Nurses with ear piercings

[hshuang]

Hello,

I want to be a nurse when I finish college. I'm currently a senior in high school. I have 5 more years until I graduate college/ become a nurse. I already have 4 piercings on my ears. I want 3 more (second lobes and 1 more cartilage (helix)). Is it frown upon that I will have 7 piercings or should I stop? I also want a tattoo on my finger (not sure about it, but the size will be smaller than a quarter). But is it acceptable tho?

thanks

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I live in NJ. But going to college in PA. I will either work in NJ or PA or DE or NY. Does that affect my concern?

Why don't you wait until you finish school and are employed. That way, you'll have plenty of time to change your mind . . . and you'll know for sure what the policy is where you work.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

if i knew the answer, i didn't to ask the question on here....

Huh???

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

Try posting your question in the correct forum, which is in your situation is the pre nursing student, not general nursing forum.

[Mavrick, BSN, RN]

I would not hire you but I would not tell you that was the reason.

[hshuang]

Huh???

I didn't have to **

forgot the have

[hshuang]

I would not hire you but I would not tell you that was the reason.

Judging a book by its cover....

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Judging a book by its cover....

Those who do the hiring have a right to do that. They may have an image they want their company to project, and that might include looking clean cut with no visible body art. You may not agree with it, but you tattoo and pierce at your own risk.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Judging a book by its cover....

Yes, which is a hard reality when it comes to a competitive job market and limited spaces in nursing school programs. In the idealistic world of "but why should it matter?" you wouldn't understand that, which is what brought you here asking a question such as "can I have tattoos on my fingers?"

You said you didn't know if multiple piercings or tattoos on your fingers would look professional. The answer is no. Go ahead and conjur up an image of a professional person, and what do they look like? While there are plenty who will tell you it doesn't look UNprofessional, the fact is you are hoping to enter a career that (for the most part) has a conservative foundation. Why would you place your future at risk for something you haven't yet done? At this point, you DO have the choice to NOT do something that could negatively impact your chances of success.

There will be many candidates for few positions, and you have nothing to show yet to make you stand out in a positive way (no experience, essentially). You will be fighting against those who don't have anything that could potentially turn someone off from the first moment they are seen, the very first meeting with someone who gets to decide their futures. You will be fighting a potential negative right off the bat. Not a good plan.

There are MANY threads on the topic of tattoos and piercings, so I'm not going to rehash it. I'm going to answer your original question, which is whether having all these piercings and tattoos would be a problem. I'm going to tell you that it MIGHT. Might not.....but just might. Is that finger drawing really worth THAT much to you that you'd do it knowing you might be ruled out because of it? Are you willing to limit your ability to get into a school program or get the job you want because of it?

What's your priority?

[bsyrn, ASN, RN]

Wait until you graduate, nursing school is hard enough. No sense drawing any un needed attention to yourself.

[hshuang]

Tbh I m already accepted into Drexel Univeristy and its nursing program. I still will get my ear piercings, but no hoops, danglings, or stretching. They are going to be small studs. The tattoo, I m going to hold off of. There are posts on here I felt that it was pretty harsh. I mean reality is harsh, but there is no need to be harsh on here. Thank you for your responses. Btw I m actually pretty consercative (actually very). Piercings are like a way for me to express myself and that's why I m getting the ear piercings.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

I'm sorry you felt the responses were harsh, because in all honestly they were not. I've seen MUCH harsher commentary directed on this topic, so you really shouldn't see anything like that on this thread. If you do....well, best advice I can give you is to start to develop a thicker skin. Nursing school and the clinical environment will be a FAR harsher environment than you are likely expecting. A professional online forum isn't your family or cohort of friends, so they WILL be honest with you. Sometimes maybe more honesty than you might have hoped for

As for expressing your individuality, the thing is, piercings are becoming commonplace, as are tattoos. They aren't so much hallmarks of individuality as you'd think....your own decorations might be individual to you, but as a whole....it's not unique. When you are as young as you are, that tends to be the thinking ("I'm expressing my individual self") but a little later down the road, employers aren't interested in your individual self. Fair? Maybe not. But getting the edge to get that coveted job isn't about fairness, it's about the best "fit" and in many cases that leaves out someone who has become too "individual".

People here aren't trying to be mean, and they AREN'T mean. They aren't harsh. They are offering you something to help you in the long run. I'm glad you chose to hold off on the tattoo, I think it's a very good move.

Good luck to you in school! :)

[SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS]

If you keep that many piercings when you get into nursing school, be ready to likely hear some instructors tell you that its unprofessional and doesnt make a good nurse (silly). Just a heads up!

Side note, instructors have to uphold the school policy regardless of what we personally think about it. At our clinical site (inpatient psych), many nurses and techs have visible tats, cartilage piercings, and gel nails, but I still have to ensure students are following policy.