Should I Study Dermal Therapies?

By Alanna Douglas

I have never regretted studying! Any type of education is always going to grow you no matter how big or small. Now, I know what you’re thinking it’s a big commitment and a long time to study something just for the sake of it. Let me share my story and hopefully this will give you some perspective and help you decide on what is the best choice for and where you are at right now in your career journey.

Let’s go through your study options you can do from a certificate III all the way through to a degree. Each will give you a little or a lot to consume and it’s up to you which feels best. I really am obsessed with the human body and all things weird and wonderful. I chose to study the Bachelor of Health Science – Dermal Therapies through the University of Victoria. I graduated in 2018 and it has really been the turning point in my career working with skin.

It allowed me to up level my offerings for my clients and gave me the ability to create results driven programmes for my clients. The biggest takeaway for me from my degree was learning the how every system is intrinsically linked and how what we do as clinicians has much more of a profound affect far beyond the face.

Having completed my degree, I am now able to confidently understand the anatomy and physiology of the body and cellular processes. Recognise at a deeper level how the function of the body and its systems directly influence skin health and disease states. I can apply research and evidence based to make informed decisions about treatment programs and homecare prescriptions.

I am skilled to manage chronic skin conditions and aid in the healing process of the skin pre- and post-surgery. I am obsessed with laser and light physics and know how to manipulate wavelengths and energy outputs to achieve a desired clinical end point. Finally, I am also trained in disease and infection control procedures. So, you can see how doing the study comes in handy and I love the array of skin and conditions I can now say that I can treat and manage.

I bet the next question on your mind is how I managed to do it and run a skin clinic at the same time. It was hard not going to lie, but I loved every minute of it! I really, really, really wanted to give it my best try and just was obsessed with what we learnt. I also had an amazing supportive team, big shout out to April and Kiara who are still with me today!

I set up a timetable for my life and work and just made it work. I worked more on clients during my mid semester breaks and holidays. Everything was cyclic so I was able to plan around my study and managed to juggle it most of the time. I did go part time in my third year just to give myself a bit of space and this is something to keep in mind, you can make your study as flexible as you like!

The next topic I want to touch on is travel. When I was doing my degree there was nothing in my state that offered a degree. Now there are a few different options which is so good and much closer to home. One thing I will say is that the degree I did through Victoria University is the highest level of education available that I know of. So, if you’re ready to go all in, just do it! Now, I am based in Queensland and Victoria University is in Victoria.

My learning was blended online and on campus. I travelled to Victoria at least once but up to 3 times a semester, anywhere from 1 – 2 weeks at a time. You do need to pay for your accommodation and food while you are there, I knew this before I signed up. I often stayed with one of my classmates and we split the accommodation. Melbourne is also a foodie and shopping hub so we soaked up all we could at the end of the day. It was an incredible experience, and the facilities were amazing.

The technology that we got to use was the latest and I believe with just doing such quick math there would have been easily over one million dollars worth of lasers and machines there at our disposal. I was in absolute heaven when it came to doing practical, it was so much fun!

Now, if you are sitting there going Alanna, I do not want to go to university for 4 years I just have certain things I want to learn more about, I GET IT! And I am so with you on this. There is much more to learn too! You would have all experienced this after completing your Diploma there are things that you learn on the job and the same can be said for Dermal.

There is so much that you don’t get taught that you learn through experience. This is where I can help you and the reason why I created Skin Freak Academy. I can offer you my years of experience working with skin and fast-tracked courses that focus on a specific skin condition or modality, so that you can feel understand the why and be able to treat any skin.

So whatever pathway you choose whether it's study at university or upskill with short courses, the world is your oyster! This is one of the most exciting times to be working with skin! If you have any questions about study or would like to know how I can help you in your dermal career slide into my inbox.

With love, Alanna

Skin Freak Academy www.Skinfreakacademy.com.au hello@skinfreakacademy.com.au