Nurses who work in the field of medical aesthetics are calling on the Quebec government to back down on a new plan to strictly regulate their industry. Currently, patients seeking Botox or other injectables don’t need a doctor’s prescription. But that will change starting next month.
“May 1 is the deadline to reorganize our practice. It’s really disappointing that the nurses in 2017 have to go back 15 years,” registered nurse Louise St-Aubin said.
The Mont Tremblant resident runs three clinics dedicated to facial rejuvenation and has been injecting clients for that last 12 years. The rules governing her business will soon change dramatically since she will no longer be allowed to inject her clients without individual prescriptions.
Patients who want injections can currently choose between a physician or an authorized nurse.
There are approximately 200 nurses practising medical aesthetics in Quebec. It’s a booming business that some suspect doctors now want in on. St-Aubin, who is also the president of a group representing independent nurses (RIIEQ), worries the new rules will restrict access to treatment since clients will now have to take the extra step of finding a doctor first.
“I think the doctors don’t have the time to do that kind of practice especially [considering] that the nurses have all the abilities to do it, and we have the law that tells that we can do it,” St-Aubin insisted.
But the Quebec College of Physicians claims its clamping down in the name of public safety.
