Tattoos

[niico]

Hey there.

I spent yesterday searching this website for information on nurses & Tattoos. I found lots of information, but I was looking for something more Canadian-specific.

I'm headed to college this fall, but I plan on getting tattoos over most of my arms. I was thinking about only getting them on the upper half of my arms so they wouldn't be visible under scrubs. But at the same time, I don't want to feel restricted in what I can and can't do.

So I'm looking at getting them down to my forearm, but not near my wrists. This way, I have the option of revealing them outside of work, because I tend to wear long sleeve clothing.

I'm going to either Centennial College or Durham College for Practical Nursing. i've searched their websites but nothing helpful came up.

Getting these tattoos means a lot to me because the art will represent the challenges I've faced, how I overcame them, and allow me to express my individuality externally.

A nursing career is important to me.. BUT, Finding happiness in life, which is ever so short, means more to me than any career, so I'll gladly forget about nursing if i'm going to be judged for doing what makes me happy.

Either way I'd prefer if patients didn't see my tattoos because I'd still like some personal privacy while working. As an LPN I'll probably be working LTC.

so could I wear a long sleeved shirt under scrubs ? Or should I just forget about pursuing a nursing career ?

Thank you so much for being understanding. I hope I didn't offend anyone somehow.

[mclennan, BSN, RN]

My employer does have a policy that states we cannot have any ink showing. They also have a policy that prohibits long sleeves. Because such a majority of the work force has tattoos now, they had to modify the policy and allow tattooed people to use a nylon cover-up "sleeve" product like TatJacket or Ink Armor. I have several of these sleeves and they work great. I'm not sure about the aspects of infection control but this is the best they could do in terms of compromising the policy.....or they would have no floor staff!

[niico]

Do you think arm Tattoos will seriously prohibit me from a nursing career ?

[loriangel14, RN]

It could depending on your area and the employers policy. Some schools have very rigid policies as well.

[vintage_RN, BSN, RN]

Do you think arm Tattoos will seriously prohibit me from a nursing career ?

Well, a bunch of nurses with tattoos replied to this thread soo...

[itsmejuli]

I have a tattoo on my wrist that I never cover. Seems most people think it's a bracelet.

[tareija]

One thing with wearing long sleeved shirts under your scrubs, aside from infection control - do you get warm easily? I do, and there is no freaking way I'd be able to wear a long sleeve shirt under my scrubs. I find even with just wearing a short sleeve scrub top and pants I can get overly warm (even more so when working with patients on isolation, having to wear face masks and a plastic gown). Nursing can be a pretty physical job and I think I would feel uncomfortably warm with a long sleeved shirt on. As for school and employer policies, I have tattoos but they are not visible when wearing scrubs, so I don't have any experience with that. I have seen a nurse or two with big sleeve tattoos, but it's uncommon.

[Canadianmummy]

I have a tattoo and I'm wondering about this...I don't want to feel ashamed for having it because I love it! I'll just have to work with it!

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Where I worked, nurses wore long sleeves in LTC and acute care so anyone who had tattoos could have easily covered them. However, it depends on the employer and the policy.

[ruralgirl08]

I work in the OR, where we almost always have our arms covered, with either a surgical gown or a hospital supplied cover up because its always cool. Several co-workers have sleeves or visible arm tattoos and have had no issues on the job.

[ltothew]

I guess it depends where you live, in the lower mainland of BC, schools and hospitals could care less about tattoos, I know tons of nurses with visible tattoos.

[joannagrams]

I got a fairly large (albeit non-offensive, galaxy forearm tattoo) during nursing school, which was definitely against my school's policy but I'm not going to let a school dictate my personal choices. I've never had an issue on any unit, though I do live in a fairly large metro city. However, if an employer is not going to hire me based on my tattoos versus my qualifications I'd rather forgo that unit. It's your life, it's your body. Not everyone is going to understand but they don't have to. With that said, my final preceptor placement has been on a specialized high acuity critical care unit so I guess the tattoos didn't really matter :) Good luck and be yourself!

[Dangaard]

I'm just a student but I thought I'd add my two cents. I think more and more these days, as long as tattoos are not inherently offensive/controversial in their content and location, they're being considered acceptable socially, as well as in the workplace. I say location because facial tattoos still probably have a bit of stigma associated with them, but that's not relevant here.

For you specifically, I think regardless of whatever personal experiences other people have with acceptance of tattoos and wearing long sleeves, since there's always going to be a bit of an unknown with what is and isn't acceptable with tattoos, I'd suggest you find out what the faculty(ies) considers to be acceptable. If you plan on getting the tattoos before your fall term starts, find an email or phone number for both faculties and inquire what their policy is on tattoos, as well as the policies of the agencies they hold their clinical rotations with. If you can't find a direct email for a program advisor or similar position, email or phone a general reception number to request contact information. I hardly expect that this is the first time this concern has been raised so they should have the information you're looking for somewhere.

In terms of my limited experience, long sleeves are generally prohibited for infection control. In my faculty they are not allowed at all except for religious exceptions. Tattoos though, I've never seen a concern with them. One instructor at my college has bilateral sleeves visible and she's been a NICU nurse for 15 years (not sure how long she's had the tattoos). She's also one of the nicest people I've ever met and I personally wonder if she's even capable of getting mad at a student who needs to be put in line. The unit manager for patient care at my last rotation on an acute surgery unit also had quite an extensive tattoo on one of his arms. He was incredibly helpful, easy going, and knowledgable in regards to us students despite being constantly busy with his duties and often also being the charge nurse during the day.

While the stigma of tattoos and untrustworthy people has definitely eroded considerably over the last few decades, you'll certainly come across people who still view tattoos as inappropriate or deviant. Then again, you'll also come across plenty of people who think not being white or having an accent or being a woman in a position of authority is also inappropriate. Difficult people will be difficult, and changing values and beliefs does not happen overnight. I personally think that one aspect of being a part of something that some minority doesn't approve of due to stigma or stereotype is being confidently and un-apologetically part of it. Even more so when that something is close to what you perceive to be your identity. Obviously it helps if your familiy or faculty or employer is supportive, but when it comes to patients, it doesn't matter if you have tattoos or scars or whatever it is that makes that patient think that you're not what you're supposed to be in your appearance. You have the right to privacy, and you have the right to respect. Tattoos don't stop anybody from being an excellent nurse, and you're not obligated to explain anything about your personal life to a patient. You do have every right to tell a patient that a comment that they made is inappropriate or to explain that your tattoos don't have any impact on your ability to be an excellent nurse for them, and if they can't accept that, then a different nurse will have to help them, just like if you come across any other abusive patient. Now I don't know kind of content you want to get tattooed on your arms and if you're concerned the specific content will be "flagged" so to speak or if you're more worried about tattoos in general, but that's just what I think. Probably a bit more than 2 cents by this point haha.