Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Tomlinson.
Hi Lisa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began practicing in the medical field over 34 years ago. I spent most of my career working in emergency departments – I found my first real love of nursing there. I learned how to be a great teammate, learn about the body, and to rapidly assess people. From there, I started to pick up float work at other departments in the hospital to make ends meet. Night shifts would often be from 7pm to 7am, a very tiring schedule. In addition, I would work 7am to 5pm, five days a week, in a recovery center to cover family bills. Once a daytime shift presented itself, I applied as the most senior personnel, but was passed over for the promotion by a junior male colleague; “supporting a family”, they said. I was a single parent of two.
After being passed over for the daytime promotion, I left for a full-time, daytime supervising position in a recovery room of a preoperative suite. Nine years later, I was asked to join a plastic surgeon when a colleague noticed the quality of my work and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. It seemed that I was destined to be an office nurse- something I hadn’t previously imagined. One day, a gap opened in a surgeon’s office staff and I was able to foray into injecting and lasering. Wow, did I fall in love with that! So, I kept learning and growing in the cosmetic surgery field as a nurse, and as an educator for the same medical devices. Recently I have been teaching injecting for Galderma, a widely renowned company, as a national trainer. The most recent shift in my career has been starting to educate on lasers, nationally, for another major player in the cosmetic lasering industry.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Well, as I said, I was passed over by junior male. Sexism was certainly an obstacle. I was told by my PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) boss that I had a “strong personality”. So, I should be weak, I thought? My staff and physician clients loved me, and my reviews were amazing, so it felt like I was being held back. My first boss in plastic surgery mentioned I would never be as good as “so and so”. I was yelled at in the office and in the OR suite. I was reminded of how “strong” I was by the laser vice president. I was “too clinical” for a management role of a clinical department. I just kept moving, learning, and growing in the directions that opened as I worked hard doing the best job that I could.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am most proud of how much I have kept true to myself. I strive to be kind to everyone. All gender identities, sizes, shapes, etc. The aesthetic industry has traditionally highlighted Caucasian females and talks about the “golden rule” often. Now, more antiquated rules about beauty and presentation get broken. We can be fluid about who we are and how we present ourselves. I love being a part of helping people look their best and feel their best. I inject, do radiofrequency microneedling, and CO2 lasering (skin treatment). I get asked, “what is the biggest surprise of my career?” My answer to that is, “The fact that I am here doing it and darn good at it.” Who would have thought?
Now I have a huge focus on giving that back to all the up-and-comers that have a passion for this industry. We want the best and the safest techniques. My trainings are fun. The teams and I are always laughing as we learn together. I love seeing the excitement on the faces of my junior colleagues as they learn great, new things to further their careers.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I feel as though most of my moves were risky. I left a steady ER (emergency room) job. I left a steady PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) job. I left a steady plastic surgery office job. On top of all of that, I also left a steady, full-time laser trainer job in search of better work and working environments as I grew. I decided that I had to believe I had the brain, the heart, and the courage to make my own way. I have an amazing support system. My husband and two sons are my biggest fans which feels so encouraging. Every time I get a teaching job, I get so excited for the opportunity. I look forward to leaving my clients excited. How fun is that? I also make my own schedule-a luxury not many have! I have never worked more, or harder, but I just love to make friends in every town (so says the nerdiest girl in high school who couldn’t even talk to people). I never imagined that I would have made the transition from traditional nursing into the field of Beauty & Cosmetics that I have, frankly, and I couldn’t feel prouder of myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://renumdhealth.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisahtomlinsonrn/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-tomlinson-87156647/
- Other: RenuMD Website to Book an Appointment with me: https://renumdhealth.com/book-appointment
