Essay on "Cosmetic Surgery Is All About Image, Appearance"

Essay 5 pages (1547 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Cosmetic surgery is all about image, appearance, and physical beauty. However, cosmetic surgery is also one of the medical professions and requires a license to practice. Resources for finding cosmetic surgeons must therefore be thorough and reliable. The a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Resource Web site www.aboardcertifiedplasticsurgeon.comfocuseson matching cosmetic plastic surgery clients with credentialed doctors. Cosmetic surgery is a type of plastic surgery that refers mainly to reconstructive work for enhancing appearance. Plastic surgery refers to any reconstructive work including those necessary for physical survival, such as the work needed after burn injuries and other traumas. In spite of the name of the organization, a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Resource concentrates on cosmetic rather than on broad plastic surgery. The Web site for the company is aesthetically pleasing, which is important for clients seeking information on how to change their own physical appearance. In spite of its being a commercial Web site that draws revenue from advertising dollars, www.aboardcertifiedplasticsurgeon.comcanbe a helpful resource for cosmetic surgery clients.

One of the most important criteria for judging a Web site is visual appeal. A Web site should be striking enough to lure viewers but not cluttered with unnecessary multimedia content, glaring colors, or unreadable typeface. A Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Web site is an attractive one. The main color scheme of the Web site includes green and white with a few tasteful splashes of pink and orange. Text color contrasts very well with the backgrounds, making the content easy to read. Corresponding to the natural and earthy colors, the logo of a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon is a simple silhouette of a nude female. The picture on the home page of the Web site is a natural-looking Caucasian woman wearing little makeup: the message is that cosmetic surgery speaks for itself: Clients need not worry about wearing makeup because they will love the appearance of their face, and clients should also not worry about how they look naked. The look of the Web site is polished and professional.

Therefore, the look and feel of the a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Web site is appropriate for the content and likely to grab the attention of visitors. Potential clients need to trust that the organization will match them with the best possible doctor that can improve their appearance. Web site aesthetics should ideally match the tone and content of the site. Potential clients might be turned off by a Web site that looks unprofessional or poorly designed and constructed. The importance of an aesthetically pleasing Web site is especially important for one that focuses on cosmetic surgery. A Board Certified Plastic Surgeon seems to suggest to clients, "We take care of our appearance, just like you take care of yours."

Another key criteria for judging the effectiveness of any Web site relates to usability. The a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Web site needs to be easy to navigate, with no broken links, minimal clutter, and ready access to information. This Web site includes a permanent frame on the left side of the page that allows users to easily switch from topic to topic as they learn about different cosmetic surgery procedures. The list includes Breast Procedures, Body Procedures, Facial Procedures, Skin Procedures, Weight loss Procedures, and Hair Procedures as well as Financing issues. Moreover, each section includes an expandable and collapsible list of sub-sections detailing specific cosmetic procedures. For example, Micropigmentation, Wrinkle Removal and Scar Revision fall under the rubric of Skin Procedures.

Several other floating frames make navigating the a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Web site easy to navigate. On the top of the page is the main menu bar, with four simple buttons that can take visitors to the main/home page, a page for plastic surgery news, and the before and after photos. The button for Find a Plastic Surgeon is colored pink instead of the dark green used for the other three top frame buttons, which draws the eye toward the main purpose of the Web site: helping clients find a board certified plastic surgeon in their area. In fact, the Web site includes a larger and even more prominent frame that reads "Find a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon" and includes a green button for "Locate Surgeon." Both the "Find a Plastic Surgeon" and the "Locate Surgeon" buttons are linked to the same page. That page lists registered surgeons by state. The "Find a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon" listings page is the only one on the Web site that does not include any frames except for the upper menu bar.

Other handy features of the a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Web site include a search function as well as a right-hand frame that changes content depending on the page. Visitors to the Web site will also be thankful that it is not loaded down by too much multimedia content. A video is included on the home page, but it does not start automatically when the page loads. Above the floating frame menu is a box that is hyperlinked to a "Before and After Photo Gallery." Tastefully done, the link does not include a picture in it, which might have put off some visitors to the site. All pages on the Web site load swiftly.

Another key criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of a Web site is content. A Web site is useless without solid content. One that purports to deliver medical information and refer clients to board certified plastic surgeons needs to be especially cognizant of content. Quality of content is generally gauged by its being authored or derived from peer-reviewed scientific resources. A Board Certified Plastic Surgeon contains a plethora of pithy explanations of cosmetic surgery procedures. The list of procedures seems thorough, and the explanations sound. Unfortunately, none of the procedure information pages are authored and no links to reputable medical Web sites are included either. The procedure information is geared towards consumers, though, and is written in plain language with minimal jargon. Therefore, the Web site is useful for its intended target audience: consumers.

Other content on the site includes a list of news articles. Like the procedure information pages, the news articles are mostly written by anonymous authors but are written in plain language. The news adds supplementary information about specific procedures, allowing visitors to the site to read about recent cosmetic surgery-related topics. The photograph gallery adds a visual dimension to the content of the Web site. Finally, the most important feature of the a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Web site is the list of doctors. The list is arranged in alphabetical order by state, which makes it simple for users to locate a doctor near them.

The a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Web site can be a helpful resource. However, the site has significant drawbacks and does not meet all the criteria for a reliable medical information resource. As a Web site, Aboardcertifiedplasticsurgeon.com is visually appealing and easy to navigate. The content is informative. However, none of the content is backed up by empirical research. The Web site does not include a list of links to medical information sites that might help clients learn more about cosmetic surgery from a non-commercial perspective. Because it is a commercially driven Web site, a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon is not the best resource. Plastic surgeons pay to list themselves on the site, too, which is why the list of surgeons is not exhaustive in any given area. Moreover, there is no place on the site for patient testimonials. Testimonials would boost the site's effectiveness by allowing clients to comment on their experiences with certain procedures and with certain doctors.

Unfortunately, the authors rely on secondary sources of information and no links to reputable medical sites are included. No resources page links site visitors to medical information Web… READ MORE

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