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I am currently in nursing school(RN).. I will graduate in Dec
I plan on getting both arms tattooed - - -nothing inappropriate
I would love to start it now - but I am wondering if this will hinder me from getting a job in the future
I would wear a long sleeve dress shirt to interview, and make sure I'd be allowed to wear long sleeves under my scrubs if they had a no tattoo policy (this is what the employees do at the hospital I go to school at)
What do you guys think - should I just wait?
You know I don't know if anyone had mentioned this to you or not but I personally feel that a nurse is more professional without tattoos I have tattoos myself but they are in spots that can be hidden at work I graduated with a girl that was sleeved & she had a rough time in school & finding a job after but think about this if you work in LTC there isn't air conditioning in a lot of them & as nurses we are taught to look at coworkers for signs of drug abuse & long sleeves under your scrubs is a tip off to IV drug abuse & some facilities are saying no long sleeves now because heroin is such a problem at least in my state.
You know I don't know if anyone had mentioned this to you or not but I personally feel that a nurse is more professional without tattoos I have tattoos myself but they are in spots that can be hidden at work
That's your opinion; not everyone (including those in charge of hiring or creating dress codes) agree. I think that professionalism has much more to do with how one conducts themselves and demonstrates competency in the practice than how they look.
Of course, that can only be attributed to the tattoos. No, there's not currently a glut of nurses looking for jobs that just might effect hiring because facilities can afford to be choosy.I graduated with a girl that was sleeved & she had a rough time in school & finding a job after
but think about this if you work in LTC there isn't air conditioning in a lot of them &
Source? Every LTC I've been in has AC. A simple Google search can provide links to states that do indeed require AC in order to be a licensed facility.
as nurses we are taught to look at coworkers for signs of drug abuse & long sleeves under your scrubs is a tip off to IV drug abuse & some facilities are saying no long sleeves now because heroin is such a problem at least in my state.
So you're saying long sleeves = drug abuser? Seriously?
Sadly, us tattooed individuals are "unclean" or unprofessional. Yes, I have multiple tattoos and they are in spots you don't see, but I am going to get my wedding ring tattooed on and if anyone has an issue with that then we got problems. It's not like I would have a sleeve or anything, but a little eternity symbol on my finger.
I guess I'm like the odd man out in this post. The only time I've ever had to cover my tattoos were in nursing school. I have several tattoos and three of them are visible. I've worked at three different hospitals and never had to cover them. I even had two interviews last week and they were visible; I was offered both jobs.
So obviously I say go for it. And for the record there are many other health professionals who have visible tattoos and body piercings. Not sure why people feel that it's so unacceptable, especially when I have never had any backlash for my body art.
You know I don't know if anyone had mentioned this to you or not but I personally feel that a nurse is more professional without tattoos I have tattoos myself but they are in spots that can be hidden at work I graduated with a girl that was sleeved & she had a rough time in school & finding a job after but think about this if you work in LTC there isn't air conditioning in a lot of them & as nurses we are taught to look at coworkers for signs of drug abuse & long sleeves under your scrubs is a tip off to IV drug abuse & some facilities are saying no long sleeves now because heroin is such a problem at least in my state.
This post made me chuckle. More than once. Was this meant to be funny?
T
Personally I don't care if someone wants to get all tatted up or not. It's your body, do with it whatever you wish. There is a potential down side to it though. You might want to think about the people you'll be interviewing with for jobs in the future. When it comes to tats, there are two kinds of people who will be interviewing you:
1) People who don't care and will hire you if you're all tatted up or not.
2) People who would never hire someone with visible tattoos.
There isn't a "category #3" of people who would hire you only if you have tattoos, so with those tats you've only managed to tat yourself out of half the jobs you might be interested in. Now think about those "panel" interviews, where three or four people will be interviewing you, and it only takes one to give you a "thumbs down". All it's going to take is one crusty old bat on that panel who thinks people with tattoos have either spent time in prison or in the Merchant Marine sailing the South China Sea.
I know. I get it. You just want to "express yourself". There are lots of other ways to express yourself, though, that don't mess up your career plans. Take up painting, write poetry, become a street mime or learn to play the banjo. And, if tat you must, have 'em put it where only you and your closest friends can enjoy it. You can always heave that banjo into a dumpster some day, but that tat is pretty much with you for life.
Personally I don't care if someone wants to get all tatted up or not. It's your body, do with it whatever you wish. There is a potential down side to it though. You might want to think about the people you'll be interviewing with for jobs in the future. When it comes to tats, there are two kinds of people who will be interviewing you:1) People who don't care and will hire you if you're all tatted up or not.
2) People who would never hire someone with visible tattoos.
There isn't a "category #3" of people who would hire you only if you have tattoos, so with those tats you've only managed to tat yourself out of half the jobs you might be interested in. Now think about those "panel" interviews, where three or four people will be interviewing you, and it only takes one to give you a "thumbs down". All it's going to take is one crusty old bat on that panel who thinks people with tattoos have either spent time in prison or in the Merchant Marine sailing the South China Sea.
I know. I get it. You just want to "express yourself". There are lots of other ways to express yourself, though, that don't mess up your career plans. Take up painting, write poetry, become a street mime or learn to play the banjo. And, if tat you must, have 'em put it where only you and your closest friends can enjoy it. You can always heave that banjo into a dumpster some day, but that tat is pretty much with you for life.
I don't like painting, poetry, etc. And tattoos aren't an infection control/danger like facial or dangly piercings or even long, untied hair. It's a cultural thing. The reason our hospitals ask us to hide our tattoos around my area is because of respect for cultural differences and not to segregate out people who need care. While skin color is inherent and not a chosen aspect, some patients don't want hispanic/white/black/etc. providers. Should we forego hiring people d/t skin color because lots or even some people don't like them? No. They can get over it.
ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP
1 Article; 2,594 Posts
This topic has been beaten to death, but I want to add that not all people who wear long sleeve shirts are doing so to hide tattoos. I am do so because I get cold very easily and am anemic. The hospitals blast on the A/C. These long sleeves are the only thing keeping me from freezing.
OP, I would focus on getting a job first and worry about that tattoos later.