Spotlight On: Mr Andrew Rankin

By: Ruth Kerrison
Created on 25th March 2010

CosmeticSurgeryToday.co.uk interviews top aesthetic nurse Andrew Rankin about his practice and training the aesthetic practitioners of tomorrow

What inspired you to become a cosmetic nurse?
I've always wanted to run my own business, so that was a big factor, but more than that, after working in Intensive Care for so long, I wanted to do something that gave me some real job satisfaction and this fulfils my needs in every respect. It's great working with healthy people and in many instances cosmetic treatments will give someone a renewed confidence that can change their life.

What's your background in the industry?
I've worked as a trainer in toxins, fillers and chemical peels for KT Training for some years. I've also been involved with Merz Aesthetics (manufacturers of the dermal filler Belotero) in training and product trials, and I've developed a successful clinic - Regenix, in Malvern, Worcestershire - over the last four years. I apply much the same philosophies in each of these arenas, and these are:

Firstly, maintaining the focus on the client, with the aim of satisfaction before profit, remembering that these are medical procedures and that we are professionally bound to make sure that everything we do is in the client's interest.

Secondly, it is important to remember that the simplest treatment is part of a much larger process, from the first point of contact to aftercare, and value can be added at each of these stages. My wife, Angela, is my practice manager, and she does a wonderful job of ensuring that clients are happy and well-informed at every step.

Thirdly, I try to take an holistic view of the face when making assessments, but without losing sight of the client. Spending time at consultation to gain their trust, identify what they want to achieve, what I can achieve and where these two objectives meet, means satisfaction will almost certainly be attained.

Tell me more about your experiences training other practitioners - how did that come about?
KT Training approached me about three years ago - they could see that I was running a successful clinic and that I have a very good relationship with my clients. They thought that I could impart the sort of advice, over and above the technical side of the work that we do, that would be useful to the people we train - doctors, dentists and nurses, who have often come from around the world.

What is the typical consultation process in your clinic?
I feel it's important firstly to stress that the process really does start at the point of the advertisement or the website - whatever it may be that gets the client to make the phone call in the first place.

And the next step relies on my wife providing information over the phone - being transparent about who we are and what we're doing, and being able to give enough information and provide enough reassurance, because clients are invariably nervous when they call.

Then, once they finally come into the clinic, it's all about making sure that they are as relaxed as possible, and taking the pressure off them. Almost the last stage of the process is the treatment itself, and I spend some time at the consultation stage.

At the consultation stage I'm looking specifically at the face, taking on board what they want, but also looking at what I can achieve. So I'm looking at the face as a whole - rather than just, say, naso-labial lines - but also listening to the client, trying to decipher where they're coming from, trying to understand them as a person, so that really, ultimately, I can give them full satisfaction.

Of all the treatments you offer, which do you think really stands out?
I believe in the principle of using the right tool for the right job. I use many products with proven safety profiles, both in the clinic and in training, but one range of products I use frequently because it meets my clients' requirements for safety, for longevity and to achieve a softer natural look is Merz's Belotero range.

I don't know of many fillers that can achieve such easy results: it's so natural looking, so soft, and my clients really do appreciate that. Unlike some other dermal filler brands where the product may be palpable for some months, Belotero continues to provide the lift desired without being obvious to the touch. The client is unaware of the product in their skin, but can see the great natural lifting and revitalising results.

Invariably however, it is a combination of treatments that will yield the best results. Everything we do needs to be underpinned by a thorough knowledge both of anatomy and of the ageing process.

I place an emphasis on volumising and I am learning - I don't think you ever stop learning in this business - to use much greater volumes whilst maintaining safety, value for money and a natural look.