Nurses with nose piercings?

trauma_lama, BSN · May 29, 2011

not hiring someone for having a facial piercing dictated by their religion or culture is absolutely not okay, and it's discrimination! if a person has a legitimate religious or cultural reason for some kind of body art, bring them on staff (given that they're qualified of course)! This is a completely different concept from not hiring someone because they came in to work with a nose ring that they have just for the heck of it.

I knew from an early age that when you want to make a good impression on people (from hiring managers to customers to patients, etc), you clean yourself up. look nice, look respectable, and present yourself in a way that is likely to offend the fewest number of people. there might be a few people out there offended by people without facial piercings, but there is likely a much larger population of people who will NOT be offended by a lack thereof.

before pursuing nursing, i was a hiring manager at a women's retail store. when people came in to turn in applications (or even to inquire about whether we were hiring or not) i generally made 80% of my decision then and there on the spot. is this person speaking coherently? is this person presenting their self in a way that shows that they take the job application process seriously?

i have LOTS of friends with nose rings, tatoos (and all other kinds of crazy body art). i even have a tatoo myself. but on the morning of an interview or before work, you bet i try to present myself in a way that shows me to be the very most professional person i can be, and sometimes that means keeping some little things under wraps. my tatoo does NOT define who i am, so i don't mind having to cover it up in a work environment.

VioletKaliLPN, LPN · May 29, 2011

I believe that Nursing is a profession, and as such we should both look and act the part. Religious considerations aside, because I am sure someone could try and cite religion requiring nail polish and artificial nails(bacteria), facial piercings and visible tattoos are not considered professional in most 'professions'.

Do I have piercings and tattoos? YES, but my tattoos are on my back, hidden, and I will not wear piercings while at work. I do not believe it is professional.

I believe there is always a time and place for unique expressions.. At the beach I wear tops which show off my art work, I wear my piercings without discretion, but at work I am a professional both in appearance and action.

Mimi2RN, ASN, RN · May 29, 2011

I don't like nose rings, and dislike the huge holes some people have in their ears. That being said, our policy is no more than 2 earings on each side. We have nurses with 3 or more, and one with a nose ring, and nothing is said by management. Also, we have a hospitalist with multiple earrings all over her ears, and also a nose ring. She's a good doc. I think it's unprofessional, but it's her choice. To me, it looks tacky!

BluegrassRN · May 29, 2011

Not a problem in my facility. Neither are visible tattoos. I'm a bit surprised at the vitriol in some of the responses. The upcoming generation does not view piercings and tattoos as unprofessional. Tattoos are hardly exclusive to the lower classes, as one poster quoted as "fact".

SummitRN, BSN, RN · May 29, 2011

Not a problem in my facility. Neither are visible tattoos. I'm a bit surprised at the vitriol in some of the responses. The upcoming generation does not view piercings and tattoos as unprofessional. Tattoos are hardly exclusive to the lower classes, as one poster quoted as "fact".

:uhoh3: Not what I said at all. I just said that that is where you will find the most visible tatoos, thus the source of the prejudice. Yes, maybe in 20-30 years when the current generation is running the show, society will have changed and tattoos won't be considered unprofessional, but today they are.

hopefulwhoop · May 29, 2011

what about the "red hair"? are you talking gingers or those that dye their hair a shocking red?

lol shocking red--bright red.

BluegrassRN · May 29, 2011

Not what I said at all. I just said that that is where you will find the most visible tatoos, thus the source of the prejudice. Yes, maybe in 20-30 years when the current generation is running the show, society will have changed and tattoos won't be considered unprofessional, but today they are.

Your post reads differently than your intensions, apparently. I disagree that across the board, tattoos and piercings are considered unprofessional. You may think that, I do not. My facility does not, either.

OhioCCRN, MSN, NP · May 29, 2011

I seriously doubt that nose rings have to be worn religiously.... they are ADORNMENTS!!!! a skull cap or a hijab is NOT an adornment, but thats a different story altogether.... Society has norms for professionalism which do NOT include piercings and self inflicted visible tatoos. oh....and to the posters who claim that banning piercings and tatoos is going against culture... just because something is cultural doesn't mean its right and it cannot change... case in point... Female Genital Mutilation, Slavery, Child labor i could go on for days.....

Mrs. SnowStormRN, RN · May 29, 2011

I seriously doubt that nose rings have to be worn religiously.... they are ADORNMENTS!!!! a skull cap or a hijab is NOT an adornment but thats a different story altogether.... Society has norms for professionalism which do NOT include piercings and self inflicted visible tatoos. oh....and to the posters who claim that banning piercings and tatoos is going against culture... just because something is cultural doesn't mean its right and it cannot change... case in point... Female Genital Mutilation, Slavery, Child labor i could go on for days.....[/quote']
Odd that you say that, because the same society that you now say doesn't accept piercing use to accept slavery, soooo.... with that said - it's still a matter of opinion. Oh, despite what you believe many cultures still practice tattoos and piercings. I live in DC and many African tribes do this, many from India do this, and even people in this native to this country practice tattoos religiously (ie. Native Americans, and I know plenty ). To make a point, my fathers tribe use to tattoo the face of their women. You may think that was odd, but to this tribe it was the norm. So just because you doubt it, doesn't mean it isn't so. Remember, society is constantly changing and growing. Society is built up of many groups. Society cannot be defined by only one set of people. What you think is wrong, another group will think is right. Maybe we do not view it as okay, because we grew up in a different culture. If you lived a 100 years ago, you may believe slavery to be okay.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · May 29, 2011

A lot depends on the nature of the business and the company that owns or manages a facility. In LTCs, most piercings and visible tattoos are banned out of respect for their elderly clients, who come from a time when "body art" was considered low-class, and as for multiple piercings and unnatural hair colors........well, sometimes they're quite scary-looking. I remember one girl who came into work one day with neon-pink hair, and she frightened the bejeebers out of a couple of the more demented LOLs on the unit. They didn't recognize her, and they both screamed when she tried to do their AM cares.

Personally, as an "older" person myself I don't mind tattoos so much, except they look funny on the sagging thighs of a 70-something woman who got hers in the military. (That's a story for a whole 'nother thread. :clown: ) But other than the occasional tasteful diamond nose stud, piercings anywhere but the ears just gross me out, and I find them ugly and disfiguring to boot. And while I'm sure that attitude will change as the younger generations take charge, that time has not arrived yet........and the look is simply NOT a professional one. Sorry.

OhioCCRN, MSN, NP · May 29, 2011

Odd that you say that, because the same society that you now say doesn't accept piercing use to accept slavery, soooo.... with that said - it's still a matter of opinion. Oh, despite what you believe many cultures still practice tattoos and piercings. I live in DC and many African tribes do this, many from India do this, and even people in this native to this country practice tattoos religiously (ie. Native Americans, and I know plenty ). To make a point, my fathers tribe use to tattoo the face of their women. You may think that was odd, but to this tribe it was the norm. So just because you doubt it, doesn't mean it isn't so. Remember, society is constantly changing and growing. Society is built up of many groups. Society cannot be defined by only one set of people. What you think is wrong, another group will think is right. Maybe we do not view it as okay, because we grew up in a different culture. If you lived a 100 years ago, you may believe slavery to be okay.

and after they realized slavery was not right, they abolished it... i'm not seeing your point..... nowhere in my post does it say i don't believe cultures practice tatooing and piercings or i think it is odd. i chose to say that for hospitals to say they don't allow multiple nose, ear, lip tongue rings and skulls etc on their health care professionals, is perfectly within the right of the hospital.

OhioCCRN, MSN, NP · May 29, 2011

A lot depends on the nature of the business and the company that owns or manages a facility. In LTCs, most piercings and visible tattoos are banned out of respect for their elderly clients, who come from a time when "body art" was considered low-class, and as for multiple piercings and unnatural hair colors........well, sometimes they're quite scary-looking. I remember one girl who came into work one day with neon-pink hair, and she frightened the bejeebers out of a couple of the more demented LOLs on the unit. They didn't recognize her, and they both screamed when she tried to do their AM cares.
Personally, as an "older" person myself I don't mind tattoos so much, except they look funny on the sagging thighs of a 70-something woman who got hers in the military. (That's a story for a whole 'nother thread.) But other than the occasional tasteful diamond nose stud, piercings anywhere but the ears just gross me out, and I find them ugly and disfiguring to boot. And while I'm sure that attitude will change as the younger generations take charge, that time has not arrived yet........and the look is simply NOT a professional one. Sorry.

well said!