The Postgraduate Program in Aesthetic Nursing was the point of professional reconnection in Dr. Regina de Souza Barros's journey. A nurse for almost twenty years, with intense work in hospital care and teaching, her routine was always marked by long shifts, high technical responsibility and heavy physical and emotional strain.
With a workload that exceeded sixty hours a week, hospital practice began to take a high toll. Care, which had always been the center of her work, began to demand more than her body and mind could sustain.
“My hospital care practice was already very tired. It was many years, a lot of wear and tear and a lot of stress.”
Even with broad experience, a new point of attention began to emerge, not as a rupture, but as an invitation to professional reflection.
When aging becomes a starting point
Dr. Regina's approach to the Postgraduate Program in Aesthetic Nursing grew out of personal experience. When she sought care for herself, she realized that aesthetics goes far beyond isolated procedures. It is about understanding aging, skin, the body and the direct impact of these factors on self-esteem and well-being.
“I saw that it was much bigger than I thought. It was bigger than a syringe, bigger than Botox, bigger than a biostimulator.”
Interest turned into study. Study turned into identification. And identification turned into a conscious decision for Aesthetic Nursing as a new professional axis.
“When I started studying, I fell in love.”
A new perspective on the elderly patient
As a gerontological nurse, Dr. Regina has always been close to caring for elderly patients. However, as she deepened her study of skin aging and aesthetics through the Postgraduate Program in Aesthetic Nursing, her care practice gained a new dimension.
“I noticed that I wasn't looking at this in my patients. Today, I pay much more attention to their aesthetic needs too.”
This new perspective broadened her care, strengthening self-esteem, well-being and the sense of being welcomed, aspects often neglected in traditional care. Aesthetics came to be understood as an integral part of comprehensive care.
Practice as relief and professional reconnection
In the midst of an intense routine, Aesthetic Nursing came to represent emotional relief and a reconnection with her professional purpose. The hands-on experience, closely supervised during the Postgraduate Program in Aesthetic Nursing, brought an experience different from the one she lived in the hospital setting.
“Seeing the patient leave satisfied, happy, is very different. It's very rewarding.”
The confidence conveyed by direct supervision reinforced this perception.
“The instructor was right there beside me, guiding me, holding back my hand when it was needed. We did a smooth procedure, with no complications at all.”
Practice stopped being exhausting and became meaningful.
Organization and discipline as a professional strategy
Balancing multiple roles requires planning. With two daughters, an intense professional routine and academic commitments, Dr. Regina built a rigorous schedule to keep up with the Postgraduate Program in Aesthetic Nursing responsibly.
“I had to make a weekly schedule. I set aside two nights to study and, on weekends, I organized my time to follow the classes and write summaries.”
This discipline reflects her professional stance: technical depth, organization and commitment to safe and conscious practice.
Leadership that respects your own story
Dr. Regina de Souza Barros's story shows that professional growth does not require a break with the past. On the contrary: the Postgraduate Program in Aesthetic Nursing emerges as a natural extension of a career dedicated to care, now broadened by a more sensitive eye for aging, self-esteem and well-being.
It is a mature choice, aligned with accumulated experience and the desire to keep caring, in a lighter, more human and even more comprehensive way.
Success is in your hands.
Laís Bianquini
NEPUGA content team — Núcleo de Especializações Ana Carolina Puga.
