Building a Multidisciplinary Aesthetic Team: Collaboration between Doctors, Dentists & Nurses

Key Takeaways

• A multidisciplinary team allows clinics to expand services, increase revenue, and improve patient outcomes.
• Each practitioner must clearly understand and work within their scope of practice to maintain safety and compliance.
• Registered Nurses play a central role in patient care, including assessments, education, and post-treatment support, but cannot prescribe medications.
• Doctors are responsible for prescribing Schedule 4 medications and remain accountable for patient management, even when others administer treatments.
• Dentists can provide injectables within their defined anatomical scope and must comply with medication regulations.
• Collaboration between practitioners creates a built-in safety net, improving clinical decision-making and patient satisfaction.
• Clear communication, defined roles, and proper documentation are essential for a successful and compliant team.
• All team members share responsibility for advertising compliance and regulatory adherence.

There are many ways an aesthetic clinic can operate, and benefits include having a team of practitioners working together to maximise revenue and expand the range of services offered. Registered Nurses, doctors and dentists can create an alliance of cosmetic injectors and bring their respective skills to a business, functioning as a collective to provide services to their clients. Knowing their own, as well as their colleagues’, scopes of practice is essential to minimising redundancy and creating a compliant multidisciplinary aesthetic team. For those entering the industry, undertaking structured education such as cosmetic training courses in Australia provides a strong foundation.

Registered Nurses: Scope of Practice

A Registered Nurse (RN) has a crucial role in an aesthetic clinic. RNs are educated on building therapeutic relationships with their patients, skilled in active listening and creating comprehensive care plans, and experienced in education and empowerment. An RN usually spends the most time with a client or patient to build that relationship, completing holistic assessments and performing post-procedure care and wound healing. The RN clarifies the client’s goals regarding treatments and ensures the desired results are realistic, safe, and achievable. While an RN can work independently in most cases, collaborating with a doctor who prescribes the Schedule 4 Drugs they’ll be using means any complications or concerns can be escalated immediately. Client safety is paramount and is a key determinant of satisfaction. The RN must be confident, competent, and capable of carrying out the services with appropriate training. While an RN cannot, under any circumstances, prescribe medications, they are still responsible for contributing to team and business compliance. This includes any advertising, process or procedures that they are engaged in. 

Doctors: Scope of Practice

Doctors have the skills and training necessary to prescribe the medications needed to perform cosmetic injectables. There are other responsibilities and obligations to ensure they work within their scope of practice, however. A doctor, like the RN and dentist, is accountable for any advertising, so it is essential that they understand what is compliant and what is not. This includes targeting advertising to under-18-year-olds, what treatments can be performed on this group, and their mandatory cooling-off period. The medical practitioner must have an in-person or telehealth consultation with each client before prescribing any medication. There are rules surrounding their responsibilities after the prescription is written, for example, if the medication is administered to a client by a practitioner who is not an authorised prescriber (such as an RN), the prescribing doctor remains responsible for the client’s management, including post-procedure care, or there must be documented procedures in place that the client is aware of beforehand. The doctor must provide enough information to the client to ensure their consent is informed, and have a verbal discussion with that client. 

Dentists: Scope of Practice

As with RNs and doctors, dentists must ensure they are appropriately trained and competent to administer cosmetic injectables. They must adhere to the legislation surrounding the supply, storage, prescription and disposal of Schedule 4 Drugs within their practice, and where they are permitted to treat (usually confined to the ‘human teeth, mouth, jaws or associated structures’). As they have additional training in their areas of expertise, it makes sense that they would focus on the mouth, teeth, and jaws, while doctors focus on the rest of the face and neck. 

Creating the Multidisciplinary Team

A team of practitioners will improve client safety in accordance with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) guidelines, as the person prescribing or administering cosmetic injectables must assess the client’s suitability and the reasons for the treatments. If this is done by both the RN and the doctor or dentist, it provides a safety net that requires both to agree to the service. 

The team should reach an agreement on which services will be offered. This allows the opportunity to specialise in a treatment or an area, or provide a holistic service covering many elements. Marketing can then be targeted to that demographic. To be compliant, advertising must follow the strict guidelines set by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and AHPRA, and all business partners must adhere to these guidelines and the relevant legislation. 

Clear lines of communication, whether through casual conversations or scheduled meetings, will ensure that the business’s goals are aligned with and at the forefront of the team’s objectives. Documentation must be concise and detailed to prevent misunderstandings. 

When creating any team, it is imperative that team members know their scope and roles and keep the lines of communication open. A multidisciplinary aesthetic team is an excellent way to maximise services offered, income and client safety and satisfaction. 

Conclusion

A multidisciplinary aesthetic team is an excellent way to maximise services offered, income, and client safety. With the right training, collaboration, and compliance, clinics can thrive in a competitive market.

To learn more about training pathways or building your career in aesthetics, contact the team today.