I love the warmer weather and springtime, but in 2021, I am looking forward to this season more than ever. As we all are well aware, last year's global pandemic from COVID-19 shut down most of our country, with the exception of essential services and businesses. Because of this shutdown, most of us had to close our practices. For those who did not, you were providing care during a novel time working under the uncertainty of providing medical care with the threat of a deadly disease possibly being present in any of your patients. Today, I am happy to see our country opening back up; in most parts of our country, aesthetic medicine is booming and with the release of the vaccines, we can practice more safely.
As promised in my initial letter to our members, published in the January-March issue of Plastic Surgical Nursing, I want to update you on ISPAN happenings and news from various committees. The Clinical Practice Committee (CPC) is always busy working behind the scenes and keeping us up to date on evidence-based practice for plastic and aesthetic nurses. If you have not already familiarized yourself with the invaluable assets provided by this ISPAN committee, go to the ISPAN website to view the various ISPAN position statements they have created. One position statement that is of significant importance to all of us is the statement on COVID-19 practice guidelines. This position statement is updated as new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is published and as relevant new research is published.
The Membership Engagement Committee (MEC) is planning some exciting and interesting Zoom presentations for our members. There will be guest speakers presenting monthly educational programs about a broad range of topics of interest to our members. Be sure to check the Member's Only page on the ISPAN website for the Zoom Calendar. You can also keep an eye on the ISPAN Facebook page for announcements detailing the dates, times, and speakers.
Our Education Program Committee (EPC) has almost completed the program for the ISPAN 2021 meeting. Please make note of the changes in the meeting date and location. We made this change so that our ISPAN meetings are scheduled at the same time as the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) annual meeting. For those who attended the virtual ISPAN 2020 meeting, you know that being able to meet in person will be a welcome return; however, we will also provide a hybrid option of attending virtually for those who are unable to travel to Atlanta to attend.
I don't have much information to share about the AmSpa Aesthetic Safety Council (AASC). So far, we have only had one initial launch meeting, followed by another meeting to review the first few sections of the AmSpa Guidelines for Non-Surgical Medical Aesthetic Practices (Medical Spas) released September 21, 2020. These guidelines were created for the purpose of "providing a framework that will serve as the standard by which all medical aesthetic practices will safely operate, irrespective of their state" (American Med Spa Association, 2020, p. 1). The guidelines are intended to describe how "a minimally compliant medical spa should operate" (American Med Spa Association, 2020, p. 1).
Members of the AASC and others believe that many areas of the original guidelines were poorly written and thus revising the guidelines was an appropriate next step. Members of the Council additionally wanted more information about the guidelines. For example, who will be using the guidelines, and how much support do the guidelines actually have from the medical spa community?
I hope that you are all staying healthy and able to return to your roles and responsibilities as plastic and aesthetic nurses. If you have any exciting news to share or would like to talk with me personally, please feel free to reach out to me. I want each ISPAN member to have a voice and it is my hope that each of you will contribute to our Society in any way that you can-We are stronger with your membership and your involvement.
Warmest regards,
Gerrie M. Obi, MSN, APRN, AGPCNP-BC,
CPSN, ISPAN-F
ISPAN President-Elect
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