I have a question. I have 4 tattoo's any of which could possibly show in scrubs. None of which would show fully.
1 is on the back of my neck and I have long hair, but even with my hair pulled up my shirt covers most of it.
The other 3 are on my upper arm area where my sleeve would cover it unless my sleeves came all the way up like a tank top almost. Like, if I wear a top with cap sleeves you can see a little of it.
The one on my neck is a sun, moon and stars.
The ones on my arm are 3 Kanji symbols.
So, finally, here's my question, is this something that a hospital will flat out not hire a nurse over?
In all my hospital stays I've never seen a nurse with a visible tattoo, or at least never noticed it.
My son is a tattoo artist, he has done 3 tattoos on me. They are rather large on both my upper arms. sometimes the bottoms of the tattoos peek out from under my scrubs. It has good and bad results. If a patient sees the end sticking out it often breaks the ice, and they start to talk about what the tattoo means and thier opinions and such. Of course, the start of conversation often leads to other more important discussions and they often feel at ease talking to me because they feel Im "down to earth". However, as far as the hospital, it all depends on where you work, I wouldn't flaunt them and I try to keep them covered as much as possible, but I will show them to who ever ask about them, and tell them the reason why I have them. I have not had anyone complain ever. Hopefully you wont either. Actually, its other nurses who have given me the most problems, sometimes nurses can be very blunt and hurtful. Ive learned to have "thick skin" when it comes to other nurses opinion. I just tell them they are allowed to have their own opinion. With some its a topic I rather keep to myself :offtopic:
OK, now I'm going to be off topic. Your son is a tattoo artist? You are so lucky! My mom really wants to become a tattoo artist, but is having a hard time deciding how to learn it. Did your son go to any of the tattoo schools or did he do an apprenticeship? Is he able to do custom art, or is most of his flash? I am just really curious because Mom keeps putting it off, she is afraid of the cost associated with the schooling and afraid it won't be marketable, but she would be awesome at it - she is quite the artist. Any ideas? Suggestions for her? Thanks in advance!!! :)
I have a question. I have 4 tattoo's any of which could possibly show in scrubs. None of which would show fully.
1 is on the back of my neck and I have long hair, but even with my hair pulled up my shirt covers most of it.
The other 3 are on my upper arm area where my sleeve would cover it unless my sleeves came all the way up like a tank top almost. Like, if I wear a top with cap sleeves you can see a little of it.
The one on my neck is a sun, moon and stars.
The ones on my arm are 3 Kanji symbols.
So, finally, here's my question, is this something that a hospital will flat out not hire a nurse over?
In all my hospital stays I've never seen a nurse with a visible tattoo, or at least never noticed it.
Does anyone have any experience with it?
Thanks!
I have a tatoo on my wrist and it has to be covered at all times in nursing school and clinicals.the problem is trying to figure out what to cover it with.Any clues????
I have a tatoo on my wrist and it has to be covered at all times in nursing school and clinicals.the problem is trying to figure out what to cover it with.Any clues????
Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.
Personally, I see tatoos as another form of self expression...such as how a person styles/cuts one's hair, the style of dress. I see no problem, unless it is perverse and offensive.
I have a tattoo on my ankle and I want a couple more. One on my lower back and a third somewhere, I haven't decided yet. I see no problems with tattoos at work. I also had 12 piercings at one time. I love body mods. I'm down to 9 piercings now and I plan to keep them all and possibly add some more. None of them are visible except for my ears so I see no problems with them either.
I have a tatoo on my wrist and it has to be covered at all times in nursing school and clinicals.the problem is trying to figure out what to cover it with.Any clues????
I have a friend who has a tat around her wrist that is pretty wide, she just wears a big watch with a really chunky band to cover it up - it works perfect. Those wrist sweat-bands might work as well if they don't look too tacky.
In our clinical rotation for CNA the policy was that all visible tatoos must be covered. We had one guy who had a large round one on his inner forearm. We figured he'd have to wear a large bandage all the time but his instructor ended up not enforcing the rule and never made him cover it up. He works in the healthcare field as a paramedic and said no one has ever had a problem with it.
I personally do not have any tatoos (most of the postings on this site were tatoo-wearers). I think that so many people are getting tatoos nowadays that it is becoming more acceptable in the workplace as long as they are not objectionable. I still am not going to get one. Call me the non-conformist....
A very good question, one I think many people would want to know the answer to. My best friend wants to become a nurse and is taking pre-nursing school classes and with this all in mind got a tattoo on her wrist. I warned her about it, but she chose to do it anyways. I don't have any visible tattoos and chose to because of the profession or any profession that I might seek.
I'd think it would depend on the area, hospital, person hiring, etc, but I really have no clue
The problem is that many programs will not allow any piercings or visible tattoos. They must be covered up. This is not just work I'm talking about, but schools, too! If she still wants to go into nursing, let her know that there's a really good makeup that will cover a tat. I had to use it on my wedding day because of a keloid scar from a port. I also had to use it on my right arm to cover surgical scars as well as points of entry from an ex-fix. Worked very well. If you have a store called "Ulta" in your area, go there. They carry the brand and their people are very knowledgable about stuff like this... at least the ones in this area were.
The ones on your ankle I wouldn't worry about. You can use fairly high anklet socks to cover it up, if anyone notices or says anything at all. I'd consider getting one if something happened to my best friend/cousin. It would be a pretty violet in memory of those days we were violet picking together.
Piercings need to be taken out. This seems to be universal at all the schools I've checked into whether it be a CNA program or LPN/RN program.
My tattoo is about a inch and a half of a shooting star .I realy like it but people do look at you different as soon as the know you have one.I have tried bandaids and they are fine until I wash my hands(only 5000 times in a 16 hour shift).I have even tried the wrist bands(you know like in flashdance or a jane fonda workout) so i am at alost of what to try next.Like I said I am happy with it but I wish I would have put it somewhere it could be covered other than realy long sleeves.
Well..........I have tattoo's..........I have 1 on each hand in that small space between the thumb and index finger. They are small and I've never recieved a negative comment. I also have 1 on the back of my neck, shoulder and both ankles.
My nose is pierced (extreemly small stud) and I ride a harley............it does not affect my ability to be the greatest nurse I can be...........and I am a darn good nurse.
I guess this crazy world will never stop judging people on the outside. I know that you 'have to look professional'............what if I have scars on my face, or I have just 1 eye, or I'm only 3'6"................ :angryfire
Be who you are......it's the inside that counts. If someone is so shallow to determine WHO you are by the outside, they are not worth the trouble!!
Call me old school but I don't believe that tattoo's, nose rings, dangling ear rings, long fingernails have no place in the area of bedside care. Tattoos should be covered up, nose rings, eyebrow rings, tongue rings, dangling ear rings should be removed. And please do't get me started on long fingernails. I would most likely not ever refuse care from a nurse who had a nose ring or a visible tattoo but I wouldn't appreciate their 'body' art. Maybe it has something to do with my age and the time I graduated from my primary nursing program.
Grannynurse
As a nurse, I don't think I will ever forget the very strict rules about appearance that were in place when I entered nursing. This was way back when antibiotics were scarce and expensive, and our infection control program depended primarily upon soap and water -- everywhere and often!
No jewelry was allowed except for our school nursing pin, no hair dangling below the collar, no fingernail polish, and the nails were to be kept short and scrupulously clean. Our uniforms were starched whites, and woe unto the sloppy nurse that showed up for work in an unwashed uniform or had a dirty cap or unpolished shoes!
Nose rings were gadgets that were installed on hogs to keep them from rooting under the fence. and tatoos went on the ears of cattle to show that they had been vaccinated.
Did we feel persecuted because we were not allowed freedom to express ourselves? Absolutely not! Nobody forced us to become nurses, and we were happy to dress in a manner that showed respect for the comfort of the patients who had certain expectations regarding our appearance.
My tattoo is about a inch and a half of a shooting star .I realy like it but people do look at you different as soon as the know you have one.I have tried bandaids and they are fine until I wash my hands(only 5000 times in a 16 hour shift).I have even tried the wrist bands(you know like in flashdance or a jane fonda workout) so i am at alost of what to try next.Like I said I am happy with it but I wish I would have put it somewhere it could be covered other than realy long sleeves.
ALL SUGGESTIONS HAVE been helpful.
thanks!!!!
EMBRACE WHO YOU ARE!!! YOUR TATTOOS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR PROFESSIONAL SKILLS. YOU ARE AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS UNIQUE AND LOVES TO CARE FOR PEOPLE. A NURSING CAP AND WHITE SHOES DO NOT MAKE A NURSE. EXCELLENT SKILLS AND A LOVE OF HELPING PEOPLE DO. I BET MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOUR TATTOOS THEN DON'T. BE YOURSELF.
Those wrist sweat-bands might work as well if they don't look too tacky.
sddlnscp
876 Posts
OK, now I'm going to be off topic. Your son is a tattoo artist? You are so lucky! My mom really wants to become a tattoo artist, but is having a hard time deciding how to learn it. Did your son go to any of the tattoo schools or did he do an apprenticeship? Is he able to do custom art, or is most of his flash? I am just really curious because Mom keeps putting it off, she is afraid of the cost associated with the schooling and afraid it won't be marketable, but she would be awesome at it - she is quite the artist. Any ideas? Suggestions for her? Thanks in advance!!! :)