It started at Tulane

I trained in nephrology at Tulane University from 2008 to 2010. Somewhere in those two years, aesthetic medicine caught my attention and never quite let go. It wasn't the path I was on — I was becoming a kidney specialist — but the interest stayed with me.

Then I moved to West Virginia and built a practice, and the practice took over. I worked as a nephrologist and a hospitalist. The days were long and full, and the aesthetics idea stayed where ideas like that usually stay: somewhere in the back of my mind, waiting for a year that never seemed to arrive.

The pandemic changed the timeline

When COVID hit, my work narrowed to inpatient care, nephrology, and COVID-19 testing. It was a demanding stretch, and like a lot of physicians who worked through it, I came out the other side thinking differently about time and about what I actually wanted to be doing with mine.

I trained with the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine, completing both their Part One and Part Two courses. Then I practiced aesthetic medicine for six months before sitting for the board examination — because I wanted real cases behind me, not just coursework, before I certified. I passed, and I am board certified in aesthetic medicine.

That sequence matters to me. Aesthetic medicine is medicine. The results are cosmetic, but the anatomy, the pharmacology, and the complications are entirely clinical. I wanted to come to it the way I came to nephrology.

I didn't build it alone

Two people made Serene Med Spa possible, and neither of them is an afterthought in this story.

Shweta Arora, MD

Founder & Partner

My wife, and an anesthesiologist at University Hospitals in Cleveland. She is a founder and partner of Serene Med Spa, and the practice exists in the form it does because of her.

Stephanie Welker, FNP-BC

Nurse Practitioner

Our nurse practitioner, integral to this practice from day one — and the person who came up with the name Serene Med Spa. The name was hers before the doors opened.

The team today

What started with the three of us is now a full team of providers, estheticians, and staff — the people you'll actually meet when you walk in.

What we set out to fix

From the beginning I focused on two things: the right treatment, at the right price.

Aesthetic care had priced people out

Treatments had become expensive enough that people were intimidated by the idea of walking into a med spa at all — not because they weren't interested, but because they assumed it wasn't for them. That never sat right with me. Our pricing is set so that people can actually consider treatment, and we publish it rather than making you ask.

And the industry wasn't transparent

Hidden charges and vague pricing are common in this field. You find out what something costs after you've committed to it, or you discover the quoted price didn't include what you assumed it included. We tell you the number before you're in the chair, and the number we tell you is the number you pay.

The other half of that is protocol. We follow the clinical protocols for every treatment we offer, including the ones that make an appointment take longer than a patient might expect. Consultations are free because the conversation should come before the commitment, not after it.

We're still students

Aesthetic medicine changes quickly — new devices, new products, revised technique. We attend conferences and training throughout the year, and we'll be posting the meetings we attend so you can see what we're learning and where.

It's the same reason I practiced for six months before taking the board exam. Staying current isn't a marketing line in this field; it's the difference between a good result and a complication.

— Robin Arora, MD
Founder & Medical Director, Serene Med Spa