Level 7 courses

The level of educational achievement cited by any course provider is related to and determined by the complexity of the knowledge and skills (see appendix A) required to demonstrate safe and effective practice for the specific aesthetic modality that is being studied.

Dermal fillers, Botulinum Toxin Injectables and Hair Restoration Surgery are higher risk treatments and JCCP standards and the JCCP Competency Framework (2018) outline the required level of knowledge and skills at Level 7 (3) (supported by the CPSA and Health Education England) to provide such treatments safely.

These modalities are identified at post graduate level because:

of the required level and depth of underpinning knowledge
the need for the practitioner to assess the patients’ needs and any contraindications to treatment
the requirement to ensure informed consent to treatment

(3) https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels

being required to critically evaluate and select appropriate medicines and products from those available (and to ensure that all prescription only medicines are prescribed in accordance with standards and guidance set down by the JCCP and Professional Regulators),
the practitioners are required to administer the procedures safely using correct techniques (including adherence to nationally approved prescribing guidance),
the qualified practitioners will be required to recognise complications and adverse incidents and intervene promptly and appropriately with correct remedial treatment as required.

Whilst this standard is not enforced in statute, it reflects other similar high risk invasive procedures which were determined by Health Education England (2015) to require this level of educational training and preparation in order to protect members of the public and may be including in the anticipated forthcoming licensing scheme for England.

Whilst the JCCP does not specify the length of any course or the specific number of credits required for training courses (such as those designed for the administration of dermal fillers and toxins) it advises that such training requires substantial study and cannot be achieved within the context of a short course. JCCP approved programmes for toxins and fillers are expected to be delivered over one year of more. It is of note that the level of the course should not be assumed or determined by the treatment modality in isolation from consideration of the ‘depth’ of knowledge and complexity of practice competency that the practitioner should be assessed to have achieved prior to awarding the trainee with a ‘certificate of proficiency’.