Another tattoo Discussion

cannolis · Feb 9, 2014

When people say "have to cover them" are they implying wearing a longsleeve underneath the scrubs or literally cover them with makeup?

Ruby Vee, BSN · Feb 9, 2014

When people say "have to cover them" are they implying wearing a longsleeve underneath the scrubs or literally cover them with makeup?

Long sleeves. I'm trying to imagine make-up all down the arms on a busy day when you're cleaning up poop and sweating and washing your hands up to the elbows . . . .

lindseylpn · Feb 9, 2014

I used to work with a nurse who had tattoo sleeves down both arms, a tattoo on his neck and stars on his ear lobes. He had to wear a scrub jacket all the time, a large bandage on his neck and Band-Aids on his earlobes. Poor thing, He looked so uncomfortable, he took it all off when management left though.

featherzRN, MSN · Feb 9, 2014

I have butterfly tats on my back (tiny, got them waaaaaaaaaay back when I was a teen), and during nursing school when wearing a white uniform I always had to put a big bandaid over them since they'd show through the uniform. Now? No one really cares. And they don't show through scrubs anyways.. OP, is this something your hair could cover if you are concerned?

1fastRN · Feb 9, 2014

I'll put in my two cents. Where I work the policy is very vague. I have two half sleeves and I CHOOSE to keep them covered with 3/4 sleeve shirts under my scrub top. Unfortunately I sweat my butt off running around in a busy level 2 trauma center. There are other staff members with visible tattoos including nurses. Heck, one of the security officers has neck tattoos! I've never heard of anyone being fired for tattoos but I never want to put myself in a situation where I stand out and could potentially lose my job.

I also respect the fact that some people don't like tattoos. Especially older people who make up a decent part of the ER population. I don't want anyone judging me or thinking I'm less off a nurse so I find it better to just blend in. I feel it's more professional to keep them covered.

Lastly, I had some smaller inner bicep tattoos before I got the full half sleeves. No one ever said anything negative however, EVERY PATIENT would always ask about them and ask for their meaning. It got real old real quick. I don't come to work to have people ask me personal questions. So now that I'm covered up I don't have that annoyance of constantly explaining my tattoos.

Do what you want and what your work place allows but keep in mind some people view tattooed people as less professional. Don't take it personal but if you put yourself out there you have to deal with the consequences :)

cannolis · Feb 9, 2014

I keep mine covered simply because I don't want to be asked about them. Not because of what other people think is professional or not. That, and I know myself too well to stand or accept another person belittling me on my physical appearance or life choices.

One time in school, while having a discussion about pain threshold I mumbled about being covered in tattoos. A nursing student immediately went off on how the hospital where clinicals are done has a no tattoo policy, and while I might be accepted as a nursing student I won't be able to do clinicals. In addition, he mentioned they do background checks and drug tests.

I asked in complete amazement "Do you see any of my tattoos?" they said "Good point, forget I said all that."

I have never been so astonished by a person's ignorance ever in my life. They had my grandparents rolling in their graves when they mentioned "background checks and drug tests" as to equate all people who have tattoos with this kind of behavior.

Seriously though, what concerned me more is that this person is just going to be a small-minded nurse who judges everybody with negative stereotypes. I feel sorry for them, the facility that hires them in the future, and the people they treat.

michaeljr · Feb 9, 2014

The person I was talking about who would refused a tattooed nurse believes, in her mind, that a person who gets tattoos (and display them) lacks a certain amount of professionalism. That is her view--and based on the comments in other tattoo threads, she is not the only person who has such a view. There is a big difference between that and having the racist 'view' that an African American lacks the capacities to be an nurse simple because of the color of his/her skin.

Mind if I ask how old this person is? I have a good idea, just want to confirm.

joevi · Feb 9, 2014

I have a tats but dey dont care

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michaeljr · Feb 9, 2014

I have a tats but dey dont care
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I'm covered, sleeves...no neck and hands though, nothing that can't be covered by a suit or business attire of the such.

I believe the under 35 crowd is largely color blind, Not phased by tattoos, race, etc. I must say, the stigma still runs deep in the older generations. I'll take a gander and say in 10 years the stigma will have long gone the way of the dodo.

NurseQT · Feb 18, 2014

I have yet to work for a company that had a policy against visible tattoos. I have four tattoos right now and two are visible when my hair is pulled up (a triskele on the back of my neck and shooting stars behind my ear) and none of my supervisors have said anything about them. I've always worked in LTC and many of my residents not only ask about my tattoos they compliment me on them!

One of my good friends is the nurse manager of a dialysis clinic and she has got a lot of tattoos (upper arm, forearm, across her chest, ect) and her employer has never had a problem with her ink. I think tattoos are becoming less and less of a big deal and more widely accepted in the professional world.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Feb 18, 2014

I have yet to work for a company that had a policy against visible tattoos. .

Then you haven't worked at two facilities I have worked for....neither allowed visible tattoos. They had to be appropriately covered up or absent altogether if they were in a usually-visible location.

That said, this thread topic has been done to death and the answer is always the same: Check your facility's policy, ask HR if there's any ambiguity or confusion, and follow that policy. That's it!

Sam J. · Feb 19, 2014

Then you haven't worked at two facilities I have worked for....neither allowed visible tattoos. They had to be appropriately covered up or absent altogether if they were in a usually-visible location.
That said, this thread topic has been done to death and the answer is always the same: Check your facility's policy, ask HR if there's any ambiguity or confusion, and follow that policy. That's it!

But then what about your next possible employer, or your next 5 or 10 over your working life? How many people aren't hired because of tattoos, or piercings, or purple hair, or other forms of personal expression really can't be known.