Erasmus begins training in medically unnecessary cosmetic procedures

The Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam is launching a training course in cosmetic dermatology, in which doctors will be taught how to perform medically unnecessary procedures, such as Botox, fillers, peels and laser treatments, the Volkskrant reports.

Initiator and professor of dermatology Tamar Nijsten told the newspaper that there is a demand for such training among young dermatologists. And there is an acute shortage of training opportunities for cosmetic procedures.  "It lacks formal training. We see that everyone does a bit. People follow a few workshops and then they go to work. That's why we need a strong training center. We want to lift these treatments to a higher level", Nijsten said.

For this training, the hospital is working with dermatologist Peter Velthuis, founder of the Velthuis Clinics - commercial centers for cosmetic treatments. He spoke to several universities, but found little interest, except for in Rotterdam and Maastricht. "Several professors said: this is not a disease, it is not part of the trade. But I think that dermatologists must be well trained in this."

The Erasmus MC is not the first academic hospital to offer cosmetic procedures training, but is the first to do so through a formal course. In 2010 UMC Groningen opened the first "private university clinic for aesthetic surgery", where patients can get breast augmentations and facelifts, among other things. And the AMC in Amsterdam participated in a training for cosmetic doctors connected to the Dutch Society of Cosmetic Medicine.