927 An Analysis of the United Kingdom Education Courses for Aesthetic Practice

Abstract

Abstract Aim The training of cosmetic and aesthetic practitioners has received national attention since the 2013 Keogh review of the regulations of cosmetic interventions. The 2015 HEE cosmetic guidelines recommended level 7 accreditation in Injectables for Aesthetic Medicine. The Royal College of Surgeons has now established the Cosmetic Surgery Certification Scheme and this analysis looks to identify the cost and availability of courses in the UK. Method A review of Google search results using the keywords “Botox”, “Filler”, “Course”, “Certification”, “Level 7”, “Training” and “Foundation” using Boolean operators. The costs of the courses, duration, accreditation, and availability of level 7 certification were extracted from the websites. Results A total of 36 courses were identified where a Foundation Course in both Botulinum Toxin and Dermal Fillers were provided. The lowest available cost was £780, a maximum cost of £4,500 and mean cost of £1,557. Mode course duration was 1 day, with a maximum duration of 4 days and mean of 1.4 days. 9 of the 36 providers offered level 7 accreditation. Conclusions The provision of education and training has significant implications for patient safety. The completion of foundation courses is often a requirement for insurance companies to provide coverage to practitioners, however, a wide variety of educational quality may account for complications which are experienced by patients. The lack of accreditation beyond CPD points was noted. These findings call for a unified educational approach to ensure, safe training of practitioners