Nursing and tattoos

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  1. Do you have any tattoos?

    • 716
      No, never would
    • 525
      No, but would like to
    • 712
      Yes, but only one in a discreet area
    • 83
      Yes, but I wish I didn't
    • 990
      Yes, I have more than one, but less than ten
    • 132
      Yes, my body is a living canvas

1,962 members have participated

:D Just thought we needed a new poll...

i have 3 but would love to get more. id really like to get a back piece and have an idea of what i want. i just need someone to put my idea into color.......well.......black/grey. i would also like a lower arm piece but am concerned how it would be percieved. maybe when i get out of nursing ill get it done then

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I have a full sleeve, a chest piece and 1 more on my other arm. I wear long sleeves most times. Patients don't mind. My co workers in the ER don't care. But a few nurses from another unit tried to "report" me when they saw one when I reached fo something one time. They were pretty much laughed at.LOL

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i have a tatto on my hip that is a teddy bear with the saying love me tender i got it when i graduated from rn school and my divorce was finally. but i don't regard it. i have a daughter in rn school now and she has her tongue pierced and they cannot tell it is.

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I love my tattoos, one of which is very visible to everyone......I have a band around my wrist, vines and flowers, it's about 2 inches wide with a 2 inch butterfly on the inside of my forearm. I also have a tribal like butterfly on my ankle (that nobody sees).

I have this feeling that we will be a generation of old people in the nursing homes who will be identified by their tattoos......It's cool

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I have this feeling that we will be a generation of old people in the nursing homes who will be identified by their tattoos......It's cool

Boy, you are right on that one. :rotfl: It would be a great way of identification in the case of a band slipping off and with "sound alike" names. Just look in the chart and see "Pt has tattoo of butterfly to the left of lumbar spine." Wouldn't hold up in court though.

I have thought about this an awful lot. I've gone from NO WAY to, well, maybe a small one in an inconspicous spot once I graduated from RN school. And if anything happened to my best friend/cousin, I would get one in memory of her (a violet as we used to go violet picking as kids). Just as long as no one else can see it, I feel it would be OK.

I feel that the younger generations might be more receptive to nurses who have tattoos. The older generation grew up with a certain image of a nurse (think white hat, dress, and stockings) and may be a bit more reticient about someone caring for them who had very visible tattoos. Maybe this isn't the case, this is just MHO. :)

ETA: Oops! Didn't realize this was an older topic and may have already commented on it. Sorry about that.

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Specializes in medical, geri-psych.

i love this post!! i have 3 tattoos... absolutely huge turtle on my right back/butt/leg; skull with halo & angel wings on my left upper arm; and the words faith, hope, love on my left foot.

they are all covered up by my scrubs. i would love to get more tattoos but i don't think i will ever get ones that can't be covered up. unfortunately innocent looking little blonde haired nurses & tattoos don't mix in many patients/coworkers' minds. :nono:

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You are braver than I am. :chair: I think the navel and tongue would hurt like Hell.

I got the navel pierced yesterday. After the butterfly and daisy tattoo, that's as far as i'm going.
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Only a man would read it like that. :lol2:

OMG, you had your ears removed? Well, I suppose if you use to wear glasses the option exist to wear eye contacts. :lol2:

:clown:

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Specializes in Trauma/SICU.

I have 5 tats...all covered when in scrubs.

large sun on my lower back

2 big Chinese Symbols on my spine in between my shoulder blades

Shamrock with Celtic KNots on my hip on the right down by my belt line

Huge firedancer with reds, oranges, yellows and a song quote around it on the top of my foot.

I have plans for one more but have run out of discreet places to put it-LOL. I'm also one that when people know I have tattoos, they don't believe it.

Jenny

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Specializes in cardiac med-surg.

ladybug right ankle

butterfly left ankle

rights of passage

when i turned 39 and 40

my presents to me

you only live once

i love jewelry and body art as self expression

and this impacts on nursing how??????

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I have two. I have to say, Im not sure I would have gotten them if I wasnt young at the time. I find that most of the older patients dont understand a woman with a tatoo and are a little taken back by it. I just transitioned from LVN to RN after 26 years as a LVN and kept them covered thru school. One is on my arm. My hospital just issused a new dress code that stated they must be covered. They dont think it looks "professional", and I have to agree, but then Ive changed a bit as Ive grown older. :wink2:

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that shows how everyone sees things differently; when i see ink on an older person, it reminds me not to see this person as "a cutie old guy" or "a cranky old man/woman"-it helps to remind me of the life the person led; that they were young person once-like when i see "uss indiannpolis" on an 85 year old alzheimer pts arm, i see the young strong healthy vibrant sailor that once was...just like meeting a patients family reminds you that it's a person, not just a patient....

that is incredibly insightful. i will always remember that, great statement!:yelclap:

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