Aesthetics Training: One-Day Course Or Level 7 Diploma?
The December 2020 issue of The Aesthetics Journal poses an interesting question in its The Last Word feature. It considers the effectiveness of a one-day training course in injectables.
Exceptional in-depth aesthetic medicine education is Harley Academy’s raison d’être so, naturally, we were intrigued. Especially when we noticed the piece had been written by one of our Level 7 Diploma graduates, Dr Helen McIver.
Whilst we highly recommend you read the entire article for her well-balanced take on whether a one-day course can truly prepare you to enter the world of aesthetics, here is a brief summary of Dr McIver’s arguments for and against one-day injectables courses…
One-Day Course in Injectables
Pros
- Allows you to get the necessary insurance required to practice as an injector.
- Provides basic training.
- Permits medical practitioners to begin their aesthetics career quickly.
- Low cost training option.
- Gives students a foundational insight into the field of aesthetic medicine.
Cons
- Allows you to get the necessary insurance required to practice as an injector.
- Permits medical practitioners to begin their aesthetics career quickly.
- Does not provide adequate training for practitioners to “venture into the complex and potentially high-risk world of injectable fillers”.
- No form of examination, test or assessment of the student’s competency.
- Practitioners may not be educated nor experienced enough to be treating patients without supervision.
- “See one, do one, teach one” model now considered unsuitable in aesthetics due to patient safety concerns.
- Minimal practice in performing a range of injectable treatments.
Level 7 Diploma in Injectables
Dr McIver, who is a qualified dental surgeon in addition to being an aesthetic medicine practitioner, advocates for further education in aesthetics. She believes there should be mandatory legal minimum training requirements for injectors. This would allow for more in-depth learning and experience for practitioners as well as a qualification patients could look out for.
Harley Academy is absolutely aligned with this viewpoint. We strive to drive change within the industry by championing educational standards in aesthetics. This is why we developed our master’s level, gold-standard qualification, the Level 7 Diploma in Botox & Dermal Fillers.
Following on from Dr McIver’s article, we thought it may be helpful to see a comparison of our Level 7 course broken down into pros and cons when compared to a one-day course, too.
Pros
- Comprehensive education in injectables.
- 12-18 months of expert aesthetics training on a flexible schedule.
- Practical, hands-on experience of safe injecting overseen by professional trainers on a one-to-one basis.
- Learning how to conduct a thorough clinical consultation.
- Skin-ageing education, including anatomy and pharmacology.
- Exploration of the ethics and laws surrounding aesthetic medicine.
- Understanding the mental health implications of aesthetic procedures and patients’ psychological drivers.
- Gaining the skills to start and build a thriving aesthetics business.
- More substantial learning experience with mentored injectables practice to build confidence.
- More challenging.
Cons
- A bigger financial investment.
- Longer time commitment although learning is self-paced and flexible.
- More challenging.
Which would you feel most comfortable with?
After digesting these salient points, what conclusion do you come to? Do you think there is room in the industry for one-day aesthetics courses? Or do you believe injectables require more in-depth knowledge and experience that cannot be obtained in such a short space of time? Which level of qualification do you believe patients would opt for in a practitioner, given the choice?
We’d love to hear your thoughts. Head over to the Harley Academy Instagram account where you can vote in the One-Day Course v Level 7 poll in our Stories, or post your feedback in our comments.
