About caring for others
Name: Jo Meddings
Career: Registered nurse and cosmetic injector
Q What jobs did you do before this one?
I’ve been involved in health and nursing for nearly 20 years and beauty therapy for a short time prior to that. I was an ICU nurse for three years at Mercy Hospital before joining FAB Group to work at Caci Clinic, in Dunedin. I still work in a smaller capacity at Mercy Hospital’s ICU with their cardiac surgical patients.
Q Why did you choose this job?
It is something I am very interested in. I myself have been an aesthetic medicine consumer, and I understand it, I find it fascinating, and effective. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to achieve subtle, and sometimes lifechanging results on a human face. Treatments and products have evolved over the years and it’s a growing industry which I find exciting.
Q How did you get into it and when?
After a few years of trying to find the right opportunity in aesthetic medicine in Dunedin with very little luck, a work colleague told me she was buying into the Caci franchise here. I immediately put my hand up and blurted out that I would be her nurse. That was the beginning of 2017 and the rest is history!
Q What qualifications and training did you need?
You need to have a nursing qualification, ideally with a few years of general nursing under your belt. For Caci registered nurses, all our additional training is undertaken through the Caci Academy and Centre of Excellence, in Auckland. We train under the guidance of both doctors and very experienced registered nurses — a large component of this training is understanding the anatomy of the face.
Q What personal skills do you need?
I believe you need to genuinely love teaching and educating, as this is a huge part of the job, and it’s also essential for giving clients an informed opportunity for consent.
You also have to really love the industry as it is very different from a typical nursing job, plus be able to work autonomously and be entirely comfortable with this.
Q What do you do on a daily basis?
I perform all of our injectable procedures which includes Botox and Juvederm dermal fillers. I also perform our fractional CO2 laser and microneedling treatments. On top of these procedures, I spend time talking oneonone with clients during consultations, followups and reviews at the end of their treatments. In addition to liaising closely with my trainers, our clinic treatment coordinator and answering email inquiries, I also educate clients on home care products that will enhance their inclinic treatments and help maintain results over the years.
Q What is the most challenging aspect?
Dealing with people’s perceptions of the industry.
Q Are there any particular health and safety issues?
A thorough check of clients’ medical history is required as there are certain conditions/medications that may increase the risk of adverse events occurring, so these need to be discussed prior to any treatment being performed.
Q What is the most interesting assignment you’ve had?
It’s the clients I work with who I find the most interesting. Dealing with all ages from 20 through to 70 years of age contributes to making every day different. However, one client stands out in my mind, a man with a history of cancer. He had lost a huge amount of body fat following treatment, which we all know affects our faces too! All he saw when he looked in the mirror was his illness staring back at him. He had recovered from his illness when I first met him, but the reflection he saw was his ‘‘sick’’ self. We used dermal fillers in his face to restore some of the lost volume. He cried when he looked in our mirror because for the first time in a long while, he saw ‘‘his’’ face staring back. The treatment was lifechanging for him and it was extraordinary for me to be directly involved in this transformation.
Q How has the job changed since you started?
Treatments have advanced quite a lot recently, and I have also seen the industry becoming even more safetyconscious. There is definitely a growing awareness of the risks of certain treatments, but as registered nurses, part of our training at Caci sees us educated on how to minimise these risks wherever possible. This needs to be kept in perspective however, as there are risks associated with most — if not all — invasive medical and cosmetic procedures.
Q What’s something people generally don’t know about the job?
The nurses in this job have a high level of responsibility and we need to make ourselves available for our clients outside of work hours in the unlikely event of an adverse reaction to a treatment. It’s our policy to be on call for customer support. There are also some big misconceptions about the types of clients who come in to undergo an aesthetic medicine procedure.
Q It’s What are the highs of the job?
a real highlight to see clients who are so happy with their results that they return for repeat treatments and refer their friends. Another highlight involves being in an industry that creates positive outcomes and change for people. I consider this job to be true to the roots of nursing; it’s about caring for and helping others.
Q Knowing What are the lows of the job?
that there is still a certain stigma related to the perception of this industry can be tough. In general, people still tend to be a little fearful about the treatments and those deploying the treatments as a result of stereotypes and perceptions.
QI Where will you be 10 years from now?
can definitely see myself remaining in this industry as a practitioner and also being involved in teaching/educating nurses in the industry.