Neurotoxin, more familiarly known as Botox, and filler is a common way of achieving a rejuvenated appearance, but it is important to choose the right injector for optimal results.
Nowadays, injectables are not hard to come by. They can be offered anywhere from a spa to a dermatologist's clinic, a plastic surgeon’s office, or even at the dentist. With so many options, it is important to do your research before choosing who will administer your injections.
At Lougheed Laser Centre, our clinic is owned and operated by Dr. Marcia Fleming. Our physician injectors are highly trained and believe that, when done correctly, everyone can benefit from Botox and filler.
Although Lougheed has solely physician injectors, we appreciate the importance of choosing the right injector for you, whether it be a doctor or nurse.
With an objective comparison of nurses vs. Doctors, this blog will guide you in choosing the right injector for your procedure.
To Administering neurotoxin (Botox) or filler is a cosmetic medical procedure that is also considered a “controlled act”. Technically speaking, controlled acts are “procedures that can cause harm if the administer does not have the knowledge, skill, or judgement to perform them”.
With that, there are regulations and requirements around who can and who cannot administer cosmetic injections. These regulations vary from depending on location.
In British Columbia, there are seven types of medical professionals who can offer injectables (with proper training and authorization):
1. Doctor of Medicine (MD)
2. Dentist
3. Nurse Practitioner (NP)
4. Registered Nurse (RN)
5. Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN)
6. Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
7. Naturopath (ND)
To meet the standards in British Columbia, a nurse must receive authorization from a physician or dentist to perform cosmetic injections on a patient. Further, a physician must be present or partial owner of the MedSpa that nurses administer injectables because the physician will ultimately carry all legal responsibility.
With this in mind, if you choose a nurse to administer your injections, be sure to ask the following questions …
First and foremost, it is important to consider and compare the qualifications, education, and training of nurses and doctors.
After completing nursing school, a nurse in the medical aesthetics field would typically start working in a MedSpa or Doctor’s office. Given that nursing school, nor hospital experience, teaches cosmetic injections, a medical aesthetics nurse would shadow a doctor in the field to learn these specific skills.
The nurse injector would typically complete weekend courses combined with many hours of on-the-job training at a MedSpa. Finally, the nurse would receive official approval and authorization from a physician to administer the injections themselves.
In contrast, a doctor completes additional years of schooling to receive a medical degree. With this, a physician injector tends to have much more medical experience and familiarity with a range of medical procedures.
Ultimately, no amount of weekend courses or shadowing can replace the medical expertise of a dermatologist or plastic surgeon with a medical degree and years of experience in the medical field. Further, doctors are equipped with the proper knowledge to train and authorize nurses, as well as handle an emergency if anything were to go wrong.
Injections of neurotoxin or filler is a minimally invasive and relatively low-risk procedure. With that being said, it is still a medical procedure and there is risk of complications.
If a problem occurs with a patient's injections, a nurse must refer to a doctor. As previously mentions, doctors are the most qualified and experienced to handle any medical complications.
In other words, it is ideal to be in the hands of a doctor if you are concerned about the procedure’s risk factors.
As previously discussed, Doctors have ample experience in the medical field, and as a result, tend to spread their time doing multiple procedures. For example, a plastic surgeon might do the occasional injection, but likely spends most of their time doing more invasive procedures like face lifts or breast augmentation.
Nurses, on the other hand, primarily administers injectables and this makes up most of their day to day. With this consistent repetition of one procedure, they develop a very strong familiarity with the procedure.
So, while Doctors have more medical experience overall, it is possible for nurses to have more experience with administering injectables.
Ultimately, this is a matter of opinion, but it is a good idea to examine a nurse or doctor based on their approach and accessibility.
Given that nurses focus primarily on injectables and have fewer responsibilities overall, some believe that they take their time, listen, and focus well on the patient. Nurses also tend to be more accessible for questions pre and post procedure.
In contrast, Doctors typically have greater responsibility as they run a medical practice and do much more complex procedures. With that, injections are a much more minor procedure to a doctor, and they may allocate less of their time to these patients and procedures.
Again, this is a matter of opinion and varies depending on the Doctor and MedSpa.
Finally, there is a cost difference when choosing between a nurse or doctor for neurotoxin or filler.
Doctors typically charge about 20-30% more than nurses given their education and experience.
After a very objective comparison of Doctors vs. Nurses, we would love to take the floor to boast about our team here at Lougheed!
Since Lougheed Laser is owned and run by a physician, and a physician is either on-site or accessible at all times, you can rest assured that we are dedicated to your safety.
Further, we are fortunate to have highly skilled Physician injectors at our clinic who have an amazing eye and talent when it comes to injectable treatments. We understand that it is important to not only pick the right product for the treatment area but placement and avoiding over filling the area is just as important.
Most importantly, our injectors attend regular training sessions to stay up to date on the latest trends and techniques.
Are you interesting in booking an injectable appointment with one of our talented physician injectors?
Step One: We first schedule a complimentary consultation with a highly trained Treatment Designer, who will provide a full facial assessment and recommend whether neuromodulators and/or filler would help you achieve your desired results.
Usually, a combination of both will provide the most optimal results!
Step Two: The physician injector will then meet with you to confirm the recommended treatment plan.
Step Three: In a separate appointment, a physician will administer your injectables and ensure that you are satisfied with the result!