macdonaldcara

I want to first say that I also have tattoos, but wanted to share a bit of advice extended by my mother long ago when I was in high school. Back then I had shaved my head, wore Manic Panic hot pink and green dye in my hair. People always judged me by the way I looked. I thought it to be unfair bcause I was still a good person, made good grades, etc...I remember telling my mother "It is so unfair that people judge me solely based on the way I look!" and she said, "If you see someone dressed in a policeman uniform, what do you think they are? When you see someone dressed in scrubs with a stethoscope around their neck, what do they think you are? So what do you think people think you are when they see you?" We choose our labels and must be prepared for people to read them, fair or not.

I was hired last October straight out of nursing school to work in the OR. You really have to let employers know that this is what you want to do. I had done a preceptorship and used all of my clinical days in the OR while in nursing school. Even in the interview I remember my boss had sounded a little apprehensive towards a new grad in the OR. Later that day I wrote an E-mail thanking her for the interview and noted that even if she was not ready to hire me now to please consider me in the future. My persistence paid off! She replied saying that she really wanted someone with that enthusiasm and someone who really wanted to be in the OR even if they didn't have a lot of experience. Just make sure that they have a great orientation program. Some hospitals just will not hire new grads into specialty areas because they don't have the resources to train them.