Considering a career as an aesthetic nurse practitioner is a great option. It comes with less stress compared to other nursing specialties, regular hours, and a high salary. There is even the potential to make your own practice and grow it as a business you can be proud of.
This is a great position for those who would like to focus on improving the appearance of the patient. When doing so, the professional will be able to make a large difference in how a patient feels about themselves and the image they give to the world.
What Do Aesthetic Nurse Practitioners Do?
An Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner is charged with examining and evaluating their patients, counseling them on a lot of procedures that are available in the office. They may also perform these procedures with the right experience and care for the patient as they recover.
Depending on where the nursing professional works, they could be responsible for some of the other day to day aspects of caring for the patient. This is most common if the professional is running their own practice.
When the Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner is working as a staff member for another professional, they will do tasks such as:
- Work together with the physicians
- Assist in some of the surgeries as needed
- Oversee the education of the patient before the procedure and the recovery when it is done.
- Administer procedures.
Some of the clinical procedures that the Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner is going to oversee or perform within the office setting can include:
- Injections of Botox or dermal fillers to help get rid of wrinkles, improve lips and fight aging.
- Sclerotherapy to help get rid of varicose veins.
- Laser skin treatments that may include photo facials and microdermabrasion.
Steps to Become an Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner
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Some of the steps that you can consider when becoming an aesthetic nurse practitioner includes:
Earn Your Nurse Degree
The first step to becoming this professional is to get your RN degree. You can choose whether you would like to do this through a two-year or a four-year degree. The amount of experience you would like to have and the exact courses you would like to take can help determine whether the Associate’s or the Bachelor’s is the right one for you.
Make sure to choose a reputable degree that will help you get results. There are many in-person and online degree options that will help you gain the knowledge you need to be an ANP, or you can work to another nursing degree as well.
Pass the NCLEX-RN
After you have finished the two or four year degree, it is time to take the test. This will help show whether you actually learned the information that you needed and is an important step before you progress to the other stages.
Once a nurse has been able to finish an accredited nursing program and they have earned their RN degree, they need to take the NCLEX-RN exam. This will be the required exam that helps them become licensed in their own state.
Advance Your Education
While it is possible to get a nursing job with just the RN certification and the right license for your state, you will need to go further to be an aesthetic nurse practitioner. This means you need to get ready to go through and take more courses and work on your education as well.
In order to start a career as an aesthetic nurse practitioner, you will need to continue on to get your MSN or DNP. This is a master’s and a doctorate program that will take a few more years to accomplish. The DNP is often going to allow for a higher salary and more job opportunities, but it does take a good deal of time to complete.
Both of these will help you get a job in this field. You must make sure that you are getting the degree from an accredited program to help you get the best results.
Gain Experience
With the degree under your belt, it is time for you to work on gaining some experience. The more experience that you can provide to future employers, the easier it is to get some of the jobs that you dream about.
When you are done with graduation, most of the nurse practitioners who want to become an aesthetic nurse practitioner will need to spend their time getting more training. This training should be done with plastic surgeons or with a dermatologist to help them get better at some of their skills.
Get Certified
Certifications are not necessary in many fields, but they can be useful when you want to stand out from the crowd. These show that there is a certain amount of dedication to the field and to your craft.
If you do decide to go this route, make sure that you find the right certification. It needs to be accredited or this can be a waste of your time. Look for certifications that are available through the Plastic Surgical Nursing Certification Board.
Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner Salary
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The aesthetic nurse practitioner salary will depend on your level of experience you have and the location where you choose to do some of your work. They do get paid higher than many of the other professionals out there in the nursing career.
The median salary for an aesthetic nurse practitioner is $95,221. There are also better paying jobs that you can choose as well. Some of the highest paid in this profession will make up to $110,925 and the lowest in the profession will make about $82,000. This makes it a well-paid position for you to enjoy.
Choosing to be an Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner
There are a lot of reasons to choose to be an aesthetic nurse practitioner. By following some of the steps that you see above, you will be able to start your career and enjoy a life of helping out patients and having a lot of fun.