Tattoos and body jewelry policies in hospitals

bill4745, RN · Dec 27, 2009

My hospital requires all tattoos to be covered and all piercings (except small earrings) to be covered or removed.

Emergency RN · Dec 27, 2009

Most medical establishment are conservative, some decidedly so. Their attitudes are that tattoos belong on retired sailors, and piercings are on women's ears, only. If you're looking for a job, I wouldn't flaunt any of the above. It may not hurt, but it's almost guaranteed not to help. :imbar

FLMom3, RN · Dec 27, 2009

From what I've seen at 2 big hospitals, it depends on the hospital. The big city trauma hospital didn't have a policy from what I remember (or didn't enforce?)... but the other big hospital had a religious affiliation and they are very strict... no tat's, only one earring per ear, etc!

learninmama · Dec 27, 2009

Depends on the hospital. I know the majority in my area require tattoos be covered up & jewelry is for ears only. Some even have a limit to the number of earrings you can have.

Lacie, BSN, RN · Dec 27, 2009

It can be done in reference to covering up during work hours. I use the clear plastic retainers during work. My ink is limited to my back and 1/2 sleeves of which I can cover with 3/4 sleeves under my scrubs. What is visible can be covered with cosmetic preparations such as dermablend (I swear by Dermablend which last until removed if applied properly). With the right combination you can not tell I have ink nor that I have it covered.

Rabid Response · Dec 27, 2009

I think it depends on the city in which you work and also the hospital. I know lots of tattooed and pierced nurses who work at hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area. A few have been asked to cover tattoos, but many have not. One thing that I am sure of is that I would never go to a job interview anywhere without covering up all of my tattoos and removing unusual piercings, just to be on the safe side.

Laboratorian · Dec 27, 2009

It depends on the hospital. The one I used to work at didn't care. Many doctors, nurse, techs, etc. walked around with tats and tongue rings visible. Im "tatted up" but I NEVER showed my tats when working directly with patients. My hair covered my neck, my labcoat covered my arms, and I don't were low cut shirts because my boobie has a strawberry on it (get wrote up for flirting with some patient's man). I have noticed that the policy on nose rings have been lifted because of the increase of Indian clinicians; admin wants to be culturally sensitive..which makes me happy because im gonna put one in.

BluegrassRN · Dec 27, 2009

If you do a search for this on allnurses, you'll find multiple threads discussing this. You'll find that some hospitals have no policy, and no problem with pink haired, tattooed and pierced employees, and some are so conservative that they even dictate how long a man's hair may be and how (or if) they may wear any facial hair.

I live in a medium-sized town in the bible belt, and our 130 bed hospital has no policy. I had pink hair when I started here. I have a sometimes-visible tattoo on my arm (depends if I am wearing a long sleeved or short sleeved shirt). Many of our nurses or aides have visible tattoos and multiple piercings. It is not a problem. No one has ever been asked to cover their tattoos or remove their piercings.

For the interview, I would remove your piercings and wear clothing that covers your tattoos, if possible. Get a feel for the place, and then you can decide how much you want to show.

inkedRN · Dec 27, 2009

It depends on the hospital. One of the hospitals I work at has a policy that states "no visibly offensive tattoos" which is kind of vague. The other hospital I work at has no tattoo policy. Most hospitals, from what I can tell, have a policy against any kind of facial piercings.

With that being said, I have a Monroe (upper lip), nose, and tongue piercings and my ears are sized to a 00 gauge. I leave all of my regular jewelry in at work. I have many tattoos, but only one that is always seen at work because it's on the back of my neck and I have short hair. If I wear short sleeves you can see my arm band on the right and my half sleeve on the left. Nothings been said to me about covering or taking any jewelry out. If they did say something, I would of course comply with the rules.

For any interview I always remove my facial piercings.

I've found that my tattoos have become a real conversation piece with my patients. You'd be surprised at how many little old ladies have complimented my work saying how beautiful it is! And the old sailors love to chat about the work they had done in their younger days. :)

CapeCodMermaid, RN · Dec 27, 2009

I work in LTC. We prohibit any facial piercings except for non dangling earrings. The staff takes the piercings out or stays home. We have no policy on tats.Lots of us have them...we just don't flaunt them.

PEBBLES1 · Dec 27, 2009

Well mos places do have a policy. The policy where I work don't allow facial pierecings, however, it is also up to your manager. In my old dept, my manager would not allow you to have any facial piercings and she tried to make us take out our tongue rings, but the facility agreed that tongue rings are not facial piercings and she could not make me remove it. I just think it was her personal preference. Another facility where I worked did not want tattoo's exposed and they made you cover them up and for the workers who had tattoo's on their necks had to wear a cover up. Can u imagine wearing a turtle neck in 90 degree weather. That was crazy. I would suggest you check with the facility policy or with the manager.