Working in clinical analysis inside a hospital never allowed Dr. Rafael Ferreira, a postgraduate student in Aesthetic Biomedicine, to have much contact with patients. But that situation became even more restricted with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Besides the exhausting routine and back-to-back shifts, Dr. Rafael felt the loss of contact with patients and even with his fellow professionals. Inside the hospital he could not have much contact, so knowing who he was caring for was almost always impossible.
Dissatisfied with the job, tired, and feeling alone, he decided to go looking for what really brought him to healthcare: having contact with people and caring for them.
That is how he began to find his way in Aesthetic Biomedicine, and today he already has a clinic up and running and is looking forward to growth in the aesthetic market.
Learn the story of Dr. Rafael Ferreira and how Aesthetic Biomedicine awakened in him the will to dream.
Covid-19: social, personal, and professional distancing
When he decided to enter healthcare, Dr. Rafael Ferreira was interested in and dreamed of caring for and treating people, but that was not what he found after five years of being licensed and working inside a hospital.
“Biomedicine has always caught my attention. I graduated five years ago and have worked in a laboratory ever since. But in a laboratory you are alone, with only machines. There is no warmth, no contact, which is what I always looked for in my training”, explained the postgraduate student.
Inside the hospital laboratory, Dr. Rafael saw his life change with the arrival of Covid-19. Besides the social restrictions and not being able to have contact with loved ones in order to protect them, everything became even harder at the workplace.
“With Covid, the contact I already lacked, the human warmth I already did not feel, got worse. I lost many coworkers, colleagues who were there with us every day. Cases kept arriving of people who were admitted and stayed hospitalized for a long time… it was a very difficult time. Whether you like it or not, you cared indirectly, you knew the stories colleagues told, and what happened afterward always affected you, even more at a time when you have zero contact with others”, recalls Dr. Rafael.
After so many losses and exhausting shifts, the biomedical professional began to realize how the routine was affecting his health: he had the onset of depression.
“With the pandemic, the work started getting heavier, on top of everything we were going through. I worked and there were still 24-hour and 48-hour shifts, or longer, all because coworkers who were supposed to be there didn't show up, couldn't come, had problems. And you hardly saw any happiness inside the laboratory. I started to have the beginnings of depression, because you look around and there is no one with you anymore, I felt alone”, he said.
Through Aesthetic Biomedicine, an opportunity to change his life
From that moment on, he decided he was going to change his life. Since he had already had contact with Aesthetics during his training and had liked it, he decided to look for a way to work in the field, and that is how he began his postgraduate program in Aesthetic Biomedicine at Nepuga.
“Since I already knew Aesthetics and knew I would find what I was looking for there, because it is a field that helps you pick yourself back up, bring back the shine, unlike everything I was living through. So I thought it was what I wanted, because besides the human contact I had looked for from the start, I would also be able to lift a person up and improve their quality of life and mine.”
The improvement in quality of life and the changes intensified with the hands-on classes and the start of patient care.
“With the postgraduate program, everything changed. I was already motivated, but when I started working, feeling real human warmth, I got better, I felt good, and I saw that this was what I wanted and needed! I wanted to have human warmth, I wanted to have feeling, I wanted to give back to others everything I received, and in Aesthetics I found that.”
Discover other success stories here.
Rebirth of a dream: overcoming obstacles and expectations
Even while pursuing his dream, Dr. Rafael encountered some obstacles in his professional life. After two months in practice, he tells how he overcame those situations and what he does to achieve the success and recognition of being a man working in Aesthetics.
“I noticed a lot of resistance to having a man perform aesthetic procedures. But I saw an opportunity there. It was my dream and I decided to do what I always wanted: bring comfort to my patients. So besides the treatment, I always talk, I explain the procedures, I make my professionalism clear, I offer a different consultation.”
On the other hand, being an aesthetic biomedical professional also opened doors for Dr. Rafael.
“Men are interested in facial and body treatments, but there is also resistance, even from those who perform the procedures. Today my clientele is very large and a good part of it is made up of men. I treat one, he likes it, and he already refers other friends who want treatments but are afraid or embarrassed”.
For the Aesthetic Biomedical Professional, it is possible to stand out greatly in the market, as he himself is doing. Besides the financial return, which in two months nearly surpasses what he earned in the laboratory with shifts, he sees great expansion in the market, especially for the male audience.
“If you are a man and want to work in the aesthetic field, the time is now. Men are increasingly interested in treatments, but you have to stand out to be recognized. Today I am already getting a very good return, similar to what I received in the laboratory. But I am still new to the market. My expectation and projection is that with more knowledge, in a short time, I will earn much more!”, concluded Dr. Rafael.
Antônio Germano
NEPUGA content team — Núcleo de Especializações Ana Carolina Puga.
