5 Steps to Becoming an Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner (2024)

FAQs

How do I start a career as a aesthetic nurse? ›

In order to work as an Aesthetic Nurse, you must earn a Registered Nurse degree. There are two main educational avenues for that. The first option is a two-year ADN program. The second option is to earn your Bachelor's Degree in Nursing by pursuing a BSN program.

Aesthetic Nurse Practitioners examine and evaluate patients, counsel them on a variety of procedures, perform those procedures, and care for them as they recover. Depending on where they work, they may also be responsible for many other day-to-day aspects, particularly if they are running their own practice.

Neonatal NPs earn the most money and can expect continuing salary increases and a promising job outlook. Neonatal NPs who work in neonatal intensive care units or pursue relevant certifications can boost their earning potential. NPs who hold a doctorate in nursing can pursue lucrative leadership positions.

Alaska is the state with the highest average salary for Aesthetic Nurse Practitioners. The average yearly salary is $106,194, though the salaries can range from $91,570 to $123,715.

So can a registered nurse (RN) open a med spa? The general answer is no — legal regulations tell us that a med spa owner must be a qualified aesthetic practitioner or medical doctor who specializes in aesthetic medicine.

To be a qualified aesthetic practitioner, you likely want to get a bachelor's degree in aesthetics. Going to university for aesthetic practitioner training provides you with all the experience and credentials required to immediately start as an aesthetician.

The average hourly wage for a Nurse Practitioner is $56.75. The bottom 10% of hourly NP wages is $38.21. The top 10% is $78.54 per hour. The median hourly wage for a Nurse Practitioner is $58.02 per hour.

What type of NP is most in demand? ›

Mentally taxing, physically exhausting, and emotionally draining. Being an aesthetic nurse is not all glitz and glam like everyone thinks. There is a lot of mental stress, pressure to deliver results & meet expectations, and a whole lot of hand holding.

Aesthetic nursing is quite a competitive industry and can be difficult to break into.

Working for a Clinic

The easiest way to typically work as an aesthetic nurse is to operate through an established clinic. In this case, you will most likely be paid a yearly salary and the prospects are good. An average salary for an aesthetic nurse can be quite high.

While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $138,500 and as low as $50,500, the majority of Aesthetic Nurse salaries currently range between $72,500 (25th percentile) to $104,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $125,000 annually across the United States.

The Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist consistently ranks as the highest-paid nursing career. That is because Nurse Anesthetists are highly skilled Registered Nurses who work closely with medical staff during medical procedures that require anesthesia.

The Aesthetic Practitioner Level 5 Training Course covers: legal and regulatory requirements; professional standards of practice; working in collaboration with healthcare professionals; anatomy, physiology and morphology of the ageing face and skin micro-needling.

The new Level 7 Certificate in Injectables for Aesthetic Medicine qualification is one of the biggest changes to affect the aesthetics industry for many years. It is designed to provide a framework for qualification for BOTOX® and dermal fillers practitioners in the UK.

What is the least stressful NP specialty? ›

The most stressful nursing jobs include ICU nurse, ER nurse, and NICU nurse. In these roles, nurses work in an intense environment with high stakes. They manage emergency situations and care for critically ill patients. Other stressful nursing jobs include OR nursing, oncology nursing, and psychiatric nursing.

As a nurse practitioner, you can easily switch specialties throughout your career entering different types of medical practice. Life as an NP involves less stress and offers more flexibility than that of an MD.

NPs can obtain multiple degrees across multiple specialties, or they may choose to just focus on one area. Depending on your geographic region, knowledge about specialty NPs may be fairly uncommon, or a specialty certification may be the only way to get a job in a particular area.

Many job markets across the U.S. are saturated for nurse practitioners. Many are not. Regardless of the situation in your area, if you're a new grad you may need to be determined and flexible as you look for that coveted first position.

The AANP is rumored to be the easier of the two exams, specifically for those seeking their FNP certification as it historically had a higher pass rate than that of the ANCC FNP exam.

Courses and content are more challenging. The level of knowledge you're required to have as a Nurse Practitioner is a huge step up from a RN. You'll take a lot of the same courses as you did with your BSN, but will go into each topic with a lot more depth because you'll be diagnosing and treating health problems soon.

The average program length to become an NP is 15-24 months with 720 clinical hours as a nurse first. Physician's assistant training programs are highly competitive and require undergraduate coursework in science as well as several years of hands-on medical experience with direct patient contact and care.

But even outside of those specialties, having an advanced nursing degree can almost guarantee that you'll be making an average salary that is at least six figures. The average nurse practitioner makes $117,670 per year — and depending on which specialty you choose, you can make well beyond that amount.

Which state pays the most for nurse practitioners? ›

Which states are best for nurse practitioners? BLS data lists the top-paying states and their annual mean wages as California ($151,830), New Jersey ($137,010), New York ($133,940), Washington ($130,840), and Massachusetts ($129,540).

There is a wide range of salaries for nurse practitioners, from the lowest-paying city, Punta Gorda, Florida, where NPs make an average annual salary of $86,800 to the highest-paying city of San Jose, California, where the average annual salary is $197,870.

As you can see from the chart below, nurse practitioners are rich compared to non-advanced practice nurses such as RNs and nurse instructors. With an average annual salary of $114,510, a nurse practitioner makes substantially more than a registered nurse who makes $80,010 on average per year.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice is a terminal nursing degree, meaning that it is the highest possible practice-based degree in nursing.

Nurse practitioners can often supplement their income by teaching in adjunct positions in either higher education institutions or local healthcare facilities. Additionally, NPs may be able to earn more than average if they work in a state that authorizes them to prescribe medications.

The main reason why nursing school is challenging is because it involves learning about complicated nursing concepts and practical skills, then applying that information into diverse patient care scenarios — going well beyond memorizing facts. While it is challenging, nursing school is not impossible.

Choose a specific reason

Some want to help clients look their best for special events, while others have an interest in the medical aspect of skin care. Other estheticians enjoy working with people daily, including clients and other health care professionals.

Why do you love being an aesthetic nurse? ›

You like helping people feel confident and beautiful: One of the most rewarding aspects of being a nurse injector is helping your patients feel like their best selves. The simple adjustments and tweaks that you can make to a patient's face to make them feel and look better can be huge for your patients.

The aesthetic nursing field is growing faster than the national average, indicating that this nursing specialty is in high demand. Additionally, the field of aesthetic medicine, in general, is growing.

Aesthetic nurses often find they don't have these same stresses, so they can enjoy a regular schedule and be more energetic and functional when they are at work. Aesthetic nursing is a very rewarding career, and aesthetic nurses provide very important care for patients when receiving treatments such as injections.

Degree courses last for three years, and include both theoretical and practical learning. You can specialise in one of four areas: adult nursing, children's nursing, mental health nursing, or learning disability nursing.

If a beauty therapist wishes to specialise in a more technical area of beauty, they will most likely need to study a Level 4 course. Currently, the majority of aesthetic practitioners come from a medical background and therefore have a university degree in nursing, dentistry or medicine.

Aesthetic nursing is a very rewarding career, and aesthetic nurses provide very important care for patients when receiving treatments such as injections. If you are considering a career in aesthetic nursing, you can train to give BOTOX® and filler with Dr.

To be a qualified aesthetic practitioner, you likely want to get a bachelor's degree in aesthetics. Going to university for aesthetic practitioner training provides you with all the experience and credentials required to immediately start as an aesthetician.

Botox injections can only be prescribed following a face-to-face meeting with a qualified medical practitioner. Qualified medical practitioners include doctors, dentists, pharmacist prescribers and nurse prescribers.

Besides a medical-related degree, there aren't any specific certifications required for most aesthetic practitioners. However, your employer may ask you to take continued medical education (CME) courses. CME credits can be obtained through short-term courses.

What career path is aesthetic? ›

What Are Careers in the Aesthetic Industry? Careers in the aesthetic industry focus on cosmetic health and beauty treatments. There are opportunities as a plastic surgeon, massage therapist, skin care specialist, aesthetician, and supporting staff.

For those looking to become a recognised non-medical aesthetics practitioner, you must have relevant Level 2 and Level 3 and Advanced Level 4 Beauty qualifications. Level 2 covers the basics of facial and skincare, whilst Level 3 advances the learner's knowledge and fully qualifies them to become a facialist.

How long does it take to become an esthetician? The amount of time to become a certified esthetician varies by state, and requirements can range from 260 to 1,000 hours. Programs typically take five to six months to complete if you're a full-time student, for a total of 600 classroom hours.