Balancing Nursing and Aesthetics to Increase Income

Her nursing career gave Renata Oliveira financial stability, but now she wants to balance nursing and aesthetics to increase her income and keep studying

Seventeen years ago, Renata Oliveira graduated in nursing. It was a great achievement in her life that took her into the health field as a nurse, caring for people. Always determined to grow in her profession, she never stopped studying and gaining new skills to find her best version. To do so, she plans to balance nursing and aesthetics to stay motivated and keep growing.

Renata always felt the need to look for something more, to develop herself and stay up to date with her studies and the job market. With her son now older, she sees growth opportunities closer; after all, he no longer needs as much attention as when he was younger, so she can set aside time to take care of herself.

Renata's life is very similar to that of millions of Brazilian women who work hard every day to provide the best for their families and to align all that determination with what is best for themselves. Brave, the experienced nurse is entering aesthetics to earn one more victory in her life.

She has worked in hospitals for 17 years, in the public service, and already has vast experience in the nursing sector. Having graduated the same number of years ago, she carries with her the need to always keep developing.

Setting new goals

With her son now of school age, Renata became interested in taking another postgraduate program. Even though she was constantly learning at home by reading content relevant to her field, she had no free time because of her responsibilities as a mother. With her son's “independence” for some tasks and his starting school, she found herself with free time and decided to make the most of it, and she found in aesthetics a way to combine her desire and taste for studying with one more source of income.

Renata says she did not make this choice only for financial reasons, since with her current job she has no income difficulties, but that studying is always something pleasurable for her; however, contact with aesthetics enchanted her and encouraged her to think about combining her nursing work with the new specialization.

During classes, Renata became more interested in the aesthetics field and says that much of one's progress depends on the student's own dedication. She did not believe it would be a path in her professional life, but contact with the clinical immersions and the online content kept encouraging her.

“Actually, I didn't believe (that I would do the postgraduate program), especially because I work a lot and money wasn't an issue. I developed a taste for it, got a recommendation for the specialization at Nepuga, and I'm satisfied with the methodology.”

Aesthetics as self-care

Renata reveals that she already knows which procedures she intends to perform. Because of the lack of time due to her current job, she believes she can make better use of the specialization if she offers injectable treatments, considering the cost of procedures that use equipment. “I'd like the injectables area, not with equipment. I already have many hours taken up by shifts, and equipment doesn't have the financial return I expect, unlike injectables. I need to channel my time in a way that gives a good, fast financial return, which these days is harmonizations.”

Being a nurse, she carries within her the desire to contribute to others. Choosing to study Nursing was precisely for the pleasure of contributing to people's care. The act of caring is what made her enter and stay in nursing.

Renata also observes that within the profession, many professionals end up seeing and assisting many people and forgetting about self-care, whether regarding appearance or even psychologically. She believes that by entering aesthetics, many of these professionals will also be able to better see this need and begin to take special care of themselves too.

“I see nursing and aesthetics as very connected. My choice for nursing, and what kept me in the field, is the act of caring, and we worry so much about others that we forget about ourselves. I see many friends worn down, physically and mentally tired, unable to practice self-care. That's why I believe aesthetics can contribute to this too; after all, I'm a consumer of aesthetic procedures and I see how much they can contribute to our self-esteem.”

Renata speaks with authority, because she has been having aesthetic procedures done on herself for many years, including lymphatic drainage, so as not to retain fluid after a shift, botox injections and others. For her, handling these appointments will feel calm, since she has been in contact with these experiences for 10 years.

Balancing nursing and aesthetics

She also will not leave nursing after finishing the postgraduate program. The idea is to balance both roles. “I'll do it all. I won't take on the world, but since my other jobs are public, I can't give them up. And they are jobs that make me better prepared for the aesthetics side, besides client acquisition. It will be important to combine the two, even so I don't “lose my touch” and my way with people.”

Renata concludes that the postgraduate program has been of great value for her growth. Passionate about studying, she has rated this experience in the specialization as positive. “It's a good option, constant growth and updating. All the time it will motivate me to seek new techniques and new procedures. Sometimes the profession itself leaves us a bit limited, because we think we master every aspect of a given subject, but we see there is always a new path that motivates us to develop more every day.”

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