tatoos & piercings, part 2

[amoLucia]

There's another current thread right now about tats & piercings. And I've responded. But I had another thought.

Nursing is complaining about the lack of professional recognition. And altho I will probably get slammed, I can't help but ask - How professional is the picture of ourselves with extensive tattoos and body piercings present???

Thinking about it - none of my healthcare providers have any - not my PMP or his staff. Nor my dentists. Any priests, ministers, rabbis, etc? And any of the good Sisters?

I don't think lawyers showoff any - sheesh, they all seem to wear black clothes.

For as sleeveless as Michele Obama is, has anyone seen any tats? Any politicians with visible piercings other than maybe an earring? (And I'm talking about the females.) Caroline Kennedy, the newly appointed ambassador to Japan - anything?

Now I'm not talking about body art that's hidden under clothing. But when I watched the basketball playoffs, one player had such extensively tattooed arms that I thought he was wearing sleeves. Why is it that nursing schools and employers of nurses must now have dress code/policies that spell out visible body art?

Does med school, law school, divinity school?

I support individuality, but I think we may have crossed a line of decorum/good taste that reflects on the image we wish to impart.

Just my 2 pennies.

[Kencanwin]

Isnt the basketball player a professional?

no they are not. They'll be professionals when what they do contribute to the betterment of society as a whole.

[fakebee]

Your employer will always have the last say on what you wear, your level of education, how many earrings you can have- the golden rule is now he who has the gold makes the rules. I'm pretty sure evidenced based practice is still to go to an employment interview for a nursing position looking as professional as possible based on the employers view of what is professional not the prospective employees personal opinion. The other interesting fact is that research shows people generally become more conservative as they age, not more open minded. Not all people but apparently most. I wouldn't bet the house that tattoos and piercings will become the norm in 25 years. And for all of you who say we shouldn't judge based on appearance, stop wearing makeup so we can appreciate the real you. I'm Just kidding about the last sentence-seriously I am just kidding!

[DisneyNurseGal, BSN, RN]

There was a time in our not too distant future where guys with long hair and women with short skirts were considered unprofessional. I tend to live by the mantra, Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover, but not everyone does. I have one tattoo (no regrets!) on my ankle and I will get another one in December for my 40th birthday. I will probably keep the new one covered as well, but I wish I could put it on my forearm!

[Wheels28]

I don’t judge others on appearance, being in a wheelchair I know how it feels. I had a nurse who had many tattoos. She was a great nurse, I knew just hours after meeting her I wanted her to care for me every shift she worked until I was discharged, had I said “You have tattoos I don’t want you to care for me” I would have missed out on her great care, and one of the most memorable nurses I ever had. Ink and piercings do not show the most important part of a person which is what’s inside. As for an “image” for a nurse I don’t have one. I do have a definition when I think of a nurse: Someone who knows what they are doing, can make me feel better, keep me pain free and friendly. If you can do what I just listed then you can care for me, I only care about the INSIDE not the outside, in my mind if they want to care for others that tells a lot about them already.

[ComeTogether, LPN]

I love this. Hopefully y'all can see it. I know an awesome NP with sleeves. I don't care. Other than the stereotype, what about someone with a jewel in their nose or some ink in their skin says they aren't good at what they do??

I don't think they should have tattoos with nasty words or anything like that because that in and of itself says something about their character. Otherwise, I have no problem with it. Society is just opinionated and judgmental. I don't think its an issue what-so-ever. Its only an issue for those who want to make it an issue. I'm much more interested in what you know and how you treat your patients.

[Amnesty]

I have tattoos and used to have my eyebrow pierced. When I went in sales... I took out the eyebrow ring. I have tattoos that are able to be covered easily. I am currently in school (plus working) but if you want to be taken seriously in a professional (not sports people- REAL LIFE), you have to present yourself in a professional manner. How would you feel if you were a business and someone came to sell you a product to use and the seller came in torn jeans, a halter top, and stripper shoes? They can be very smart people but they obviously don't care enough about the sell or your business to look presentable. The same thing can be taken for tattoos and piercings.

I miss my eyebrow piercing but I love having a paycheck more... to get more tattoos in areas I can cover up for work.

Why are you equating having tasteful tats and piercings to coming to work in ripped jeans, stripper shoes, and a halter top? I don't really even see how these things are related, but that attitude, the fact that you would even make the comparison, shows exactly what the problem with being closed-minded is.

Editing to clarify: The problem with your assumption is that if nurses came to work in clothing that wasn't conducive to doing our jobs and proper for looking neat and clean, it would be unprofessional. Nobody is arguing that. What people get offended over is when others ignorantly try and tell them that a little bit of metal through their ears, eyebrows, lips, etc. or some ink on their skin makes them suddenly unprofessional because it doesn't fit somebody else's ideal of what professional should be. You are of course entitled to your opinion, but perhaps you should ponder on why exactly it is that you believe having a tiny piece of metal or a bit of ink makes a person suddenly unprofessional, because that seems like more of a flaw with your own logic than something you should be expecting somebody else to live by.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

Not in the context presented, clearly.

A professional athlete is one who accepts pay for performance, to differentiate him from an amateur one. He is obviously not in the same category as a "career professional".

But surely you must know this?

A job is accepting pay for performence. I have seen many many doctors with tattoos .

When I see them in the working setting it is almost always on surgeons in scrubs. The rest of the doctors where I work seem to wear long sleeves or lab coats over everything.

[pandorasbox]

Before I even went to nursing school I was an inpatient. Two of my nurses, quite young, had little tattoos of stars on the back of their necks. Is there any meaning to that? I have now seen a few nurses with the same type of tattoo.

Just this week I was working in the OR and one of the surgeons had a tattoo on his arm. I think visible tattoos will become mainstream within healthcare teams. That is just the way it is.

[Alisonisayoshi, LVN]

This reminded me of what comedian Jay Mohr said; "A neck tattoo is a way to tell the world that you've advanced to the level in society at which you are content. You don't want to go aaaaaany further"! Haha

Douxmusique, for the purposes of this thread, no a basketball player is not a professional.

Tattoos are regrets waiting to occur, IMHO.

You should title this thread the anti-tattoo thread...

I'm certainly sure I will not regret my medic alert (and it's big, my whole forearm, no police officer is missing that and slamming me into hot pavement with a 20 blood sugar!)...

[madelynsmom]

Why are you equating having tasteful tats and piercings to coming to work in ripped jeans, stripper shoes, and a halter top? I don't really even see how these things are related, but that attitude, the fact that you would even make the comparison, shows exactly what the problem with being closed-minded is.

Editing to clarify: The problem with your assumption is that if nurses came to work in clothing that wasn't conducive to doing our jobs and proper for looking neat and clean, it would be unprofessional. Nobody is arguing that. What people get offended over is when others ignorantly try and tell them that a little bit of metal through their ears, eyebrows, lips, etc. or some ink on their skin makes them suddenly unprofessional because it doesn't fit somebody else's ideal of what professional should be. You are of course entitled to your opinion, but perhaps you should ponder on why exactly it is that you believe having a tiny piece of metal or a bit of ink makes a person suddenly unprofessional, because that seems like more of a flaw with your own logic than something you should be expecting somebody else to live by.

First of all, I am not close minded whatsoever. I personally do not have an issue with tattoos or piercings because hello... I have them too. And I have a pair of torn jeans, halter top, and stripper type shoes. I am saying that you need to LOOK professional when you are in a business/work environment. Sleeve tattoos are like a part of clothing. It's not like a freckle. Appearance is a huge part of being a professional whether you like it or not. Also you have to set the standard of what is acceptable work attire if you are running a company. If you say tattoo's are allowed, what about facial tattoos? What type are considered "offensive"? When someone owns a business, even if judging by a tattoo or nose piercing someone has, if it affects profit and growth, they have every right to ensure that is not a problem.

As much as you don't want to believe it, appearance affects business and it always will. Maybe it's judgment, maybe it's not. So if you want a job dealing with the public, then you don't go get your whole neck tatted up even if the art is a beautiful piece. Just like some work attire can be distracting, so can piercings and tattoo's. They are put there to be looked at or to notice correct? Maybe that's just be being closed minded.

Edited to add: For myself, I would have no problem with my nurse or doctor having tattoos or their nose pierced. But having worked in sales and the corporate world for many years, I have understanding of why things are the way they are. I see things from a heavily tatted persons eyes as well as someone who has built a business dealing with the public.

[aTOMicTom]

I'm certainly sure I will not regret my medic alert (and it's big, my whole forearm, no police officer is missing that and slamming me into hot pavement with a 20 blood sugar!)...

OK, I'll concede that one!

But pics or it didn't happen! (seriously, how big is Medic Alert gotten?)

[Alisonisayoshi, LVN]

That big lol! It's pretty visible! I had a low blood sugar in a grocery store a while back and nobody checked my bracelet, they just assumed I was drunk. It really cemented just biting the bullet, and getting it HUGE and visible. That's about three quarters of my forearm and you can't miss it.

My tatt isn't typical, and when working as a CNA and a med tech (I'm in school to be an RN), nobody has ever had an issue wit it. Most think it's neat. My endo took a picture of it to show other patients. :)