MEDICAL ESTHETICS PRACTITIONER- CERTIFIED

Dear Colleague:

Congratulations! You are one of the thousands of professionals who have inquired about the American Academy of Medical Esthetic Practitioners (AAMEP) credentialing program. This is an important first step, and we encourage you to submit your application for online testing. If you pass your examination, you will be among many healthcare professionals who have been certified through the American Academy of Medical Esthetic Practitioners (AAMEP). Certified professionals in their areas of specialty can already attest to the importance of certification to their careers and profession. Certification indicates that you meet the standards that have been set by your peers in the specialty. Medical Esthetics has been an emerging specialty for many years in United States and has been a true specialty in Europe for over 35 years. We can personally assure you that the pride that you will feel in becoming certified, will remain with you throughout your career.

It is the professional responsibility of certified professionals to maintain their credential. Your certification will be valid for five (5) years, and you must then renew your certification either by examination or by meeting continuing education requirements. To help you prepare for recertification, you will be sent a catalog explaining requirements and procedures when you are first certified and again six (6) months before your certification is due to expire. Certification demonstrates your commitment to yourself, to your career, and to competence in medical esthetic practice. Recertification ensures that you continue that commitment.

Certification is one of the most important career decisions you can make. We urge you to complete the application, send it in, and become certified. We also encourage you to let us know how we can be of help to you.

Thank you,
Jennifer Kantis Ed.D., FNP-C, MEP-C - Director of Test Administration

INTRODUCTION

The Association of Medical Esthetic Nurses (AMEN), having recognized the need for certification in esthetic practice, has developed such a program in accordance with commonly accepted esthetic guidelines. Realizing that many medical practitioners practice medical esthetics and the knowledge required to administer these non-surgical medical esthetic procedures safely are the same for all medical practitioners, be it a M.D., D.O., P.A., A.P.R.N., R.N., or D.D.S. With this in mind, the Association of Medical Esthetic Nurses moved forward to bring together a cohesive group of medical esthetic professionals to form the American Academy of Medical Esthetic Practitioners (AAMEP) (herein known as the “Academy”). The Academy has appointed AMEN as the current administrator for the exam.

The Center for Medical Esthetic Certification (herein known as the “Center”) a division of the American Academy of Medical Esthetic Practitioners (AAMEP) bases its credentialing program on the standards set by other subspecialty credentialing organizations, with the goal of promoting and enhancing esthetic practice excellence by certifying professionals.

Certification is reserved for those practitioners who have met requirements for clinical or functional practice in the esthetic field, pursued training beyond basic preparation, and received the endorsement of their peers. After meeting these criteria, professionals take the certification examination. This is based on nationally recognized standards of esthetic practice, to demonstrate their special knowledge and skills which surpass those required for licensure.

The credentialing board for the “Center” provides feedback in the following areas: development of the examination, passing scores, eligibility requirements, and certifying practitioners who pass the written examination and meet the requirements for certification.

The certification examinations are objective tests that cover knowledge, understanding, and application of professional esthetic theory and practice. The examinations are developed by a test development committee which is composed of expert representatives of the various areas of esthetic medicine. Recognized as having familiarity with current practice, these individuals are prepared by education and experience to have a comprehensive knowledge of the field. The committee defines content areas to be covered, relative emphasis, and the nature of professional abilities and skills to be measured by the tests.

Examination items undergo a rigorous process of review and revision to ensure high quality. The subject matter is reviewed and critiqued, and each item is rated for accuracy and relevancy. The “Center’s” staff provides psychometric and editorial review of test items. The test development committee responsible for the examination will then select an appropriate sample of items. These items represent the specified areas of competency and our staff prepares the final printed examination.

PHILOSOPHY OF CREDENTIALING

Credentialing is an evaluative process that provides practitioners in the medical esthetic specialties the opportunity to publicly demonstrate what they know and to be recognized for the knowledge they possess. On a voluntary basis the Center provides certification examinations designed to test entry level knowledge.

The Center’s credential carries no licensing authority. The ability to practice is regulated by the state boards. The Center has no regulatory power to require states to recognize certification. Practice and educational standards are reflected in the credentialing process, however the responsibility for development of such standards rests with the professional specialty organizations and the medical and nursing education community.

The Center encourages individual healthcare professionals to seek out information about how certification relates to state licensure requirements and employment opportunities in their community. Upon successful completion of the exam the professional may use Medical Esthetics Practitioner-Certified (MEP-C) to designate additional qualifications fulfilled.

The Center plans to seek accreditation by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, National Organization for Competency Assurance, American Board of Medical Specialties, and/or American Board of Nursing Specialties after the two years of mandatory testing has been satisfied. All aspects of the certification exam are in compliance with the accreditation standards in preparation for this process.

CREDENTIALING EQUALS RECOGNITION AND EXPERTISE

Ask your patients if they value credentialed health care professionals-You bet they do!

Moreover, ask certified colleagues what they believe about certification. You are most likely to hear that they think certification is one of the most important milestones in their career. You owe it to yourself to take the next step in your professional development. Earning your MEP-C will validate your expertise and will give you tangible recognition of your commitment to excellence in medical esthetics.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

TESTING

A multiple-choice online exam is how the exam is administered. Tests are administered online anytime throughout the year. Please Note: It takes up to 2 weeks to process applications.

APPLICATION PROCESS FOR ONLINE EXAM

All applicants must:

Submit an application
Submit all requested documentation
Pay designated fees, in full (a square invoice will be emailed to you for payment)
Fees can be paid via major credit cards

Applications can be completed online or downloaded and scanned. If you choose the latter, the application should be scanned and emailed to corey@esiw.com

ADMINISTRATIVE FEES

TESTING FEES:

Fee for testing is $300.00 / student who do not pass can re-test for 75.00

Fee for renewal is $175.00

UNSUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES

Candidates who take the examination and do not receive a passing score are not eligible for any refund. A reduced fee for persons who took the exam one time and did not pass will be charged $75.00 to retest.

RE-EXAMINATION

The Academy does not limit the number of times a candidate can retake the Medical Esthetic Certification Examination. Unsuccessful candidates who wish to be retested must reapply, submit all applicable fees, documentation and re-establish current eligibility.

EXAM ADMINISTRATION

PROCEDURES

Test administration is conducted by AAMEP Test Administrator and the exam is online. After the application is processed a link to the exam will be emailed to the candidate at which time the candidate can log on and take the test at their leisure. Exam results will be available immediately after taking the exam

HOW EXAMINATIONS ARE SCORED

The examinations are criterion referenced. This means the passing score is based on predetermined criteria (passing score is 80%). The Rasch psychometric measurement is used for examination development and analysis. The passing criterion is established by the credentialing board for the Center. Result reports will identify pass/fail status and give feedback on the various content areas of the exam.

MAINTAINING YOUR CERTIFICATION

The Center Maintenance Program allows certificants to maintain their certification on a five-year basis. Six months prior to expiration of certification, certificants will receive a catalog for certification renewal.

Those maintaining a certification must either successfully retest or earn 45 contact hours of continuing education during that five-year period. Thirty hours must be in the medical esthetic specialty area.

RECERTIFICATION FEES

$175.00

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS TO SIT FOR AESTHETIC CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION:

Current licensure in the U.S. or Canada as M.D., D.O., P.A., A.P.R.N., R.N., or D.D.S.
You must have had either 2000 hours of documented work experience in a two-year period in the administration of both neurotoxins and dermal fillers or documentation of 1000 hours of work experience in a one year period in the administration of neurotoxins and dermal fillers and successful completion of a formal training course of at least 8 hours in each neurotoxins and dermal filler course.
Application to sit for examination must be completed along with providing appropriate documentation of the required hours of practice. This documentation can include a notarized letter from your supervising/collaborating physician or your medical director regarding the hours of practice.
Copies of certificates of training for each of the above must be provided in addition to the notarized letter from your physician (if you are using the 1000 hours and one (1) year experience requirement.
Payment of requisite fees must be made in full by deadline by credit card.

The exam will consist of at least 100 multiple choice questions with four options; these will be similar to tests administered for licensure. Certification will require a passing score of 80. Results of exam will be provided immediately after the exam completion.

Exam content are as follows: