DALLAS-Industry Night Out 2/10

Plastic surgery comes from the ancient Greek word “plastikos”, meaning to mold or give form…Contrary to some societal understandings of it meaning fake or plastic! The field of medical aesthetics has always been about improving a person’s appearance, repairing deformities, and improving function along with looks. We have likely seen (or at least heard of) the studies that have shown undergoing aesthetic treatments can boost the mood of patients when satisfied with their outcomes and results. When we are satisfied with our appearance, we begin to see ourselves differently overall…less anxiety, feeling healthier and taking better care of our bodies, greater levels of life satisfaction, and self-esteem…all of which impact how we interact with others and enjoy life with a more positive outlook. 

 

As an aesthetic clinician, you have been involved in countless stories where your good work has led to increased confidence and positively affecting your patients’ psychological wellbeing. Like me, you know that you are doing great things for your patients and helping improve their lives, not just because they “look prettier” to today’s cultural expectations. And, if you’re like me, you also can’t help but hold on to the question of if you are doing more harm than good by feeding into what pop culture has deemed as beautiful today. I find myself humbly asking if my work is actively contributing to the problem of low self-worth and poor confidence spreading through our social media culture. 

 

Almost a decade into this field, I have improved my talk track around patients that I don’t feel comfortable treating; whether they are not a candidate, or I don’t suspect they are being realistic with the expected outcomes. And still, almost a decade into this, I am surprised by the lack of conversation around this topic being discussed among my peers. I attend MANY conferences and industry meetings each year…each month, even…and people always slide past questions on how to deal with unrealistic clients or give some lengthy narrative without actually addressing the true question. 

 

Within the world of psychology, self-esteem is referencing a person’s subjective sense of personal worth or value. Basically, how much one likes and appreciates themselves. It affects our emotional health, behaviors, success, beliefs, and appearance. As aesthetic clinicians, we MUST understand that there is a group of patients that will be dissatisfied with the results of any procedure because of the altered perception they have of themselves. Recent research has suggested that a lower self-acceptance score correlates with lower satisfaction with aesthetic procedures. 

 

So, the question we are all asking is “How do we identify these patients?”, and even more importantly, how do we navigate their treatment plans without setting ourselves up for failure and harming the self-worth and esteem of our patients. 

 

These questions will be answered and explored further on February 10, 2022, at our Dallas Industry Night Out. Register today to attend the event in person and participate in the conversation! This event will be filmed and released on the My Aesthetic Training app so that all can benefit from this valuable dialogue.