Why Injectors must be ok with causing complications

Injectors must be OK with potentially causing complications. It may be a strange thing to hear, but this is the mindset you need to be a successful aesthetics practitioner.

Of course, no one goes out looking to cause such issues, but if it happens, you need to know that that’s ok. This is what you prepare for when you study aesthetic medicine.

As a healthcare professional and when learning to become an aesthetics specialist, you train for this. You train in preventing complications, in managing complications; yet still many new injectors find the thought that they may cause a complication paralysing.

Ensuring you have a thorough understanding of facial anatomy, injecting techniques, patient and product selection are key to safe practice. However, it is your mental fortitude that will help you to overcome this type of block.

This is a serious topic so we brought in the big guns to give you some high level insights – and a bit of tough love – on this one...

THE MINDSET YOU NEED TO OVERCOME POTENTIALLY CAUSING COMPLICATIONS

We spoke to Harley Academy founder and facial aesthetics expert, Dr Tristan Mehta. He explained the mindset new aesthetics practitioners need to overcome mental blocks surrounding complications…

“This is something I completely understand. A lot of injectors – when they’re starting out or even years down the line – are very fearful about causing things like vascular occlusion, droopiness or ptoses,” Dr Tristan tells us before lobbing this truth bomb:

“This is the crux of it: you have to be ok with the potential to cause those complications.”

He continues, “That might be too much for some people. Some practitioners would much rather not have to accept that, and I think that’s perfectly fine. But maybe a career working independently in the private sector isn’t the best thing for you.”

“The ultimate mindset is that, even with all of the training and all of the studying you can do, you may still cause a complication. There’s no way to eliminate that,” he states.

THE QUESTIONS ALL INJECTORS NEED TO ASK THEMSELVES...

“You have to, of course, be qualified and well-studied enough to be able to manage any complications that you could cause, independently, but you also have to be ok with the idea that this could escalate and it might be something you can’t manage.”

“That, ultimately, is a decision all injectors have to make – ‘am I ok with this risk of causing a complication and the potential consequences of that?’”, Dr Tristan confirms.

Adding, “That’s not to scare anyone, it’s just that you can’t build your career and really confidently drive forward, if you’re always worried about complications.”

“It’s part of the consent form, it’s part of what we have to understand how to manage and it’s part of working in a medical field.”

IMPROVING YOUR CONFIDENCE SURROUNDING THE POSSIBILITY OF CAUSING COMPLICATIONS

There are a number of ways in which you, as an injector, can boost your confidence and overcome the fear of causing complications. We outline these in our follow-up article, an interview with cosmetic doctor, dermatologist, clinic owner and clinical trainer, Dr Jaymi Lad.

In this she provides practical advice on aspects including…

1. Knowing the risks and acknowledging them

2. Training in preventing and managing complications

3. Injecting techniques and approaches that will help you to practise as safely as possible

4. Building your confidence step-by-step by working within your scope of practice

…and more!

Don’t forget – you are a medical professional. You have a wealth of transferable skills and knowledge that you have built over the years in your field. One of the most important of these is good instincts.

When you pair solid medical instincts with in-depth targeted aesthetics training – both practical and theoretical – your confidence and successful mindset should blossom. It’s not something that happens overnight, so be prepared to put in the work. But it’s better to be slightly cautious than over confident!

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All information correct at the time of publication