piercings at work

[iamcool]

i'm currently in my last semester as a pre-nursing student and i was just wondering-are most of you who are nurses and working in hospitals allowed to wear earring and are there any restrictions as to how many or what type you're allowed to wear?

the reason i ask is because right now i'm in the process of stretching my ear lobes to a larger than normal size (but nothing freakishly large) and now i'm felling kind of apprehensive just because i don't want it to affect my getting a job when i graduate.

[KellNY, RN]

yes...because everyone knows that i would permanently modify my body just to show everyone else how cool i am . and in an attempt to show even more people how cool i am, i would decide to go into nursing.

That's cute, especially given your screen name.

I have my ears pierced (one hole each), but rarely wear earings.

I also have my nose pierced (right nostril) with a small blue stud.

No one's ever said anything about it. I didn't do it to look cool, I did it because I wanted it. I also have 2 tattoos (one more to be coming) but they're incidentally covered.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

yes...because everyone knows that i would permanently modify my body just to show everyone else how cool i am . and in an attempt to show even more people how cool i am, i would decide to go into nursing.

Hey, chill out. That was obviously a reference to your screen name, which YOU chose, not me.

At any rate, you asked a question, and I gave you an honest answer. No sarcasm was needed in your response.

You wanted to know the effects of your personal cosmetic choices on future school acceptance and potential employment, so I offered what I know. I'm quite sure you will find others who say to go ahead, do whatever, it doesn't matter, it didn't matter for them, etc. And, if you're quite lucky, you will go to the same schools and be interviewed by the same employers, who also don't mind "permanently modified" facial structures. For your sake, I hope that's the case.

Best of luck to you.

[KellNY, RN]

As far as piercings go, after a relatively short time they can be taken out.

If I were to go to an interview, I'd probably take my nose ring out. No big deal. Once healed, you can take out the piercing while you work. You can also put fishing line through while you work (tongue ring, etc), or just pop it in and out during breaks to keep the hole open.

Worst case, you could do like i've seen some employees at McDonalds and other places--put a small piece of flesh colored bandaid over your eyebrow, nose, lobe, etc.

As far as stretched earlobes, I'm not sure they can descriminate against that, as long as you're not wearing the extenders. How do they know it's not a birth defect, result of an accident, etc. That's like not hiring someone because they were a cutter (which, one could argue is a form of body modification) and had scars on their arms.

[SCRN1]

In nursing school and everywhere I've worked, earrings have been limited to one small pair of stud type earrings. None in the face, mouth or anywhere on the ear except the lobe.

We recently got a new dress code where I'm currently working. Some of it includes the earrings described above. Males are not allowed earrings at all (guess they could scream sexual discrimination). No visible tatoos. Hair to be pulled back if long. Specific colored uniforms, neatly pressed, repaired as necessary, and some alterations may be required. White leather shoes. Clogs may be worn, but the straps must be around the back of the heel. White socks. Fingernails may not extend from the tip of the finger. No acrylics. Polish may be worn, but must not be chipped or cracked.

From what I've been reading, more & more hospitals are going to specific dress codes. To be on the safe side, why not just let your personality show how cool you are instead of permanent changes to your body?

[imenid37]

I am not really into all of the piercings or tatoos. I am frankly in an age group where that wasn't the fashion. There is a guy who works in pharmacy at my facility who has those earlobe stretchers. He is a nice young guy. My oldest daughter who is 19, doesn't have any piercings, but some of her friends do. I don't really know if it would be seen as unprofessional by ALL of the patients. I don't think younger patients would care, they might have piercings and tatoos too. The elderly might not be too thrilled. I might hold off until you are through with school. They can have some pretty crazy rules. I know that we all wish they could look beyond this kind of thing, but the reality is that they don't. Best of luck to you!

[ukstudent]

The one thing that I noticed, was that you are in pre-nursing. Most nursing schools are MORE conservative than hospitals. If you need to interview in order to enter the nursing program you could have trouble. If you get accepted sight unseen, it could cause problems while in school. A lot, not all, nursing instructors have been nurses for a while and come for starched uniforms and hats. Having a body modification will make you stand out and be scrutinized by your instructors more than others in your class. Not that you can't go to nursing school and get a great job after with the modification, I have seen people do that. But you do have a reason for being "apprehensive".

[ICRN2008, BSN, RN]

Both of my employers allow one small earing per ear and no visible piercings anywhere else.

[NurseCard, ADN]

Depends also what type of nursing field and atmosphere you work in. I work in psych. Tats and piercings abound; just nothing *dangly* is allowed, for the obvious reason. :) If you really are dying to visually show off your individuality when you go to work, I've found psych to be a good place to work.

I myself have gotten somewhat bored with psych and have decided to leave. I've also decided that I don't mind wearing scrubs to work after all; they're more comfortable. :)

[ann945n, RN]

Im my own opinion, so no burning here, i think tattoos and facial body piercings are things best left off after we graduate high school. Its time to be an adult and look the part of a professional. You obviously wanted to be a professional going into nursing so its time to step up and look the part. Just like I would never dream of being a cop and complain about their uniform ect. Find other ways to express yourself because in the real world, people will not hire you at some if not most places if you have large ear lobes. It may not be fair but thats how the world is. If you really want to have tattoos are large ear lobes other jobs may fit like hair dresser artist ect. Just my opinion guys so be nice.

[NurseCard, ADN]

Ohhhhh, there's nothing wrong with a tattoo or a piercing or two as long as they can't be seen. Plus, when someone is in high school they are for the most part, too YOUNG to make the decision to alter their body in that way, and many parlors won't apply tattoos to persons below a certain age without parental consent.

I think tattoos that can readily be seen are somewhat tacky. I used to work with a girl who had a big rose and a word, can't remember what the word was, tattooed on the upside of her forearm, right near her wrist. Ugh, I did, I thought it was tacky.

[HUCtoRNBScN]

At the hospital where I work, there are no rules about piercings or tattoos. Obviously if someone had there whole face tattooed, then the manager would most likely not hire them as it would be a little frightening! There are tons of girls, and guys, with visible tattoos and piercings. Whatever someone has done to their body doesn't change their personality or ability to give someone care. One nurse I work with has a hoop through her nose, and an arm band tattoo, and she is a charge nurse. She is one of the more respected nurses on the floor. If you want to stretch your ears, then go for it! By fiance has his ears stretched to the size of a nickel and he has to deal with people's questions on a daily basis. If someone asks him how he did it, he tells them. Usually they're grossed out, but hey, they wanted to know. My fiance worked at a grocery store, where they were not allowed any piercings at all. So, before each shift, he took his plugs out. Though the whole would shrink up a little, it was never hard to put the plugs back in. If you really want to stretch your ears, then I suggest when you go for an interview, either putting in smaller plugs, or leaving them out. Like a previous poster said, how do others know that you weren't born like that?! Good luck to you! And remember, whatever you look like on the outside shouldn't matter in regards to how good of a nurse you will become!!

[PANurseRN1]

Ah, so this is what stretched ear lobes look like: