Nurses with tatoos

tutusandfrogs · Feb 20, 2006

I have a tattoo, but it's on my back... no one would really see it.. unless I wear a tank top or a shirt with a lower neckline in the back... sorry I couldn't help!

jenn_rn_nj · Feb 20, 2006

I think this is a touchy subject and one that varies hospital to hospital. The last place I worked was very, very conservative and advised that if the tattoo could be viewed, it needed to be covered up. My one co-worker would consequently wear a big bandage on her leg anytime she wore a skirt that was above her mid-calf.

My current job just asks that we use common sense and respect the idea that some patients will pre-judge if they see tattoos, piercings, etc. I guess the tough part is that certain things are offensive to some people and not others. Something that seems totally benign to you (a unicorn head) might seem very offensive to someone else.

I guess just be prepared for any sort of response when working in a field that involves the public. :)

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Feb 20, 2006

This topic has been raised before, with lots of opinions in both directions. Me, personally, I see all medical personnel as being in a "clean" profession, and statements made in tatoo visible to the general public isn't a good idea. I'm NOT saying tatoos are "dirty" of course, just that there is a certain image I expect all medical professionals (ok, ALL professionals!) to project. And since we're supposed to be nonjudgemental of our patients, it would be a shame to have our patients judge us by what they take the tatoo to mean (yours may be benign, but what about the fella whose tatoo is anything but?).

My grandparents would be nervous or upset by seeing tatoos visible on their nurses. I think alot of elderly are; in their generation, tatoos were for navymen on holiday or badass bikers :)

Some patients won't care, others will. I think it depends on what kind of nursing you plan to go into, where you plan to work, and what the predominant age of your patients might be.

Pinky2 · Feb 20, 2006

Gee that is funny I never really thought about my tatoo. I have a small frog on the top ofmy foot so no one would see it.:chuckle I can see that if I was in the hospital I would find it odd that my nurse had tattoos on her/him. Isn't that judgemental since I have one myself! :eek:

student_girl · Feb 21, 2006

Two semesters ago, a girl in my clinical had tatoos on her forearms. They were biker-style ones. She used to put a long-sleeve shirt under her scrub top. No one ever said anything.

As for myself, I've got two. One is on my ankle (a small rose) and the other on my shoulder (a tiny chinese sign), so they don't show.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Feb 21, 2006

I keep the one i have covered (it's on my ankle, not that hard to do).

If i get anymore, they will be in places that clothing covered. Tattoos may be body art, but i'm not going to be a gallery at work.

We also have a policy about visible tattoos and body piercings where i work.

Cherybaby · Oct 13, 2007

I will share a story.

My husband was in the hospital about 5 years ago. He was in there for a broken femur. At one point, his temp went to 106 and he was making gurgling sounds. It woke me up, thank goodness and I ran to the nurses station to get someone to come help him. The nurses were on the phone, trying to reach the doctor when all of a sudden this big hulk of a man, with tattoos and piercings all over the place, lifted my husband up, put him on a gurney and brought him over to respiratory. They did a quick CT scan and found that he had thrown a number of pulmonary emboli. This guy (who was a nurse) saved my husbands life because he acted immediately. I will never judge any competant medical professional on outward appearance ever.

But that's just me. In truth, if I had seen this guy in the hospital prior to this happening I would have been...well, surprised to say the least. Not anymore. Good competant nursing trumps tattoo's anyday.

Achoo!, LPN · Oct 13, 2007

We have a gal who has 3/4 sleeve tattoos on both arms. They are full, colorful flowers that go below her elbow. She always wears a long sleeved shirt under her scrubs, and I don't think the instructors even know she has them.

Jenny67 · Oct 13, 2007

I'm going to highjack this thread for a quick moment...

I have a tattoo...lower back, only visible if I wore low rise scrubs which I don't...

I've seen nurses with tattoos and it has never bothered me, to each their own is how I look at tattoos and piercings..but a couple weeks ago I totally offended a patient when he questioned about my childrens husband (we are in a small town) and I politely told him my husband isn't the father of my children that I am remarried and you would have thought I'd slugged him between the eyes--his mouth fell open and he responded that my generation doesn't understand the importance of marriage and that's why we are such a mess and made a huge sigh, I proceeded to answer the question he originally began and smiled.

I have a feeling if he'd seen my tattoo that he would have probably had a stroke, so I guess for this one patient in particular, its good that I chose to 'hide' mine.

Oh..and p.s. pertaining to my generation, I'm 40 years young. lol

I think we can just do our best to make our patients feel safe and pain free as possible...

Jenny

Jamie2887 · Oct 13, 2007

I think this varies school to school and then when you graduate, from each hospital. Others are mentioning how their peers wear long sleeves under the scrubs, we are not aloud to wear long sleeves under our uniform under no conditions! They told us during clinical prep that if you had tattoos, you had to cover them with band aids. Ugly in my opinion, but thats just their rules

squirtle · Oct 13, 2007

From my experience, I know that the policy will vary from hospital to hospital. The first hospital I went to for my clinical rotation was not as conservative as the second one. I saw nurses who had tattoos visible and one of them even had pink hair. The second hospital is very conservative and will not allow you to have body piercings or tattoos visible... I also have a feeling they wouldn't like the pink hair. Your school will probably have a policy as to what they expect out of your appearance when going to clinicals. Since the policies vary from hospital to hospital they tend to be more strict so they cover everything.

Personally, I don't think tattoos are in any way an indicator of a person's abilities or personality. I have one on my leg that isn't visible when wearing pants so it isn't a problem. That being said... I understand the reason behind the hospital requesting that tattoos be covered. Besides the excuse of wanting to provide a professional environment, in most cases we are dealing with sick patients and we don't want to add to the worry and anxiety they are all ready experiencing by making them feel uncomfortable with us.