Meet Deborah Hart, an experienced RN, MN, NP Family of All Ages, Primary, Emergency, and Specialty Care Nurse Practitioner, and certified Transformational Mindset Coach who has been working and thriving as a healthcare entrepreneur for most of the past decade.
She established the first independently owned and operated Nurse Practitioner clinics, First Impressions Rejuvenation Clinic, in Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada. These clinics were entirely devoted to the medical specialty of non-surgical Rejuvenation and Antiaging medicine. As a founder and CEO of First Impressions Rejuvenation Clinic, Deborah has two locations in Nova Scotia; patients travel across the province, country, and internationally for her team’s clinical services and outcomes. She owns and operates the Atlantic Training Institute for Medical Aesthetics within her clinics, training nurses and physicians nationally and internationally on this platform. Deborah is also a faculty and an expert panel member for the Canadian Board of Aesthetic Medicine.
“First Impressions Rejuvenation Clinic Inc was founded on the principles of helping people maximize their overall health and well-being. Since the beginning of my healthcare practice, I have always been interested in preventative medicine with the belief that an essential foundation for maintaining vitality as we age includes healthy food, regular activity, a balanced lifestyle, self-care, and a good skincare regime,”– remembers Deborah.
Deborah is an internationally recognized provider of Advanced Medical Aesthetics, skincare, women’s, and men’s health. Being a recognized member of the Canadian Board of Aesthetics Medicine, the Cellular Medicine Association, a past board member of the Canadian Association of Medical Aesthetics, an expert panel member, and a reviewer for the Canadian Association of Specialty Aesthetic Nurses, Deborah participates in the education, research, practice standards and guidelines in these fields. She is also the first recognized Board Certified Nurse Practitioner in Aesthetic and Rejuvenation Medicine in Canada with the Canadian Board of Aesthetic Medicine, making First Impressions the first NP Board Certified Clinic(s) in Canada. As the founder of First Impressions Rejuvenation Clinic, Deborah has worked with provincial regulators to inform best practices in this specialty and has contributed to provincial regulations as well as the Canadian Practice Standards and Guidelines for Nurses Practicing in Medical Aesthetics as an expert reviewer for the Canadian Association of Specialty Aesthetic Nurses, expert reviewer for the Canadian Nurses Association accreditation.
Deborah has over 30 years of experience delivering healthcare nationally and abroad. She opened the first independently owned and operated Nurse Practitioner clinics in Atlantic Canada. As a Nurse Practitioner, Registered Nurse, and Medical Assistant, Deborah has experience in various settings, including Emergency and Trauma, for over 15 years, Education, Research, Rejuvenation Medicine, Medical Aesthetics, Surgical care, Cardiology, Remote Artic, and Volunteer Nursing. She is also a Veteran, having worked both as a Medic and a Registered Nurse for over ten years with the Department of National Defense. Her experience was transitioned into Primary and Family Health Care via Atlantic Canada’s first Collaborative Emergency Departments in 2012 after working in Canada’s Artic and shortly after that, shifted into EntrepreNursing and her First Impressions Rejuvenation Clinics. As a serial entrepreneur, she has built and maintained four successful businesses, one of which grew to 7 figures throughout the Covid pandemic; Deborah has extensive knowledge on the subject, and it is always her pleasure to share with fellow healthcare professionals.
Deborah received her Master’s degree in Nursing, Nurse Practitioner from Dalhousie University, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in both Nursing (Dalhousie) and Biology/chem (St. Mary’s University). She is a member and presenter for the International Honors Society of Nursing-Sigma Theta Tau, a member of the International Association of Plastic and Aesthetic Nurses, International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine, Canadian Association of Medical Spas & Aesthetic Surgeons, Canadian Society of Specialty Aesthetic Nurses, Nova Scotia College of Nurses, College of Registered Nurses of Alberta, College of Nurses of Ontario, Dermatology Nurses Association. Society of Nursing Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs & Leaders, and other National and International Associations.
Giving it Back to the Society
Deborah loves to give back to the healthcare profession and its communities through the education of Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners. For nearly a decade, she has been teaching the Master of Nursing, Nurse Practitioner Program for Athabasca University, Faculty of Health Disciplines, and has precepted Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Medics, and other healthcare professionals in her practice since 1992. Additionally, as the founder of EntrepreNursing, Deborah empowers overwhelmed healthcare providers to unlock their true potential, maximize their high skill set, provide excellence to their patients, and rid themselves of the overwhelm and exhaustion they are experiencing within the sickcare/ healthcare system. This is in addition to her volunteer work with multiple councils, committees, networks, and regulatory bodies, nationally and internationally, some of which include her volunteer work as Chair of the Nurse Practitioner Association of Nova Scotia (past Chair), Council for the Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada, the International Council of Nurses- Nurse Practitioner, Advanced Practice Nurses Excellence in Research, Education and Clinical Practice Awards Committee, Executive Organizing Conference Committee, and abstract reviewer, the Nova Scotia Gambia Association/Nova Scotia Sierra Leone Association, the Provincial Nursing Network, Department of Health and other National and International Associations. Although she volunteered for many committees, community events, and projects, she finds her mission to Sierra Leone most inspiring. As the only Nurse Practitioner, Deborah traveled the length and breadth of the war-torn country with her team, testing more than 5000 citizens for HIV-AIDs. This enabled access to HIV-AIDs education, counseling, and anti-viral medications for the people of Sierra Leone, ensuring those in need of care received it.
“I’ve always been passionate about helping others, eliminating challenges, overcoming obstacles, learning, giving back, and delivering exceptional patient care. I enjoy giving and helping others to be their best self. I’ve always been intrigued with health and wellness and started my career in healthcare at a very young age, even as a volunteer Candy Striper and Red Cross Youth Group leader when I was just a young adolescent and as an older adolescent a Military Medic, my inspiration continues to grow,”– she states.
An Advocate of Better Health and Self Care
Deborah established First Impressions Rejuvenation Clinic in 2013. It is the first clinic(s) in Atlantic Canada fully devoted to the medical specialty of non-surgical Rejuvenation & Anti-aging medicine. First Impression’s team of Patient Care Coordinators, Nurses, Medical Aestheticians, skincare and body contouring specialists are respectful, benevolent & understanding licensed professionals, providing customized treatments for the skin, face & body, assisting patients to age gracefully, regain and maintain their self-confidence and vitality.
“At First Impressions, we are a multicultural and diverse group of providers offering services to a multicultural and diverse group of patients. Our clinics are blessed to be able to serve patients from many diverse demographics, races, ethnicity, gender identity, age, abilities, sexual orientations, religions, and other potentially not-so-self-evident differences, we embrace our and our patients’ uniqueness; as clinicians, our patients’ uniqueness and diversity are always at the forefront of our patient interactions to ensure not only individualized treatments but also to ensure safe outcomes, which in our business, means having a thorough understanding of our patients’ diverse needs,”- says Deborah. “We offer a safe space to be yourself, supporting your goals to be your best self, enhance your selfconfidence, pride, and value in your self, your body, and the skin you’re in.”
First Impression’s staff addresses each patient’s needs & concerns and develops individualized treatment plans while ensuring all treatments are appropriate, safe, & meet their patients’ goals & expectations. These thorough consultations aligned with patient safety are the most important steps in the treatment process. The clinic’s clinically proven, medical-grade treatments to help restore & revitalize the skin, body, & person include but are not limited to: Skin Treatments, Broad Band Light & Laser skin treatments, Body contouring for permanent fat removal, Skin tightening, contouring, skin rejuvenation & scar reduction, Sexual Wellness & urinary incontinence treatments.
Tackling Challenges
Deborah believes safety and patient outcomes are the primary challenges with unregulated or untrained providers confusing patients with ‘cheap’ products that are not Health Canada or FDA approved. Rejuvenation and cosmetic aesthetics are advanced practice specialties in healthcare. Unfortunately, many people consider it as simply aesthetic, so patients unintentionally end up in the wrong hands with potentially disastrous results. Deborah is working tirelessly to tackle these issues by educating First Impression’s patients and the public while continuously working with Provincial Regulators to inform best practices in this specialty and contributing to provincial regulations as well as the Canadian Practice Standards and Guidelines for Nurses Practicing in Medical Aesthetics as an expert reviewer for the Canadian Association of Specialty Aesthetic Nurses and as an expert for the Canadian Nurses Association Accreditation Program for Medical Aesthetics. She feels much more public awareness needs to take place to ensure public safety, safety, and public education is a passion of mine.
Looking at Future
Deborah and her team are always looking to serve the population best while continuing to grow and expand her team and physical space. “We continue to connect with our patients to learn their concerns and goals for self-care, health, and wellness and will continue to enhance our services as these present themselves to ensure access to safe and effective treatments for our patients,”- she says. “This next growth stage will be achieved by putting our patient’s safety, outcomes, and employees first. Taking care of our patients helps our business to grow. Increasing the knowledge of who we are, our brand, what we do, and how we safely provide these expert services continues to assist us in our growth and ability to continue to offer enhanced access to services.”
She also plans to experience continued growth by consistently offering exceptional expert service and natural outcomes for First Impression patients, fostering strong team growth, education, and community connectedness while remaining in tune with market demands.