Professional Practices
Professional Practices
This domain tests scope of practice, informed consent, confidentiality, documentation, referrals, boundaries, and professional conduct.
Core rules
- Practice only within your license and training. Do not diagnose, prescribe, or promise medical outcomes.
- Obtain informed consent before treatment and explain risks, benefits, alternatives, and aftercare.
- Keep records accurate, dated, and objective. Never alter a record after the fact; add a signed addendum if correction is needed.
- Protect client privacy in conversation, social media, and storage. Do not post before-and-after images without written permission.
- Refer clients with suspicious lesions, uncontrolled conditions, or reactions to a physician or dermatologist.
Worked example
A client asks whether a changing mole is cancer. Explain that you cannot diagnose and recommend a dermatology evaluation. Document the conversation and the referral without speculating about the diagnosis. Reasoning: diagnosis is outside esthetic scope; an objective referral protects the client and the practitioner.
Traps
- Giving medical advice to reassure a client.
- Discussing a client's treatment in a public area.
- Posting images without written consent.
- Backdating or rewriting notes instead of adding an addendum.