Chidimma Gisela Ajayi, medical director of the CALM Clinic, in this interview, spoke on a number of issues ranging from the motivation to float the exclusive clinic; the patronage, opportunities in medical aesthetics, and to her training exposures. BLESSING ADIMABUA brings the excerpts:
You recently launched the CALM Clinic, a medical aesthetics and wellness clinic. What is the story behind this initiative?
The story behind CALM is deeply personal. It came from years of caring for people, especially women, and realising that sometimes, being medically “well” is simply not enough. As a family physician and lifestyle medicine physician, I have spent years listening to patients, particularly women, talk about changes that may not necessarily be classified as disease but still significantly affect how they feel about themselves. Pregnancy and childbirth, weight fluctuations, hormonal changes, stress, ageing and menopause can change the skin, body composition, energy levels and, sometimes, a person’s confidence.
On one side, medicine often focuses on treating disease. On the other, aesthetics can sometimes focus primarily on appearance. All I kept seeing was the gap between conventional healthcare and the aesthetics industry and felt there should be a space where the two could meet responsibly. That became the vision for Clearview Aesthetics & Lifestyle Medicine Clinic, (CALM), a physician-led clinic where medical aesthetics, lifestyle medicine and preventive health are integrated rather than treated as completely separate conversations.
