Michelle Doran, MSN, APRN, BC, CANS, spoke to Alex Thiersch, JD, on AmSpa’s Medical Spa Insider podcast to talk about how she made the transition into aesthetics, the importance of cadaver and anatomy training for the safety of your patients, and how she has built a patient-focused, nurse-led three-location medical spa in the Boston area.

• How she transitioned from traditional medicine to medical aesthetics;
• “Weekend courses” and what training looked like when she got started;
• The importance of mentorship and continuous learning for injectors;
• Why health care experience is critical before joining aesthetics;
• Suggested minimum training requirements for safe aesthetic injectors;
• How cadaver courses rooted in anatomy improve your patient safety;
• Why you need to build your safety network in medical aesthetics;
• Her experience managing complications effectively.

This June 27-29, 2025, the Academy for Injection Anatomy is hosting its first-ever AIA Alumni Reunion and Refresher! It's a celebration of the vibrant AIA community, of injectors who continue to mentor and guide each other, elevating the profession through their dedication to patient safety and aesthetic excellence. Reunite at the source of it all in Kansas City, where Dr. Chris Surek, DO, FACS, will be performing live filler and neuromodulator injections on stage with simultaneous ultrasound from pioneer Dr. Steven Weiner, along with both layered and cross-sectional full face dissection, a reunion banquet, the first signing of the physicians' new textbook, and an optional hands-on cadaver lab to refresh your skills. Learn more and reserve your seat at americanmedspa.org/aiaalumni.

Tune in to AmSpa’s podcast for weekly insights from your fellow aesthetic professionals and industry experts on the topics that impact your practice. Listen to Medical Spa Insider on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and your favorite podcast platforms. 

Alex R. Thiersch, JD: Okay. Welcome to the program everybody. This is Alex Thiersch, the founder and CEO of AmSpa. And welcome to Medical Spa Insider, which is our podcast. And today on the AmSpa hotline, we have none other, but Michelle Doran, who has constantly had her name mispronounced. So I'm gonna do my best to make sure that I don't do that. She is a nurse practitioner from the Boston area, has several locations, I wanna say three locations in and around Boston called RN Esthetics. She has been a part of the industry for a long time, and a big supporter of AmSpa, as well as a member of the faculty of the Academy for Injection Anatomy, which is Dr. Chris Surek's course. Advanced anatomy and aesthetics, which I recommend all of you check out 'cause it's really cool. And we'll get into that a little bit. But Michelle, welcome to the program. How're you doing?

Michelle Doran, MSN, APRN, BC, CANS: I'm great. Thank you so much for having me.

Thiersch: Yeah, you're welcome. You're welcome. So, I've known you for a while. We haven't got to spend too much time together, but I've definitely, you know, I meet up with you at the AIA events and other things. Give everybody kind of a quick little thumbnail sketch of your practice and what you offer and what you've been up to lately.

Doran: Okay. So we have a practice called RN esthetics. We're three locations, as you mentioned, north of Boston. And we originally opened in 2012, myself and an advanced practice nurse Linda, who just retired in actually on Leap Day this year. And we offer, we're primarily focused on minimally invasive, non-invasive procedures, injectables, skincare, and laser treatments.

Thiersch: Okay. And when did you get into the industry? First, let's get a little bit into your kind of your background. And you are a nurse practitioner, I wanna make sure I get that right.

Doran: Yes. So I was a surgical nurse at Brigham and Women's. I took care of lung transplant patients. And then I got my nurse practitioner at BC [Boston College] and I started, I lived in Boston and started commuting to the North Shore and doing primary care and palliative care. I worked with a big geriatric and family practice. I did that for about 10 years. And then on the side, after doing palliative care for quite some time, I just decided to take a Botox and dermal filler course. Just something fun on the side to kind of explore. My mom's a cosmetologist. She kept telling me, 'Oh my God, you have to get into this, as a nurse practitioner.' I took a course and I just started dabbling in it and that was in 2011. So I was just dabbling on the side. By 2012, I was getting a little busier with it and then in 2013, Linda and I opened our practice in Linfield. And at that time, we were both working other jobs, so it was kind of,

Thiersch: Yeah, I was gonna ask that.

Doran: Yeah. We were straddling both worlds.

Thiersch: So it was part-time, you were just kind starting off part-time, bootstrapping. When did you make the decision to go full-time and jump in with both feet?

Doran: So, pretty soon after that. For the first probably year I was doing both. And then I, my kids were little at the time. My twins were five, my little one was three. And I said to my husband, you know, ‘I think I'm gonna leave my job and open a med spa.’ And the joke is — and he's here working from home, so he might laugh at this — but the joke is, he said to me, ‘Isn't that a trend or a fad?’ And I said, ‘No, I think it's kind of here to stay.’ And so I left my job as an NP and started doing this full time. And we didn't really take a pay, you know, any compensation probably for the first like three to six months.

Thiersch: Sure, sure. Yeah. I think, I mean, since he's there, I think we gotta get your husband on here to get his view on all this.

Doran: Right, I agree.

Thiersch: I'm just messing with you. Unless he wants to, of course. So I do wanna, it's interesting 'cause there's a lot of folks who take your path. I think I've talked with dozens if not hundreds of people in similar paths. And I'm always curious — and I was having a conversation recently with somebody about this—is what drove you to switch careers like that? Because, you know, many people get into nursing, or they become a PA, they don't really know too much about medical aesthetics. They don't even know that it's an option. It's not really taught in any of the PA or nursing schools. Unless you are exposed to it in a dermatology practice or a plastic surgery practice, you're not really exposed to it. And you kinda have to find out about it.

Thiersch: But one of the questions that was asked to me is, ‘Why do folks make that jump? What is it about the industry and having your own business?’ I assume you're not kind of like a — Were you a born entrepreneur wanting to always have your own business? And number one, that's always a question. But then what's that calculus that goes through? Because it's not a small thing. Once you leave palliative care and working at a hospital, whatever those things are, it's tough to go back. So people who make that move tend to do it with permanence. And I'm curious, what led you to that conclusion?

What made medical spas the right fit

Doran: I think I had an idea of what type of practice I wanted to work in. And at the time I started working for a physician in the Boston area. And I kept telling her, you know, ‘I think we need to invest in this. I think we need to do this procedure,’ et cetera. And I was just met with resistance. And at that point I thought, well, why am I telling her how to do it? I should just do it myself. And so I ended up deciding to open the practice. I have always been an entrepreneur. My father had a business brain, and even when I was little, I remember going around the neighborhood and making brochures for babysitting. And I had a name of the babysitting company and I handed them out to people. And so that's always been sort of part of who I am. So, yeah.

Thiersch: No, and what I've always, my response to that question — and again, 'cause I'm not a provider, so I've never been through it — but it seems to me that medical aesthetics and getting into this business for yourself is really one of the last kind of places in medicine where you can really build your own brand, right? Have your own idea and roll it out, as opposed to, you know, there's no managed care, there's no insurance, there's no hospital administration and all of those regulations. And there's regulations, don't get me wrong, but there's a little more freedom. Did you find that to be the case?

Doran: Totally. That's what I loved. And people would always say, how did you go from palliative care to aesthetics? But part of palliative care was really establishing relationships with patients and their families and spending more time with them and providing them really excellent care. So when I found the aesthetic, medical aesthetic portion of being a nurse practitioner specialty, it just was a natural fit for me. I liked spending time with patients. I liked not having to deal with insurance. I liked being able to take that care with my patients and not be so focused on, you know, my notes and billing and all of those things. And so it just felt like a natural fit.

Thiersch: Yeah. And that's interesting that you are kind of a natural entrepreneur. I mean, so you've been kind of wanting to do that for a while. I think that that obviously lends itself. 'cause We find a lot of folks in this industry aren't necessarily cut from that cloth. They kind of realize that this door is open to them, and so they go through it. But coming from palliative care as well as, you know, the other things that you've done, one of the big questions I get from physicians in hospital settings or general practice nurse practitioners, PAs, RNs, is training. Right? And this is a big, big issue in our world right now because there are some folks out there who believe that dermatologists with high level of training should be kind of the exclusive realm of providing this stuff these kinds of treatments. And there's always a lot of question about how much treatment and how much training and experience is necessary to get into that. So, I'm curious how you started out your journey in getting trained. Because I mean, obviously where you are now, you are eminently qualified. You know so much about anatomy and facial aesthetics that there's no doubt that you qualify. But how do folks who want to get into the industry know, and what do they do? Where do they go?

The reality of weekend training courses

Doran: Yeah. So for me, I took a weekend course, which was a little scary, right? So Saturday was Botox, Sunday was dermal filler.

Thiersch: All you need to know, right? 

Doran: I don't think they did any anatomy other than the muscles. 

Thiersch: And isn't that kind of scary?

Doran: I know. And this was like 12 years ago. So, fortunately, I think we've gotten a lot better in terms of the training. But my mother and my sister-in-law were my models. And then I ended up connecting with Dr. Russo, Joe Russo. Because my mother, as I mentioned, was a cosmetologist and on the board at Catherine Hines. So she set me up with him. I met with him, and I was in his network. So, fortunately, he helped mentor me when I started.

Thiersch: Did you go to his training school too, which he has in Boston?

Doran: He didn't have that at the time. There was a small network of us, but we would go to his office and spend time and he would really train us on safe injecting. So that was fortunate because I didn't have any mentors really in the industry at that point. And then I just started seeing patients and I learned as I went and I started, you know, doing more conferences, but there wasn't a lot out there. In 2015, I was asked to be a trainer for Allergan, and that's when probably my education really increased because then I was part of the training program, going to Train the Trainers. And that's really where I established some of my favorite mentors and got those relationships. Prior to that, I didn't really know anyone.

Thiersch: Yeah. And, you know, that's one thing that I think it would be really wise for us to work on, right. Is how do you hook people up with mentors? Because that's really how you learn. There's no medical aesthetic specialty that doctors can do. So doctors are learning this as well. I'm a little, you know, I know what you're talking about. Some of these courses, the weekend courses don't, you know, don't focus on anatomy, which is terrifying. I think you're right. We've gotten a lot better at that. But did you, one thing that I always hear from folks is that you, you know, good injectors, good providers are really never, they never stop learning. Have you ever felt totally comfortable with — you know, in my mind, if you feel like you're experienced and you've got nothing to worry about, that's kind of when things happen. Is that a fair assessment?

Doran: Yes. I like to call that mount stupid. Right? You have little knowledge and high confidence, so you don't know what you don't know and that's when problems happen for people. So, as new injectors, often because they don't have the experience, they end up opening their own practice because nobody will hire them, and they don't have a mentor, and they don't have that education and they also don't have that business sense. So it's kind of a perfect storm for people.

The training it takes to become a responsible cosmetic injector

Thiersch: How so how much training and experience is enough to be a safe, competent injector? We'll talk about injecting first. How much do you need?

Doran: Well, I love to hire people who, I hire a lot of nurse practitioners and nurses who have really extensive medical backgrounds. So they've been in the hospital setting, taking care of patients. They're good at procedures. They're good at taking medical histories. They're interested in learning and growing. Those are the perfect ripe apples to really start to train. And so, I always think it really comes down to what your experience is before you get into the medical aesthetics world. And then doing a Botox course doing dermal fillers, and then online. Like Allergan has their online portal, a lot of companies do that. Going, definitely attending a cadaver course is critical. And then ongoing cadaver every year, every two years to really dive into the anatomy. You really have to be invested. And you have to be willing to spend the money on yourself. To really invest in yourself. Because you can't expect to get a job where someone's just gonna be sending you constantly to courses. It's really an investment in your own education and learning.

Thiersch: It's interesting that you said that you like NPs as an example, who have a fairly extensive medical background, which I think is very, very astute. And I think it makes a perfect amount of sense. One thing that I've seen though, we don't see this as much, but we're starting to see younger nurse practitioners, younger RNs coming into the industry, I think, because with social media, they’re seeing some of the injectors and some of the business owners in this industry have become celebrities in some respects. And so it's driving a lot of folks into the industry younger. Does anything worry you about that? And I guess, what is the benefit if you could unpack that a little bit of having, say you work in a hospital for 5, 6, 10 years, or it's something like you're doing like palliative care. What's the benefit to aesthetics for that as opposed to coming right in and just learning off the bat?

Why aesthetic pracititioners need health care experience first

Doran: I, in my experience, I think that having that solid background is really key. We precept nursing students in our practice. They help with procedures and things like that, almost like a medical assistant for us. And then when they graduate, like my most recent one was crying when I said, ‘You need to go get a real job for a couple years.’ And part of that is they need that, they need that experience. They need to develop those clinical skills knowing when things go wrong, taking care of patients, if they're having an allergic reaction, if they're having a vagal response, all of those things. You learn that by doing bedside care. And I think it's really important. It's hard for somebody, and I get resumes constantly from nurses who [say] 'I'm graduating, and I really wanna get into medical aesthetics.' And I appreciate that, and I know it's such a wonderful specialty to be in. But I do always recommend that they get some experience as a nurse first. Also, medical aesthetics is such a specialty, and we're kind of spoiled in that sense. So I like people to put their time in, you know? Like, see what the real world's like first and then you can join us.

Thiersch: Yeah, that's true. Although I have to say, you don't see too many people who come into medical aesthetics leaving and going back. Right?

Doran: Absolutely. Once they come in, they stay. So, you know, if you were in your twenties, that's a long career. You might get burnt out after (a little bit).

Do aesthetic injectors have minimum training requirements? Should they?

Thiersch: A little. That's true. That's true. And no, I think that's a good point. Now, what do you think, one of the things that we've kicked around and I know others are out there kicking it around too, is what's the next step in our industry for training and development, right? Unlike many, including many specialties in with the nurse practitioners. Nurse practitioners tend to have specialties that they, when they come out of school, they're — whatever that might be: family practice, OBGYN, whatever. Same with some PAs and same with physicians. There's nothing that is aesthetics related. So most people are gonna have to get their experience at other jobs and other verticals before they come into aesthetics. But there is a  question, I think it's valid is: Should there be kind of minimum training requirements, some sort of minimum consistent standard or at least consistent guidelines that tell folks, including the public as well as employers, ‘This is what this person knows, this is the minimum in order to be at least a safe injector.’ What's your stance on that? And the big loaded question is, how in the hell do we figure out what that is?

Doran: I think it would be really important to have a standardization for aesthetic providers, especially nurse practitioners. You know, we and RNs, we sit for the certified aesthetic nurse boards. And there are so many that don't even go for that. And they really should, if they're practicing aesthetics full time, they should be board certified. And I think having more mentorship programs or fellowship type programs for providers that are looking to get into this specialty is really critical. So hopefully organizations step up and start setting those minimum standards in terms of education, training, ongoing mentorship, et cetera. That would be ideal. And I know some of the companies like Allergan is who I reference because I teach for them. I see them, you know, we do these national programs for new injectors, and then they're really getting that kind of ongoing education which is really important as well.

How Doran became a trainer for the Academy for Injection Anatomy

Thiersch: Yeah. And what, so full disclosure AmSpa acquired AIA, the Academy for Injection Anatomy back in 2020. But I'm curious about your… Whenever I talk to Dr. Chris Surek and I see his program, which is several weekends a year and just kind of the passion that he has with teaching and the depth that he gets into, and the depth of his knowledge of facial anatomy. I'm curious, how did you get hooked up with him and what's been your experience at AIA? Because it truly is, and obviously I'm biased, but I'm saying this because I've seen it is a remarkable course that he puts on. His knowledge of anatomy never ceases to amaze me. But what impact has that had on you and your career development?

Doran: So I met Dr. Surek I think, in 2019, right before Covid. Linda and I took his second cadaver course that he ever had in Kansas City. And I absolutely loved him and Tiffany, I thought the course was amazing. And so then 2020, I was signed up and then Covid kind of happened and it got shut down. But I did some virtual courses that he offered. And because Sarah Safa is a good friend and colleague of mine, and I knew she ended up, and Kevin and George, Hermine, they were all my aesthetic friends. When he was looking for other educators, somebody to kind of represent the Northeast, I guess my name was thrown in which I was shocked about. And I was in Maine picking my daughter up at camp, and my phone rang. And you know how your iPhone now will say who it is, even if they're not a contact? And it said like, Chris Surek. So I said to my husband, ‘I have to step out and take this. I mean, Dr. Surek is calling me.’ And he asked me if I would be on his faculty. I of course said yes. You don't say no to that, it's such an honor. But I felt like, ‘Oh my God, I better put in a lot of work and do my own education before I even get there.’ Every course he taught, the first year I was there, I went and I sat in and listened to the lecture every time because I felt like when I got to the lab, I had to really know if I'm the one helping lead the lab. But with Chris, he's just, he is such a humble guy and he's just so passionate about anatomy. And the way he sets up his course, the injecting anatomy is unique from any other cadaver course that I've taken. I've taken a ton over the years. And I am always surprised, but not really, knowing him, how he brings that energy to every single course.

Thiersch: Yeah. Whatever he's eating, I want to have some of that.

Doran: Absolutely. It's so true. And his faculty are just amazing.

Thiersch: It is.

Doran: So it's, it's just such a great opportunity.

Why a support network is essential when managing complications

Thiersch: Every time I see one of them, I'm blown away. And it's remarkable what he's created and I think everybody, especially experienced injectors, but everybody needs to take that course. Any cadaver course, to be sure, right? You need to do that, the anatomy is very important. But that in particular, and one of the things that they do, and I'd love to talk to you about this, is that they have what they call a complications panel, which they get up and they talk about complications. Complications are something that we all, you know, any injector will tell you it's not a matter of “if” it's “when,” right? But it's also the thing that when you look at some of the not-so-compliant medical aesthetics practices that bubble to the surface sometimes in parts of the country, a lot of them don't know much about how to handle complications. That's one of the big issues. Talk about what that means and how long does it take you to be comfortable to handle complications? Have you ever had one and what was that like?

Doran: Yes. I've, you know, I've been injecting now about 13 years and I've had several over the years. I think anyone that says they haven't probably didn't recognize that they did.

Thiersch: Yeah. Which is scary too, right?

Doran: It probably ended up getting managed somewhere else. But managing complications is par for the course. You have to be really comfortable with it, but you also need really great mentors and a support network because there are times, and I, you know, I'll get texts from colleagues, like, 'what do I do about this?' I reach out to my local plastic surgeon if I have a concern or an issue. I've helped other providers manage complications in our practice. And you really need that network because at that point, it's really about the patient and taking care of the patient. And it's not about your own ego or you don't want people to know, or those types of things. It's all hands on deck and you're really just taking care of the patient.

How she grew her medical aesthetic practice to three locations

Thiersch: Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting that you said that if they don't know if they've had one, it's probably because they didn't know really. Like, which is kind of frightening when you think about it, but it's probably true. So you've, first of all, you opened up a couple locations. How long did it take you to get from one location to where you are now? Three?

Doran: So we opened our first location and really grew it over five years. And once we figured out kind of like what our secret sauce was and really what set us apart in the Boston area, then we decided to open a second location as a way to expand the North Shore. We did that for a year or two. And then at that point, we ended up opening our third location. And we took our really skilled team and we kind of distributed them in the three locations and then hired new providers. So we had experienced people, we didn't just throw a group of brand new providers in one location. But yeah, at this point we have three locations. We have 30 staff. 

Thiersch: Wow, that's awesome. 

Doran: And yeah, we have six RNs, six NPs, and nine estheticians as part of our team. So it's a pretty big team. 

How did she identify her med spa's unique value proposition?

Thiersch: How did you, because I get this question too, and we teach it when we do our business bootcamps, like, how do you find your secret sauce? Because that's so important. And I think it means different things to different people, but really you've gotta, you know, in this world where there is a lot of competition, a lot of it is online or on social media, you've gotta have something that draws people. How do you figure out what that is? How long does it take? And any advice for folks that are looking for that?

Doran: I think our secret sauce right out of the gate was the fact that we were advanced practice nurses and we were really nurse focused. We tapped into that nursing part of what makes us who we are as providers. And patients loved that because we strategically set up our practice where it it didn't feel spa and it didn't feel too medical. It felt clinical, but we took time with patients. We just established rapport with patients, and as we developed our culture as a team, it was easy to attract staff because the right people just kind of found us. And at this point, we get a lot of referrals from within, from our team. We've hired clients as providers, really experienced nurse practitioners who would love to get into aesthetics. And they were coming into our practice as patients. And we just got to know them, and we were like, you know what? They have the right personality, they have the right skillset, they fit our culture, we'll train them. And that's kind of how we did it. And then we just have a loyal following of patients. I mean, we've created these strategic memberships. And our patients are like, it' almost like a cult, you know? They love our practice. They tell friends and we just grow from that, from our reputation.

Thiersch: Yeah. That's awesome. Are you doing a lot of marketing? Are you on social media? Is that one of the big things that you do?

Doran: Yeah, we're on Instagram and Facebook. And we do a Google AdWords campaign. And I remember starting out, you have to put the money out there. So it's really tricky. If you wanna build a practice, you have to invest in your education as we talked about, but also you really have to invest in the marketing piece of it, because you're not gonna get patients in the door just by your name alone. So it did take that spend to get the patients in the door and then giving them the best care is what kept them in the door. So we definitely grew over time, spent more on marketing. But it paid off for us.

Michelle's experience with private equity and med spa platforms

Thiersch: So what's next? Like I learned that you recently joined Alpha Aesthetics, which I've heard great things about them. They have acquired several practices. What was that process like and what's your life like now?

Doran: Well, Alpha was a natural fit for us because Linda was getting ready to retire. She turned 67, she wanted to spend more time with her family. And I, as a clinician wanted to take some things off my plate, right? Like, I'm a clinical person, but I didn't wanna have to be doing the HR, the payroll, the legal, all the hiring, all of that. And so that's what drew me in with Alpha. Sarah was a partner, she had talked to me about it. I met with John and Tyler and Andrew, and I just loved them. They have a really solid team. And for me, it was nice to be able to take things off my plate that I didn't need and really focus on mentoring and clinically supporting my practice. And it's nice to have a financial backer as we want to expand so I'm not always going to a local bank and signing a personal guarantee to, you know, open a practice or buy equipment, things like that.

Thiersch: Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's interesting because we see anyone who's got a med spa right now, I think, has probably been contacted by someone saying, ‘Oh, we're buying, we're rolling up.’ I've heard a lot of bad experiences from that. I've heard some good experiences too, to be fair. What advice would you give for someone out there who's either been contacted, is contemplating it, isn't really sure what to do, from someone who's done it. What advice would you give to them?

Doran: I think it's important not to just chase the money. At the end of the day, you really, if you decide to go in this direction, you really need to find a group that feels similar to the way you run your practice from a culture perspective and not just sell out, you know? So for me, I was approached all the time. I spoke to a bunch of different you know, investment groups, et cetera, and Alpha for me just felt like the right culture and the right people. And their vision, you know, when they interview you, you have to interview them too. Right? So find out what their goal is, what their vision is, how many partners they want, all of those things so that it feels like a right fit for you.

Cautions and excitement for the future of medical aesthetics

Thiersch: Yeah. Yeah. I think that's great advice. The money is one thing, but you still have to go to work and you still have to wake up and go every day. And these are people that you're working with. So I think that's good advice. The I always like to ask this question, sometimes I don't because I don't feel like people can handle it. But what's the thing that scares you the most about this industry in the future? And then what's the thing that gets you most excited?

Doran: I think the scary part is that so many people are getting into this industry, and they don't, as we talked about, they don't have the knowledge or the training. And it sets us up as a profession to not provide the safest and effective care for patients. I also think social media is a blessing and a curse. As you mentioned, some medical providers now are seen as pseudo celebrities, and for me, that's just sort of crazy in this business. Because we are medical professionals. That's really what we do. So those are the things that worry me. The things that I'm excited about, I see the education getting better and better. I see the mentorship getting better and better and support networks. You know, when I first started, nobody would talk to you. It was so competitive. And now I have friends that are five miles from me, and we — there's room for everyone that wants to be in this medical specialty, but you have to do it in a safe, safe way.

Thiersch: Yeah. I say that all the time. There's more than enough for everybody to eat their share. I'm curious, just kind of in wrapping up is there's been such growth from the patient standpoint, meaning patients continue to want these treatments. What's your thought? Is that going to continue? I mean, we put out statistics and we measure growth and we talk about the industry all the time. You know, someone who's in it. When you talk, when you're out on the street, when you talk to folks, when you tell them what you do, what's the reaction? Is this something that is gonna continue to grow? I'm curious what the word on the street is.

Doran: Oh, for sure. Even being in the Boston area, we tend to be a more conservative market. But now, you know, I love seeing, I'll see a mother, a daughter, a grandmother, like everyone's doing it, you know, and the fact that people are really focused on self-care. Is important. The, you know, the wellness aspect of aesthetics that's coming in, in terms of weight loss and all of those things, regenerative medicine, that's super exciting. But everyone's interested in it at this point. So people that you didn't think would be a patient is suddenly in your chair. And I always like to know the why, but for a lot of my patients, they'll say like, ‘look, you know, I plan to work for a long time. I wanna look fresh. I wanna, I wanna feel my best version of myself.’ They're done like taking care of kids and parents, and they wanna invest in themselves. And I'm seeing more and more of that.

The natural look on the Boston streets

Thiersch: Yeah. And are you also seeing, like many of us in the industry are seeing, it's really trending towards a much more kind of natural look? There used to be, back in the day when I first started, there was a saying. Who told this to me? I'm not sure. But they said the best injectible is undetectable. And we kinda went through a period, I feel like where there was, we were kind of finding ourselves and there were some folks who maybe were doing things differently. What's the attitude of your patients with respect to that and the natural look? Obviously everyone wants to look natural, but the fact of the matter is, is we're doing, you know, you're doing lips that're becoming bigger, so people are gonna maybe notice.

Doran: Right. So I used to have that t-shirt, as did many of my staff. And that's always been our philosophy. We think that you should look like yourself the best version of yourself but not, not weird, right? And when patients come into your practice, the number one thing that they're most concerned about isn't like how much they're gonna spend. It's, 'I don't wanna look weird.'. And so, you know, you're gonna attract the patients that are like your practice. So all of our providers look very natural. We all get treatments, but we look natural because if we overdid it, guess what? The patient walking in the door, when you take a look around, that's what you're gonna get too. You know, there's some dysmorphia with providers, with patients. And that's where it's really important to have that medical knowledge, to be comfortable to say to a patient, you know what, I don't think this is the right time for you. And really keep people looking natural. And you're right, the trend is definitely swinging that way. And fortunately, being in the Boston area, we've always been that way. It's pretty unusual to see people walking around that look weird in this area. And when they do, you're like, ‘Oh my God, please say they didn't go to my practice.’ You know?

Thiersch: That's, yeah. I always am amazed when I see providers who are, you know, and to each his own, everyone has their own their own style. But like, to me, if you're putting that vibe out into the world, that's who you're gonna get. And if you're getting it, then they're gonna go out and be walking billboards for you, and you're gonna get more of it. And, you know, I just, I don't know. I don't feel like that's the best thing for the industry in the end. But we'll have to see. Well, it was great talking to you, Michelle Doran from Boston. And your brand is still RN Esthetics, correct?

Doran: Yep. RN Esthetics with an E, and then we're on Instagram, RN Esthetics, Facebook, rnesthetics.com. So if anyone has questions, they're welcome to reach out.

Thiersch: Absolutely. And you can. But she, again, she's part of the Academy for Injection Anatomy faculty, so you can see her in one of the cadaver courses. And Michelle, it was great talking to you. We'll have to get caught up again here in a bit and see what you've been up to. But this has been, it's been great. Thank you so much.

Doran: Thank you. Thanks so much for having me.

Thiersch: Of course.

About Michelle Doran, MSN, APRN, BC, CANS
Michelle Dyment Doran is a board-certified nurse practitioner and certified aesthetic nurse specialist. She is the co-founder, owner and clinical director of RN Esthetics. In addition, she is a trainer for Allergan Aesthetics, serves on the Allergan Advisory Committee and has been chosen as an ambassador for trainings. She has advanced training in injectables, cannula, laser and skin care, and primarily focuses on injecting and teaching.