Nurturing growth, championing longevity medicine and maintaining standards

I am delighted to introduce myself as one of the Journal of Aesthetic Nursing's two new Consultant Editors. The second Consultant Editor joining our freshly forged duo is Tracey Dennison, who will introduce herself in the next issue.

My name is Dr Sophie Shotter, and I practise between my two clinics in Kent and Harley Street. I have been practising aesthetics for over 12 years now — what started off with a short training course and an intention to run my own business alongside my NHS role as an anaesthetist, turned into an absolute passion. I founded Illuminate Skin Clinic in 2014, and now have an amazing team of doctors, nurses, therapists, managers and support staff who allow me to provide our patients with the best care we possibly can.

My practices encompass all things aesthetics, in addition to ‘well ageing’, great skincare, top quality injectables and evidence-based devices. I also have many other roles – I am a Trustee for BCAM, I am a thought leader and speaker for several companies including Allergan, I have my own podcast, Age Well with Dr Sophie Shotter, and I am very passionate about providing high quality patient education via my social media channels. When it comes to my professional passions, there are a few. First and foremost, I am passionate about standards. I think we are all too familiar with the variable standards across aesthetics in the UK, both in terms of product and practitioner. My commitment to preserving standards is something I carry through the treatments I perform, the training I deliver and the regulatory change I do my best to help drive. Delivering treatments at an exemplary level is of great importance to me. My utmost satisfaction truly comes from helping to bring people's smiles back. In fact, that is why I called my clinic ‘Illuminate’, because the smiles we help to bring back, light up our patients' faces. This, for me, is the single most emotionally rewarding moment of my day.