I start my mornings with…
A cup of tea! I love my herbal teas, and I
have a huge collection of Japanese teas
at home. After that I always take my dogs
out for a walk – we have two little mini
schnauzers Maple and Bubble, so it’s a great
way to begin my day!
I set off for work at around 7:15am, and
during this period I catch up on all of my
emails and ensure that nothing has been
missed. Once I get to the London Aesthetic
Medicine (LAM) Clinic at around 8:15am,
my team begins by having a group chat
where we all discuss our plans for the
day and have a look at what patients we
have coming in. The rest of my day is then
taken up by consultations and treatments!
I typically see no more than 20 people a
day as I don’t like to rush things, especially
consultations which can usually take
between 45 minutes to an hour. In my
opinion this time is necessary because
you need to really get to know the patient
and build a relationship with them, so that
you can plan ahead for the next five or 10
years. I like to create a short and long-term
strategy for my patients.
I typically finish work between 5-7pm, and go
for another walk before I travel home. My clinic
is on Harley Street, and I grew up at the end
of this lovely street right next to Regent Street,
so the park nearby gives me a lovely sense
of nostalgia! Once I get back to my house I
always try to do some power cardio – I’ve
just invested in a rowing machine so I like to
spend half an hour on that!
Fitting BCAM into my routine…
I became president of the British College of
Aesthetic Medicine (BCAM) last year, so this
introduced a new element into my career
and gave me new responsibilities. Although
it’s a big role it was an easy addition for
me because I’m so passionate about it. I
tend to weave it into the rest of my day,
whenever I have small breaks or downtime
during clinic hours.
COVID-19 has really highlighted how
important an association like BCAM is for
people, because I think everyone in the
industry has been feeling quite isolated and
confused at times. In particular, incorporating
the different webinars and Zoom talks into
the working week has enabled us all to
connect with each other, and I probably
now do a virtual lecture at least once every
fortnight. Although I really do miss events
and being around my colleagues, I feel
we as a community have done very well
with virtual learning and networking. I am
very proud of how fast paced and dynamic
everyone has been.
In my spare time…
I’m really into history and archeology!
I’m fascinated by the Roman era and
I was actually meant to go on a dig in
Pompeii last year, but unfortunately it was
postponed because of the pandemic.
I’ve always had a hobby for collecting
antiques from different time periods, and
I’ve recently started to decorate my home
with them! I also take a lot of time to read
up on recent developments and research
on our specialty – I have so many books
and journals. I actually have a collection of
all the old Aesthetics journals in my office!
I just think that it’s so important for all of us
to keep up-to-date with what’s going on
in the industry, as well as reflect on how
things have changed, because it’s so fast
paced and there are always so many new
innovations, approaches and techniques.
I strongly believe that no matter where we
are in our careers, we can always learn
from one another.
My most memorable day…
I think it has to be when I was going to
Monaco for my first Aesthetic and Anti-Ageing
Medicine World Congress (AMWC), which
was during the time that I was transitioning
from the NHS to aesthetic medicine. I’d
written a huge thesis on hand rejuvenation
and had actually submitted a poster to the
AMWC which got accepted. As I drove
into Monaco, I specifically remember
that feeling of excitement and positivity
knowing that I was on my way to learn new
concepts, as well as getting to be around
10,000 other like-minded people from
across the globe. The aesthetics industry is
really great in that sense because countries
from all over the world communicate so
well with each other. I’m now a course
director for that very conference!
My advice to anyone starting out in this
industry is to make sure that you attend lots
of these events, whether it’s international
or local, because that’s how you’ll meet
and connect with other people. I think
that’s integral in order to be able to grow
in your career, and we also have so many
amazing personalities that we can all learn
from. We’re so lucky to have such a great
community of people!
