Botox Training: Shortcut to Cash or Risky Business?
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COMMENTARY

Weekend Botox Training: Shortcut to Cash or Risky Business?

Alok Patel, MD

Disclosures

August 01, 2023

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This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Alok S. Patel, MD: A friend recently joked with me and said, "I wish you were a dermatologist so you could hook me up with Botox and fillers." Well, little does this friend know that I could be a certified cosmetic injector just after a weekend course. Botox parties, here I come?

I can't blame any healthcare professional for having a side hustle. People are burned out, want to supplement their income, or scale back clinical hours. According to one Medscape survey, almost 40% of physicians do have some form of a side hustle, whether it is consulting, speaking engagements, being an expert witness, or moonlighting. I know plenty of doctors and nurses who have taken on Botox injecting as a way to make some extra cash.

Now, going back to me and smoothing out wrinkles. I'm a pediatric hospitalist. I've never injected an aesthetic product in anyone's face. When it comes to sharp objects and faces, I've sewn lacerations and drained abscesses. In my world, when we talk about botulinum toxin, we're usually talking about botulismor the therapeutic treatment of migraines and muscle spasms — pathology. But even still, how hard would it actually be for me to go out and get certified to give Botox?

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