Level 7 Diploma Exam: Aesthetics Revision Tips

Exam season is upon us! To help those of you preparing now, here are some of our top Level 7 Diploma exam revision tips from medical aesthetics specialists.

If you have any great advice on revising that may help other students, feel free to share them in the Comma app and/or in the comments of the Harley Academy Instagram account.

Dr Kalpna Pindolia, director of education at Harley Academy and aesthetics specialist at STORY clinic, Marylebone, London.

• Set up a group using Comma. Talking and discussing a topic makes knowledge absorption easier – it can be Zoom/Facetime meetings if not local.
• Use case studies to remember pertinent points.
• Don’t sweat the small, 708th cause of… stuff.
• Take breaks often, keeping revision periods short and manageable.
• Don’t just read notes – read them out loud, use silly accents, walk about as you absorb them, rewrite them.
• Hydrate, eat well and sleep well too.
• Enjoy the process of knowing and learning more. You’ll never know it all, as we all never stop learning and the field keeps evolving.
• I personally love multi-coloured highlighters and pens… but you don’t have to start making notes again if you make an unpretty mistake in your notebook!

Natalie Haswell, prescribing aesthetics nurse, senior clinical trainer at Harley Academy and owner of Haswell Aesthetics clinic in Colchester, Essex.

• Learn your anatomy and respect it. Understand not just the muscle name and type but size and why we inject it. Think about what we want to achieve and why, how muscles work together to achieve desired outcomes. Don’t forget to support all your practice with a solid evidence base.
• Recap on your eLearning. Review your cases, what you learnt and your reflections.
• Know your layers and product choice. Understand the science behind the products and why we use certain injection techniques or tools over others.
• Remember we treat the ageing process, not lines and folds.
• Study and discuss with another student, not just on your own. This helps understanding.
• Talk about the worries you have openly with student support, or any of the mentors so we can support and guide you.

Dr Jaymi Lad, clinical trainer at Harley Academy, co-owner of Javivo Clinic, Manchester and Safety in Beauty 2021 nominee for the Best Patient/Customer Transformation and Experience award.

• Study groups and revising with peers is key. Post on Comma to form a study group in your local area.
• Think of active learning techniques, rather than just reading notes, eg. making flash cards, watching webinars/eLearning, drawing diagrams, etc.
• Understand the reason behind what is being performed and concepts, rather than just try to memorise facts.
• Before my L7 exams I had posters in my bathroom and kitchen which I read whilst brushing my teeth or cooking.

Dr Mariam Michail, clinical trainer at Harley Academy and aesthetics practitioner at Beyond Medispa in Harvey Nichols, London.

• Always try to relate your learning back to cases you’ve seen in mentoring sessions and/or in your clinics. It makes it more relevant and it’s much easier to retain information if you are considering how it affects your clinical practice.

We hope you find the following advice useful and wish all of you taking your exams for the Level 7 Diploma in Botox and Dermal Fillers the very best of luck!