Northern Ontario nurse Meg Dowding is quite literally on the cusp of success in medical aesthetics. With support from THMA and her husband Dr. Chris Dowding, Meg is opening her own practice North Bay. And, yes, she’s named it Cusp Medical Aesthetics!
“I’m on cloud 9,” said Meg about opening for business at the Algonquin Medical Building this month. “Super happy and really excited to get going and start bringing our services to the community.”
We are very happy and excited for Meg and Chris, too. They are consummate professionals with a firm focus on the future. In pursuit of their dream of an independent practice in medical aesthetics, we have seen the couple many times over the past couple years. After completing the Foundation Courses in Medical Aesthetics in early 2022, there was additional training in Supplementary Courses like Sclerotherapy, Lip Enhancements, DA and PRP Treatments. They also attended THMA Symposiums and take part in online learning events.
Word of mouth through one of Chris’ colleagues in the north led them south to THMA. Meg did her research, reading all about our CNA-accredited program on our website. We were quick to answer her emailed questions about our training and mentoring. And the rest, she says, is history.
“I’m so happy we went with THMA. It was important for me to invest in an education that is accredited and recognized by the Canadian Nurses Association. And honestly, I think if we went with any other training company we would not be ready to open this practice now because they wouldn’t have had the one-on-one and continuing support we received from THMA.”
Meg worked in the OR at the North Bay Regional Health Centre for over 15 years. She loved her RN job in perioperative care, but was one of many nurses ground down by the COVID pandemic. She always liked medical aesthetics, and so thought she’d check it out. The more she looked into it, the more she embraced the idea of a satisfying new career.
“There wasn’t a lot of places in North Bay doing this, so thought why don’t I bring something to my hometown that makes people feel good about themselves!”
Meg’s biggest supporter from get-go was orthopedic surgeon Chris Dowling. She and the good doctor got married in 2021, and started planning then for the future. They also had a baby earlier this year! Chris sat in with Meg on all her THMA Courses. He will be the Authorized Provider (or Medical Director) at Cusp Medical Aesthetics.
“We are a husband and wife team,” Chris said in explaining why he took the training too, “I’m personally invested in wanting everything to go well and want to be able to support Meg in a practical way as well as from a business perspective. After all the training and planning and our family delay, I’m very excited for her now!”
On the Path to Success
With her maternity leave ending in February, Meg will return to work part-time at the North Bay hospital’s post-anesthetic recovery room. In the meantime, she’s going to be fully engaged in booking and building a clientele for her aesthetics practice.
“We are authentic and real. And I’m ready to bring the knowledge and expertise we trained so hard to get, and share that with people in North Bay!”
We are confident that Chris and Meg will do very well. They are compassionate care givers and have been fully immersed in learning how to be safe and successful practitioners.
“Oh, absolutely! I loved that THMA took the time to train on complications and risk management. It’s important as a nurse to be accountable for your actions and know your limitations. For example, we’re doing Botox treatments but I won’t be doing fillers just yet. With a little more time and mentoring I soon will be. Now that I’m quite literally on the cusp of something great, I’m so glad I chose THMA for my medical aesthetics learning journey. I couldn’t be happier about my decision. It’s been amazing!”
Meg and Chris are booking treatments now at Cusp Medical Aesthetics, Algonquin Medical Building, 1221 Algonquin Ave, North Bay. info@cuspclinic.ca.