Pros
Free treatments once a month (only certain treatments that we offer, not all) Great coworkers, I made many friends
Cons
When I first started at LaserAway, I truly believed it was my professional home and the best job I’d ever had. However, over time, I realized that support for growth, development, and staff retention is severely lacking. I noticed ongoing issues that negatively impacted nursing morale, and instead of becoming discouraged, I made multiple proposals to improve the environment. Unfortunately, those suggestions were disregarded, even when they required little to no financial investment from the company. It was disheartening to see that my efforts to identify and address nurse retention challenges were not valued. Ultimately, my decision to leave is based on the clear message that LaserAway does not prioritize retaining or supporting its nurses. It seems the company would rather manage a revolving door of staff than invest time and resources into keeping experienced, dedicated nurses happy and engaged, even though it is far more cost-effective to retain the nurses already here. That said, I am grateful for the relationships I built with my fellow nurses, many of whom I now consider lifelong friends. The camaraderie among the nursing staff was one of the best parts of working here. However, the training process is another major area of concern. The current system is rushed and inadequate; for example, learning new neuromodulator areas through a brief three-minute video is not acceptable, especially given the potential for adverse outcomes. LaserAway would benefit greatly from having highly experienced injectors train their nurses, ideally those who have received direct training from the aesthetic companies whose products we use, and also have them come in to do skills refreshers with the nurses. As it stands, it often feels like the blind leading the blind, which is neither safe nor sustainable. In an effort to improve my skills and provide better outcomes for patients, I personally invested $2,000 in an injector internship, only to be told that completing it would result in my termination. It was extremely discouraging to be penalized for pursuing professional growth on my own time and dime. To make matters worse, I was unable to get the $2,000 I invested in that internship refunded, and since it was a paid internship, I had planned to earn that money back through the experience, so it was truly difficult to recover from that financially. Additionally, many of the company’s policies are not practical in the clinic setting. Input from nurses, the ones actually implementing these policies, should be sought before changes are made. I also applied for a promotion for which I was highly qualified, but I was told by people who did not know me or my work ethic that I was “not passionate enough” about LaserAway. To make matters worse, they didn’t even have the decency to communicate this to me directly, instead having my supervisor relay the message on their behalf. I found this particularly disappointing, as I had spent countless hours outside of work brainstorming ways to improve operations and nurse satisfaction. If that isn’t passion, I’m not sure what is. My final attempt to remain with LaserAway was to stay on PRN and work a few Saturdays each month, similar to what other nurses have done in the past. However, I was told I would need to work at least three days a week, despite making it clear that this wasn’t possible with my new job. It felt evident at that point that the company no longer wished to accommodate my continued employment in any capacity. In summary, I am leaving LaserAway because I do not feel valued, supported, or heard as a nurse. I truly hope that leadership takes this feedback seriously, because this company has the potential to be an amazing place to work, if it begins to invest in the people who make it possible. Other Cons: - PTO accrual is abysmal; you may get 4 hours a month, they will make your PTO go into the negative. - You will work every single weekend unless you use PTO (need I remind you, the accrual is not good) - Training is paid at $20 an hour, but it is not very good training - During your first couple of weeks, you only get paid $20/hr - Unable to tell patients that they do not need something, if you do, you could get in trouble - Extremely sales-driven to the point that patient safety and optimal outcomes are often disregarded - You will be double, triple, and quadruple booked, this is the LA standard of booking, so don't bother complaining about it - Sales regional expects nurses to have no breaks in their schedule and expects them to stay up to 30 minutes late even if a patient gets to their appointment at closing time. - Pay is not great compared to other aesthetic clinics - No commission, but you are expected to help with upsells - The job is primarily laser hair removal. If you think you will be doing a lot of injectables, you have been misled
