I like being different.

Piercings and funky hair do not fly in mainstream corporate USA. Sorry, but thats the way of it. I have anticipated this coming clash of cultures. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Just curious - what are monroe peircings? Generally, any piercings not on the ears can be distracting. As for hair - again, we are generally a conservative bunch!

It won't fly in the world of Nursing. It stinks because nurses should have the right to dress and act the way they want. But it is the way of life....

If my nurse or my fiances nurse, or whatever, had big hole earings like that and vibrant red hair, i would SERIOUSLY question their professional skills. they very well could make a wonderful nurse, i agree. But it is the way of life and the way the world runs. Unfortunate, but true.

If you want a job, i would suggest closing up any odd piercings and dying your hair a normal color. When your not at work, by all means...dress and act how you want.

Sorry to be so blunt, but it is true. Healthcare and nurses tend to be pretty conservative in regards to this topic.

Just curious - what are monroe peircings? Generally, any piercings not on the ears can be distracting. As for hair - again, we are generally a conservative bunch!

Pic of Monroe:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=monroe+piercing&hl=en&biw=1935&bih=808&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=7KsaV9xtUMl7WM:&imgrefurl=http://tattoosbaby.tumblr.com/post/628285818/monroe-piercing&docid=htwx3J3LqK-DZM&imgurl=http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l2xh4s0v5V1qbbj98o1_500.gif&w=496&h=430&ei=F4rWTp_hIOTX0QHji737AQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=460&sig=102905000841370589525&page=1&tbnh=139&tbnw=163&start=0&ndsp=40&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0&tx=65&ty=102

I think you can be unique and still be accepted in the nursing community. When I was a new nurse I had an industrial piercing (barbell) and never had any problem with it from employers or patients. I do not dye my hair anything super unusual, but will do super red, which again, haven't had a problem with. I think as long as you can give up some of that stuff for nursing school, you may find a employer to be more lax.

our hospital's dress code requires that all tattoos be covered, no more than two piercings per ear, no other piercings and that hair be "hair colored." in other words, no hair colors that do not appear in nature.

From my experience, school was a lot more strict than work is. For clinicals for school, hair had to be a natural hair color, nails couldn't be painted (not even clear!), no visable tattoos, and one one stud earring in the lobe of each ear- not even a tiny cartiledge hole.

But where I work, a lot of staff have visable tattoos (they are covered if the tattoos are offensive in content), and many of the other girls I work with have nose studs. One even has some microdermals at her collarbone that are visable. However, hair is still to be a natural hair color. No crazy pink or purple or green, etc, but a few girls have obviously dyed red hair (the color is that vibrant). One of the nurses who has been on my floor the longest (30+ years) and is a charge and is respected by everyone has a visable tattoo, and no one considers her unprofessional. I think our general policy is to use common sense, and if someone shows up with something that may be problematic, it gets addressed then.

So you could get lucky with where you work :)

If my nurse or my fiances nurse, or whatever, had big hole earings like that and vibrant red hair, i would SERIOUSLY question their professional skills.

Are you SERIOUS?!?! I get it, thats just how the world works and you have to follow the rules....but I guess I just didn't actually believe people think like this!!!!! And at age 23...we tend to be a more accepting generation. ????

Im kind of in shock, I find this thinking ridiculous.

I had one of those piercings during my senior year of nursing school/clinicals. I put a clear plastic stud in during clinicals...didn't make it any less obvious in my opinion, but none of the nurses or instructors said anything. Now I see nurses with nose rings at my hospital.

I think the hair/piercing issue depends on the work culture of where you are. Most workplaces say "no" but the manager may not enforce that policy. At my hospital we are not supposed to wear hoop earrings or dangle-y earrings....but no one enforces that.

If you are so adamant that these things are a part of you, that's OK. You may get passed over for an interview based on hair or piercings, but it probably would not be a workplace culture that you would like anyway.

I actually posted about this awhile back. I have visible tattoos and a nose piercing, never had a problem getting a job. It depends on where you live though. Where I'm at, people really don't care. Back when I worked with patients, I got lots of positive comments on my tattoos.

I would not question a nurse's competence based on his/her tattoos, piercings, or hair color. In fact, the most incompetent nurses I've known were "normal".

It all has to go for school...that being said, once you graduate it depends on what you want to do and where you want to work. I work in an inner city outpatient dialysis unit. I never put my piercings back in after school and don't dye my hair, but we have employees who have facial piercings and colored hair. I also know of some at the county hosp who have the same. I have a tattooed band on my wrist and no one has said a thing. Now at the hospitals in the suburbs, it may be a different story.

On a more personal note, I had the same feelings as you do about keeping my identity when i was your age. I now know that none of that stuff defines me and that I shouldn't let it define me. I may look "normal" but people know that i am different once they get to know me because of my actions. I wish you the best of luck and remember its not conforming, it's just doing what you gotta do.

I actually posted about this awhile back. I have visible tattoos and a nose piercing, never had a problem getting a job. It depends on where you live though. Where I'm at, people really don't care. Back when I worked with patients, I got lots of positive comments on my tattoos.

I would not question a nurse's competence based on his/her tattoos, piercings, or hair color. In fact, the most incompetent nurses I've known were "normal".

You must be in Seattle, San Fran, or lets see.......New Orleans?

This varies a lot from one facility to the next, and from one part of the country to the next. I live and work in the SF Bay Area, and I've seen quite a few nurses with visible tattoos and nose studs -- may have even seen one or two with the type of lip stud that you apparently have. Haven't seen anyone with their hair dyed an obviously unnatural color though.

From my own experience I can say that dangly earrings don't mix very well with isolation masks, so when I worked in a hospital the most I would wear was small studs in my ears. It seems to me that the lip or nose studs might also interfere with the fit of certain types of masks where you need to have a tight seal along the bridge of the nose and the upper lip.