The time for change is now

Sitting down to write the first Journal of Aesthetic Nursing (JAN) editorial of 2021, I naturally reflected upon the past year, which began by reading the first editorial of 2020. There was a definite sense of hope and excitement, ‘as we enter[ed] not only a new year, but a new decade’ (Callaghan, 2020). Education and advertising guidelines were two of the main focuses, and yet, little did anyone know just how much education would change in 2020.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to necessary adaptations in the education sector, with virtual transformations happening seemingly overnight. Gone were crowded conferences, networking and meeting with likeminded professionals. The ‘Zoom boom’ soon emerged, with many using it in daily practice to carry out virtual consultations with patients as medical aesthetic clinics closed. However, many of the rules imposed by the UK Government have been unclear, and, at times, medical aesthetic clinic owners have been left unsure as to whether they are able to keep their businesses open or not. The divide between medical practitioners and lay groups (beauty therapists and hairdressers, etc) seemed to become larger than ever, as reports emerged of lays opening a ‘back door’ business to treat the public during lockdown, as usual shops and locations to carry out business have been shut.