How do you become a plastic surgery nurse?
A plastic surgery nurse is a registered nurse who cares for patients before, during and after reconstructive or cosmetic procedures. You need an RN license and surgical or related experience. A voluntary certification exists for plastic surgical nursing.
Reconstructive and cosmetic work
Reconstructive surgery repairs the effects of injury, cancer, burns or birth conditions. Cosmetic surgery changes appearance by choice. Nurses work in hospitals, surgery centers and private offices, preparing patients, assisting in the operating room, managing pain and wounds and teaching recovery.
The path
An RN license, then experience in surgical nursing, often operating room or post-anesthesia care. The Plastic Surgical Nursing Certification Board offers the certified plastic surgical nurse (CPSN) credential to nurses with experience. It is voluntary.
Aesthetic nursing
Many nurses also work in aesthetic practices giving injectable treatments and laser procedures. What a nurse may do, and how closely a physician or nurse practitioner must supervise, is set by each state, so check the state board before taking a job. Employers differ a great deal in training and safety practice.
Pay
Federal data does not break out plastic surgery nurses. The median RN earned $97,550 in May 2025, and nurse practitioners, who can have their own cosmetic practice in some states, $132,300. See nurse practitioner.
Pay and projections: Bureau of Labor Statistics. NCLEX figures: NCSBN. Enrollment: AACN. Sources and years are ondata sources.