tatoos & piercings, part 2

Nurses Professionalism

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There's another current thread right now about tats & piercings. And I've responded. But I had another thought.

Nursing is complaining about the lack of professional recognition. And altho I will probably get slammed, I can't help but ask - How professional is the picture of ourselves with extensive tattoos and body piercings present???

Thinking about it - none of my healthcare providers have any - not my PMP or his staff. Nor my dentists. Any priests, ministers, rabbis, etc? And any of the good Sisters?

I don't think lawyers showoff any - sheesh, they all seem to wear black clothes.

For as sleeveless as Michele Obama is, has anyone seen any tats? Any politicians with visible piercings other than maybe an earring? (And I'm talking about the females.) Caroline Kennedy, the newly appointed ambassador to Japan - anything?

Now I'm not talking about body art that's hidden under clothing. But when I watched the basketball playoffs, one player had such extensively tattooed arms that I thought he was wearing sleeves. Why is it that nursing schools and employers of nurses must now have dress code/policies that spell out visible body art?

Does med school, law school, divinity school?

I support individuality, but I think we may have crossed a line of decorum/good taste that reflects on the image we wish to impart.

Just my 2 pennies.

^^Best tattoo ever.

Specializes in Psychiatry, ICU, ER.

I'm a successful nurse practitioner, and a guy, and I have 00g ears. Anyone who doesn't like them is more than welcome not to be my patient. ;)

Specializes in Critical Care, Dialysis, School Nursing.

LOVE the Medic Alert tat above!! I have 3 tattoos, got my first at age 50 ;) and I have always joked about getting "DNR" tattooed on my chest! Maybe not such a crazy idea after all.

Specializes in cardiac-telemetry, hospice, ICU.

Unless I missed something, no one in this thread spoke to the impact of tats from the patients perspective. I know where I work, the vast majority of my patients are of the 70+ age group. Those folks have their own set of values based upon their own life experience and culture. Tats are few and far between on them, and like it or not, they associate tats with bikers, sailors, and little else. I believe that is why our facility has a 'no visible tats' policy. Makes no difference to me what someone does with their body, but I think it does to most of our customers. And in my opinion no, a caring attitude and skillful care will not make up for that negative stigma.

Specializes in geriatrics,psych.

I am a fully sleeved nurse..and I can work uncovered.. No judgement.. I provide care to my residents..and you know what..the world is changing... lets be ourselves..we are all human..people...lets love and be loved. I work FT days at a nursing home..I love it. I wouldnt change a thing about me. and these tattoos do NOT affect how I care for them... think before you judgebeckienurse_zps2b539c9f.jpg

Specializes in geriatrics,psych.

lets change the assumption about our body art

Unless I missed something no one in this thread spoke to the impact of tats from the patients perspective. I know where I work, the vast majority of my patients are of the 70+ age group. Those folks have their own set of values based upon their own life experience and culture. Tats are few and far between on them, and like it or not, they associate tats with bikers, sailors, and little else. I believe that is why our facility has a 'no visible tats' policy. Makes no difference to me what someone does with their body, but I think it does to most of our customers. And in my opinion no, a caring attitude and skillful care will not make up for that negative stigma.[/quote']

I really don't think a patient who is trying really hard to die or a LOL with crushing chest pains is going to care whether the team looking after them has tattoos and piercings!!

Specializes in LTC.
Unless I missed something no one in this thread spoke to the impact of tats from the patients perspective. I know where I work, the vast majority of my patients are of the 70+ age group. Those folks have their own set of values based upon their own life experience and culture. Tats are few and far between on them, and like it or not, they associate tats with bikers, sailors, and little else. I believe that is why our facility has a 'no visible tats' policy. Makes no difference to me what someone does with their body, but I think it does to most of our customers. And in my opinion no, a caring attitude and skillful care will not make up for that negative stigma.[/quote']

Honestly most residents thought my tatt was cool. A few asked me if it hurt, and some commented that they would get one but they had too many conditions to list on their forearm. I never came across anything but positive remarks. Perhaps those who thought negatively kept quiet because they were polite people, I don't know. I do know that this generation of seniors is a lot more culturally savvy than you are giving them credit for. They are not little old biddes knitting, my residents had smart phones and iPads. They were generally pretty cool people.

Unless I missed something, no one in this thread spoke to the impact of tats from the patients perspective. I know where I work, the vast majority of my patients are of the 70+ age group. Those folks have their own set of values based upon their own life experience and culture. Tats are few and far between on them, and like it or not, they associate tats with bikers, sailors, and little else. I believe that is why our facility has a 'no visible tats' policy. Makes no difference to me what someone does with their body, but I think it does to most of our customers. And in my opinion no, a caring attitude and skillful care will not make up for that negative stigma.

Last I checked that generation grew up in a time when it was okay to call African-American the "bad word" and it was okay for men to tell their "little women" what to do and when to do it. Guess what? Times and acceptable behavior and styles change. Change with them or keep your opinions to yourself.

Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

As long as the tats are not vulgar or offensive, I don't see the big deal about having some ink on your skin.

Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
Last I checked that generation grew up in a time when it was okay to call African-American the "bad word" and it was okay for men to tell their "little women" what to do and when to do it. Guess what? Times and acceptable behavior and styles change. Change with them or keep your opinions to yourself.

Last time I checked, I couldn't help being black or a woman, but one can choose what and where to tat themselves or to just skip the ink altogether. Do not compare race and gender to this issue. It is insulting.

PERSONALLY, I do not like tattoos. (I don't care what others choose do to their body). I also personally think that tattoos and visible piercings do not make a good first impression. However, that said, there is more to being professional than visible impressions. If they want to get tattoos etc, that is their business, but they should be aware that for some people, especially the older generation, it will create a bad impression that they will have to work harder to shake off. But with tattoos being more mainstream now, it's not such a huge issue. Despite my dislike for tattoos, I wouldn't care a bit if my doctor, nurse, whatever, was covered in ink. They still passed the exams and met the requirements for their job.

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