Mariana is a shift nurse; she currently works at two places and suffers from the exhausting shifts. She says: “I want time with my son” and since she works two shifts a week at the hospital and, to supplement her income, works at another place, she feels this keeps her away from leisure time with her family. Enrolling in the specialization in aesthetic nursing will be her escape from the intense hours in hospitals.
Confident in her performance and encouraged by friends, she has in hand the tools she needs to write a new story in her career. You will learn about her dreams, wishes, and plans throughout this text and discover how aesthetics can transform the life of Rio de Janeiro nurse Mariana Mendes.
An Exhausting Routine and a Desire for Change
Mariana Mendes’s story with health begins with nursing. A trained nurse, she says she always felt a stronger affinity for the health field and for caring for others. So life gradually took her to a nursing degree and made her a professional in looking after patients’ health and well-being.
For her, working in nursing was always a wish, and today she works in emergency care at two jobs. Mariana works shifts twice a week at a hospital and works at another place on alternate days.
In fact, this exhausting routine was one of the triggers for her decision to seek new directions in her professional career. Recently, with the two jobs, the shifts, and above all the birth of her son, she says she has no time to enjoy leisure moments and be with her family.
All of this routine wears her down and takes up time she could be spending with her family and friends, but missing out on those moments was the trigger she needed to change her story for good.
“I always had this inclination toward the health field and life took me there. I studied nursing and today I work in emergency care at a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro. After many shifts, my son was born, and I was deprived of a lot of moments with him.”
With the possibility of pursuing a specialization, she saw in aesthetics the way out she was looking for. Very fond of looking her best, as she herself says, aesthetics is a field she has always used for herself, but when encouraged by a friend, she ended up falling in love with it and decided to pursue a career in it.
“I Want Time with My Son.” Seeking Autonomy
A fan of aesthetic procedures, Mariana says a friend was her biggest supporter in getting her to enroll in the postgraduate program and recommended Nepuga. Her fascination with aesthetics only grew and she is very happy with the decision.
“I’ve always been very into looking my best. I have a friend in aesthetics who really encouraged me to join the postgraduate program. I joined and fell in love.”
Mariana says she doesn’t intend to give up nursing and shifts. Her idea is to combine them; after all, adding up income is always advantageous. With aesthetics she can reduce her shifts and still keep earning with more flexible hours, gaining the time she so longs for to be with her son.
It is natural that as the years go by and with new achievements such as a family, a home, and other assets, people tend to want to enjoy it all, but without a job that provides quality of life, this is almost impossible. That is why having control over your time and appointments is essential for anyone who wants a calmer life.
Mariana describes how sad it is to work two shifts a week plus another job, and how this makes her miss parties, celebrations, New Year’s, and other moments with her family and friends.
“It’s two shifts at hospitals and another job. I end up missing parties, birthdays, the end of the year, and aesthetics will give me better work flexibility, New Year’s at home, Christmas at home, and more attention for my son, of course.”
Clinic Partnership and Field of Practice
Her passion for aesthetics began when she herself was a client of the procedures. While getting a facial with a friend, she heard about the advantages and benefits of becoming an aesthetic nurse and ended up falling for the profession.
“This friend of mine came to talk to me and showed me the possibility. She knew I liked it, she knew I was a nurse, and she advised me. She planted the little seed in my head (laughs).”
Asked about her future in aesthetics, Mariana already has a plan laid out. With the friend who advised her, she has already formed a partnership and become a co-owner of the clinic. When she finishes her specialization, the aesthetic nurse will already have her own place to see patients.
According to her, the procedures that most catch her attention and that she will probably work with are facial ones, especially Facial Harmonization.
“Shifts box me in, you know? The salary is what it is, the hours are what they are. Now at the clinic I have greater flexibility, I can create my own schedule and see patients according to demand. I went into partnership with my friend and we’re going to see patients together at the clinic.”
Asked why facial procedures, she says: “I like body procedures too, but facial ones enchant me more. It’s what I like for myself, so I believe it will show in my patients.”
Mariana has in her hands the chance to transform her career and understands the importance of moving into aesthetics not only as a source of income, but as a source of joy in providing her patients with well-being and, for herself, the quality time she so dreams of having with her family.
Rafael Alves
NEPUGA content team — Núcleo de Especializações Ana Carolina Puga.
