Facecoach, has just been released to cosmetic doctors. It is a revolutionary online training membership programme. My interview today is with Mike Clague, Aesthetic Industry Consultant, who is responsible for all of the Practice Development Content on Facecoach.
Approximately 2 years ago Assoc Prof Goodman and myself noticed that many people were asking questions in training workshops that were difficult to answer. For instance “How do I dilute Hyaluronidase?”. An Allergan or Galderma or any other filler company representative can not answer this very important question because their companies do not make that product. We all know as injectors that we need to know how to dilute hyaluronidase to perform safe practice and it is not acceptable to think so many clinicians are unsure of how to do this. Prescribers may discuss these topics amongst themselves.Also pharmaceutical companies generally are interested in the promotion of their own product line, and that is normal, but sometimes clinicians may want an independent voice in the aesthetic market. For example an injectable focussed pharmaceutical company doesn’t really want to train you on the impact of the skin’s surface in an overall treatment plan. Yet we know that lasers and active skin care are an important part of a complete treatment plan.
All these links in the chain for successful patient outcome are part of the facecoach mission
- dealing with the surface
- the volume requirements of the features and the face
- botulinum toxin, what it can do for movement, wrinkling and face shape
- the business of running a successful practice is also a central plank of the Facecoach teaching platform.
Facecoach provides a complete online learning tool that will work on any device connected to the internet. Having worked as a practice growth consultant for 5 years locally and internationally I also recognised a need for business based training courses. Again it is hard to find advice on growing your practice and pharma companies can not legally offer this advice as they sell the raw materials. We then set about designing the course and filming the tutorials as well as producing presentations similar to a conference environment.
It is difficult for injectors to gain real exposure when viewing training in a large group and when tired at the end of the day or when they have other pressing things to do or for new injectors to be adequately trained in a busy clinic day by more experienced injectors. Therefore we realised this was a need in all clinics and facecoach addresses this problem by having an easily watched course in the learners own time.
Your main mission, which I applaud, seems to be to improve safety and results in the field of cosmetic medicine, any other aims with Facecoach?
Yes. We offer two free videos to anyone who gives their email address and wants to download them. One is one the surface anatomy of the facial artery and use of dissolving agents, the other video is on “What to do if you have an ischaemic event with a dermal filler”. We believe giving these two videos away for free will help grow safer practice and awareness in our industry. Inside the course there are many videos focussed on safe treatment and good aesthetic outcomes. We focus on the patient and their satisfaction.
How does Facecoach work?
As discussed you can sign up to receive our free videos. or look at our course details The course currently has 4 sections;
- Botulinum toxin type a – science of the products, injecting techniques for the whole face, anatomy, communication and consultation tips. – Content by Assoc Prof Goodman – Dermatologist
- Dermal fillers – safety of fillers, hyaluronidase, injecting techniques with cannula and needle, treatments for men and women. – Content by Assoc Prof Goodman Dermatologist
- Practice Development – tried and tested practice growth strategies for any clinic large or small. Focus on gaining new patients and retaining existing patients – Content by Mike Clague – Industry Practice Growth Consultant
- NEW THIS MONTH – The Skin – Surface – With Assoc Prof Goodman having over 25 years experience in dermatology we will expand this section with laser and skin treatment advice to provide the full solution. Content by Assoc Prof Goodman Dermatologist
- COMING SOON – The Ideal Patient Consultation IMPORTANLY – Facecoach offers NEW VIDEO COURSES every quarter.
We add new content and we constantly ask our members what they would like to see more of. If you want to become a member there are 2 options.
Option one – $297 per month for 12 months – this membership enables an individual to see 4 courses and NEW added content every quarter. This is less than one extra syringe of filler that facecoach needs to help you deliver to grow your practice.
Option Two – Practice membership – one physical location – $397 per month – FIVE users.
Once you are a member you can log in any time from any device connected to the internet. The videos are all HD and great quality, the load times are also fantastic. We encourage our members to tell us if they want new content on any particular topic.
What are your future plans for Facecoach?
I think it is answered above. Mainly to grow the course every quarter with highly valuable content on our 5 course topics.
I’m a bit proud of the fact that Facecoach is coming out of Australia, as I don’t know of anything else like it in the world. How are you going to get the word out internationally?
We are also very proud of this educational offering and believe it is a great resource no matter where you are in the world. We have a great strategy for international marketing and as you know Assoc Prof Goodman presents regularly at large international conferences.
Can you tell us which topics are the most popular training subjects for Facecoach?
Sure. I love looking in the course regularly to see what people are watching ;
- Number one video – Safety with Hyaluronic Fillers – What do do in an ischaemic event?
- Number two – Glabella treatment with Botulinum toxin type A (believe it or not)
- Number three – Treatment of the aging lip with thin and thick dermal fillers – cannula and needle
- Number four – Client retention strategies – how to grow your practice through client retention
- Number five – Injection of the temporal hollows with dermal filler
From my experience in the industry, I think that in terms or the poor treatment outcomes which I see, one of the biggest problems is the issue of poor aesthetic assessment and planning prior to treatment. Does facecoach offer training in this aspect?
Yes, in the dermal filler section there is always discussion of assessment and correct application of the product. We are adding a whole section on assessment and treatment prioritisation soon. We agree with your statement as well.
Best of luck with this fantastic endeavour! I appreciate the time and effort and collective brainpower that it must have taken:)
Thank you so much, it has been a lot of hard work but we are enjoying the feedback from our members and will watch that only grow further.