Son wants to be a CRNA, but wants his ears guaged

Nurses General Nursing

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My son already recently had both ears pierced to our dismay. Now he wants to get small guages put in his ears! :eek:

He is currently attending community college and works at Wendy's. He plans on getting into the nursing program in Fall 2010. What will the guages do to his public/professional image??? My wife and I are a bit on the old fashioned side and are trying to talk him out of it, but he is 18. I know people now have tatoos, piercings, etc. But would it hurt him in nursing school and his future as a CRNA in a hospital with those things in his ears?

So we are looking for advice from the professionals; CRNA's, Instructors, Administrators, etc.

Thanks!

Viewed as unprofessional = discrimination

Should a person with tattoos or gauged ears also sue an establishment for asking that they be covered or removed? Both originated from tribal peoples and some people have them for spiritual reasons. Or are just some forms of discrimination OK while others are not? Just food for thought...

Point taken. I was offended & although I meant what I said,did not answer the original question appropriately. The difference between gauged ears & locs is that like tatoos, all jewelry including ear ornaments a facility can legally forbid them the dress code, as most facilities do. The same cannot be said of locs. Most facilities require that hair is neat, worn out of the face, & kept off the collar. Unnatural hair color is often forbiden. Locs can be maintained & simultaneously adhere to all of the above stated rules.

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How are a person having dread locks and gauged ears different? Both can be viewed by future employers as being inappropriate and unprofessional? Plus dread locks have the stigma of being smelly and dirty.

Piggybacking on what Ladyashleyd said. Locing hair is a natural way to maintain hair. Just having locs is not deemed as inappropriate or unprofessional. Not keeping them groomed could be, but that applies to any hairstyle. A person with locs cannot take them off or comb them out and put the locs back in after work. They will always be there. But they can be kept neat.

And none of this is to say that guages, piercings, or tattoos are wrong. There is a place for them. A professional environment is not the place. I have several tattoos and piercings. I have 8 peircings in my ears alone. But I do not wear studs in all of them while at work, because that's not the place for them. And all of my tattoos are covered while working. It is, to some degree, rude to imply that how a person chooses to naturally grow their hair is the same as somebody choosing to manipulate their body.

So to the OP... really it is fine for your son to get his ears guaged, as long as he is able to adhere to professional standards when the time comes.

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Sorry for being the newby. But I don't know what CRNA means? How does it differ from an RN?

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My son already recently had both ears pierced to our dismay. Now he wants to get small guages put in his ears! :eek:

He is currently attending community college and works at Wendy's. He plans on getting into the nursing program in Fall 2010. What will the guages do to his public/professional image??? My wife and I are a bit on the old fashioned side and are trying to talk him out of it, but he is 18. I know people now have tatoos, piercings, etc. But would it hurt him in nursing school and his future as a CRNA in a hospital with those things in his ears?

So we are looking for advice from the professionals; CRNA's, Instructors, Administrators, etc.

Thanks!

tell him to read this. I am 54 and worked for years as a nurse in the hospital. If I were him I would hold off on the ear guaging. My nephew has some ear plugs and swears they will close up if he wants, but I think it is too severe and permanent. some places have people cover tatoos and take out certain earrings if a pt. that is confused could grab them and tear the ear. I know things like this don't define a person but unfortunately others make judgements and he just doesn't need anymore obstacles in his way. Have him do other things to define who he is. If he is a giving and caring human being then channel that by assisting in a soup kitchen for homeless men, etc. He probably does not want to work at wendy's all his life, although there is nothing wrong with that. tell him I said best of luck to him. I hope if he makes this step he eventually becomes a nurse if that is what he desires. sincerely, a nurse for 29 years.

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Point taken. I was offended & although I meant what I said,did not answer the original question appropriately. The difference between gauged ears & locs is that like tatoos, all jewelry including ear ornaments a facility can legally forbid them the dress code, as most facilities do. The same cannot be said of locs. Most facilities require that hair is neat, worn out of the face, & kept off the collar. Unnatural hair color is often forbiden. Locs can be maintained & simultaneously adhere to all of the above stated rules.

I've worked at places with dress codes where we couldn't have locs or braids (they were mentioned specifically).

It happens... just depends on what area of the country you're in. There are different expectations in different places.

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In spite of now living in a pretty laid back part of the country, my nursing school requires all tats and piercings to be covered or otherwise not visible. I've seen the flesh colored gages....they're pretty visible.

A couple gals in our class had to change the color of their hair as it wasn't deemed a "natural" color (and it wasn't a natural color....don't want anyone to be misled that they had to change their original hair color ). The point is, not complying with any of that stuff would definately keep us out of clinicals.

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Specializes in Ortho, Case Management, blabla.

It depends on where you live and where you work. I've found that most places talk tough about it but in practice no one cares. Nor do most patients seem to care.

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This is an old tbread everybody.

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I feel that discrimination based on body modification is as deplorable as any other form of discrimination.

Yeah, 'cause choosing to get stuff done to your body is exactly the same as being born as you are.

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.
He does not live under our roof. He left the nest a couple of months ago, but does live very close by in the same town. As many has stated hopefully it will just be a phase or fad in his life that will pass.

I don't have any guages in my ears, but I do have an industrial (metal bar going across top of ear lobe). I have never had an employer comment on it or require me to remove it. I have found to that pts that do notice it tend to judge me more on what type of nurse/person I am as opposed to what I have choosen to do to my body.

If your son is out of the house, starting to make it on his own, etc. he needs to make his own choices. and, his own mistakes. I doubt he's going to want guaged earlobes in 20 years, but for now, he thinks it's cool. Ultimately he may be required to remove them when he starts his nursing clinicals anyway (most nursing schools seem to be stricter than actual employers).

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Specializes in ICU/ER/L&D.

The most important thing to do, as others have mentioned, is to look at the dress code requirements for the school he plans to attend and the clinical sites where he would be placed, both in nursing school and as a CRNA. Here, students are not allowed to attend clinical with more than one small piercing in each ear (ex- a stud, not a hoop or a gauge), no visible tattoos, and no "unusual" hair colors.

I am a nursing instructor and personally could not care less what piercings or ink my students have. It is a part of them and I respect that. HOWEVER- the clinical agencies make the rules. I have to follow them and so do the students. I would ensure your son is well aware of that and agree with the other posts that mentioned having him check these policies thoroughly before having his ears gauged.

As others mentioned, he may be able to wear the flesh-colored plugs depending on the policy. You might have him consider the cost of plastic surgery to revise them if he changes his mind, and make him aware that he would need to pay that.

Definitely not the end of the world, but as long as he is aware of all potential consequences, ultimately his choice.

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