Empire Medical Training vs. ESI: An Honest Comparison

This is the biggest practical difference for busy healthcare professionals. Empire Medical Training runs courses on a continuous calendar in 35+ cities across the United States, plus livestream and on-demand options. If you can't travel to a specific location, you can attend virtually without missing the instruction.

ESI's training is anchored at their Fort Lauderdale headquarters with satellite sessions in select cities. If you're in South Florida or willing to travel there, ESI's campus environment provides an immersive in-person experience. If you need more scheduling flexibility or a location closer to home, Empire's distributed model typically provides more options.

ESI offers a solid core aesthetics curriculum — Botox, dermal fillers, PRP/PRF, sclerotherapy, laser, and PDO threads — plus a business setup course. For providers focused exclusively on these procedures, ESI's catalog covers the essentials.

Empire's six-academy system covers all of those plus pain management procedures, functional medicine (IV therapy, hormone optimization, weight management, peptide therapy), advanced cosmetics, and a full Business & Marketing academy. For practitioners building a multi-service or diversified practice, Empire lets you train across specialties without switching providers — often with a single membership that covers everything.

Both organizations have been training healthcare professionals since the late 1990s. ESI (founded 1997) and Empire (founded 1998) are among the longest-running medical aesthetic training providers in the United States. Both emphasize hands-on training with live patients rather than mannequin-only simulation.

ESI's campus model can offer a more immersive multi-day experience for providers who want to dedicate focused time to training. Empire's format offers the same clinical depth with more scheduling flexibility and the added benefit of Empire Live Mentor™ — monthly live Zoom Q&A with faculty after course completion.