Every month, we offer you a behind-the-scenes look at a team member who makes The Cosmetic Surgery Clinic in Waterloo such a special place.
This month our focus is on our beloved Beauty Nurse® Natalie!
How can we best assess the effectiveness of a laser and aesthetic skincare nurse like Beauty Nurse® Natalie? You may logically assume that the best way to judge her success is by the outcome or skin quality of the patients who leave the laser room. And of course, we do notice the beautiful results that leave her room. But for me, that’s not the most important criteria to consider.
When the sound of the laser is drowned out by the laughter and joy that I hear emanating through her door, I know that Natalie is being her usual engaging, kind, compassionate, generous, talented, and brilliant self. She is genuinely connecting with her patients.
To Natalie, none of her patients are reduced to brown spots, wrinkles, or blemishes.
They are not just a MicroLaserPeel®, BBL™, ProFractional™, or Halo™ laser treatment. They are people whose lives Natalie is invested in, whose feelings she seeks to understand, and whose goals she shares. Anyone who’s ever been in Natalie’s treatment chair will tell you that they leave not only looking better, but feeling like they’ve had their spirits lifted. They have had their mood and their skin taken care of. Nowhere in the user’s manual for the laser do they describe how to induce laughter or how to lift someone’s spirits. That is all Natalie.
Ask any patient how they feel after they’ve spent an hour with Natalie, and even before they have a chance to look in the mirror to discover how good they look, they’ll tell you how good they feel. That is the essence of Natalie’s magic.
Natalie’s dedication to our patients knows no bounds. Whether that means delivering a skincare product to a patient’s home when they’ve accidentally left the clinic without it or driving a piece of her beloved laser to Toronto or beyond for an urgent upgrade, Natalie is always ready to do what it takes–and more–for our patients.
Now before you get the impression that Natalie is more psychologist than laser skincare specialist, let me tell you about Natalie’s clinical experience.
Natalie found a home with us at The Cosmetic Surgery Clinic in 2014, and she has been a key part of our team ever since. Before joining us, Natalie already had years of laser and aesthetic skincare experience. She’s worked in high-volume laser clinics and aesthetic skincare practices, with patients of all backgrounds, all ages, and all skin types. Natalie has a vast knowledge of common skin problems, lasers, and medical-grade skincare products.
But Natalie has something more than just experience with aesthetic skincare. As a well-trained nurse, Natalie spent many years taking care of inpatients in our local hospitals. Natalie continued to work in local hospitals on inpatient medicine wards, evenings, and weekends, even while she was working with us at The Cosmetic Surgery Clinic. Natalie’s mother is also a nurse with decades of patient care experience. Taking great care of people is a family tradition for Natalie. It is this generosity of spirit and desire to care for those who need help that keeps Natalie working day and night for the welfare of any patient who crosses her path, whether in the clinic or in the hospital.
They say find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.
That’s Natalie in a nutshell. There has never been an aesthetic laser and skincare nurse who is more hardworking and dedicated to her craft and to her patients.
Before you get the impression that Natalie is a chronic workaholic, let me reassure you that she doesn’t work all the time. She does take a lunch break. But that lunch break usually happens at around 5:30 p.m, after the last patient is gone for the day. All of Natalie’s co-workers can tell how busy her day is, by counting the number of bites taken out of her unfinished lunch as it sits on the clinic’s kitchen table, waiting for her to have more than a 30-second break between patients.
Starting early, working through lunch, working late, and working on weekends is how Natalie keeps up with the massive demand for her skills and services. Some of our clients know that at times there is a wait time to book an appointment with our Beauty Nurse®️ team. This is because our patients recognize the brilliant results and thoughtful care offered here. Trust me when I tell you that Natalie works day and night to keep up with the demand.
One special part of having Natalie work with me is the way we refer patients back and forth to each other.
In some clinics, there is a surgeon but no laser and skincare specialist. In other clinics, there is a laser and skincare specialist, but no surgeon. It’s uncommon to have both in the same building at the same time, all day, every day. But that’s exactly what we have at The Cosmetic Surgery Clinic.
The special relationship that exists between me, Natalie, and the Beauty Nurse®️ team allows me to decide whether or not a patient who’s booked for a surgical consultation may actually be a better candidate for a laser treatment. Natalie can pop in and see that patient for an opinion on the same day at the same time. The opposite also happens; Natalie will be seeing a patient for what initially seems to be a simple, non-surgical procedure when that patient really needs a surgical option. We’re able to offer our patients options, alternatives, and great advice that spans across specialties.
It is such a comforting and reassuring relationship when Natalie and I can work together on some of the more unique or challenging cases. We rely on each other’s clinical experience, opinions, and judgment. It makes for a wonderful working relationship.
Finally, I should point out that not all of Natalie’s talents are limited to the laser and aesthetic realm. When we are lucky and Natalie is feeling particularly generous, she will arrive at the clinic carrying a huge and often still warm tray of homemade pierogies that she made with her mom. Those days are some of my favourites!
I hope you get to know and love Natalie as much as all of us at The Cosmetic Surgery Clinic do. She is one of a kind.
Ready to meet our team? Contact us today.
