focuses on the outcome of the delegate. On average, we do not see 10 and do ten; we have a see 10 and do 30. Our practical training is specific to each delegate; if a learner requires another day of training, that is what the learner receives. The medical sector is represented by people of varying experiences and competencies; it is not possible to produce a one size fits all approach. Indeed, education, in general, has suffered from the rigidity of trying to fit everyone into a single educational box.
So to answer your question, the course includes a practical training component that far exceeds any other training institution in the aesthetic medicine sector.
Yes, all our courses have an option of 1:1: training; this can be discussed after enrolling. However, we also find that 1:2 training often provides more benefit to the learner as observing is also an essential part of the learning process. By default, the extra person allows for more observation of procedures without impacting the individual learner’s education experience.
Level 7 diploma. Level 7 NVQ. Master’s degree, for example, master of arts ( MA ), master of science ( MSc ) postgraduate certificate. Postgraduate certificate in education ( PGCE ), specifically in the medical aesthetics sector. Level 7 PGDipAes.
Level 7 refers to the academic level and depth of the curriculum for the qualification granted. When associated with a regulated qualification, it typically means an academic abbreviation can also be used after attaining the qualification, such as (PGDipAes).
A one-day course is not training it is an introduction
We do not provide one-day foundation courses as we are yet to meet a practitioner ready to practice after a one-day course. A growing percentage of our delegates have already completed a one-day course. “I did not feel confident to implement the training.” We hear this all too often. In most cases, delegates had the opportunity to inject only one patient.
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