Non-invasive cosmetic surgery is a rapidly expanding career opportunity for nurses. According to the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses (BACN), there are currently more than four thousand registered aesthetic nurses in the United Kingdom. Considering the great number of benefits, including financial rewards and, of course, the greater amount of professional flexibility it offers, this does not come as a surprise.

As a result of the ever-growing interest of nurses in facial aesthetics, we get many questions from prospective nurse delegates who want to know if they're eligible to inject Botox or dermal fillers and also what their career options are in facial aesthetics. As expected, there are regulations, considerations, and requirements for interested candidates. However, a licensed and practising nurse is qualified to administer botox and dermal filler treatments.

In fact, as a nurse with extensive experience giving injections repeatedly without complications, you are already at a great advantage when it comes to injecting Botox or dermal fillers. In addition to your nursing degree, you would require an aesthetic injectables training course completed in a reputable training academy such as Derma Institute, and you are more than ready to make your debut in the world of facial aesthetics.

Interestingly, aesthetic nurses carry out a majority of the botox and dermal filler injections in the UK compared to Doctors and Dentists. According to NMC guidelines, as a registered nurse who has been trained, you are eligible to inject Botox. You are also qualified to inject dermal fillers, which are classed as a medical device and do not require a prescription. Botulinum toxin, on the other hand, is a prescription-only medicine, which means that you'd need to be a prescriber yourself or have a prescriber consult your patients and prescribe Botox before you can administer it. 

What are the career options available to you as a facial aesthetics nurse? Botox prescribing, why not? 

1. Find work in clinics with prescribers.

Having completed your foundation course, you are already set to begin your journey as an aesthetic nurse in the UK. If you are not a prescriber, you will need to work in conjunction with qualified prescribers. If you don't have plans of starting out independently, or maybe you want to wait and garner some practical experience, then this is the best option for you. You can seek work in clinics which have prescribers that consult and prescribe for patients. They would also be responsible for the clinical evaluation and management of any issues that may arise following the procedure. This is a good option for nurses who do not have the prescribing qualification. It offers you an excellent opportunity to acquire relevant practical experience, which would come in handy when and if you decide to establish your own practice or go for a V300 Botox prescribing course.

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 2. Work with a prescriber.

As a non-prescriber, you have the option of establishing your own practice with a qualified prescriber. According to UK health regulations, qualified prescribers include doctors, dentists, and prescribing nurses or pharmacists. The prescriber would have to see your patients in person first and then prescribe the drug, which you can then go ahead and administer. You, however, don't need a prescriber to inject dermal fillers.

You may already have or know a qualified prescriber you can work with. If this is not the case, you may find a prescriber by networking through voluntary membership organisations such as the British Association of Cosmetic Nursing, where you may find valuable advice and recommendations from colleagues. AT Derma Institute, we are happy to help you find a prescriber in your local area with the help of our partners, who we will link you up with as soon as you have completed our botox training and dermal filler training course.

3. Qualify for v300.

If the above options are not suitable or desirable to you, and you would rather prescribe the botulinum toxin yourself, then you can go for the v300 non-medical prescribing course. This course is offered by many universities across the UK and would take an average of 6 months to complete. You would need to have practised as a registered nurse for a minimum of three years to qualify for the course. There is certainly an added flexibility with this option because you would no longer have to work around your prescriber's schedule.

If you're just making your debut in facial aesthetics, it is advisable to first complete a Botox training course first and start practising with the aid of a prescriber. Many universities require at least 6-12 months of experience before applying for the v300 course. A good proportion of our delegates are nurses who don't hold the prescribing qualification, and they have mostly been able to find a prescriber to work with without having to take the V300 course themselves.

Please get in contact with the Derma Institute team if you have any further questions about Botox prescribing for nurses.