This topic is plain and simple. How do you guys feel about nurses with tattoos? I'm at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to my age and what I chose as my career and all the way through school I either had to cover up or give a long explanation as to why I have it. Most of the older nurses always came at me with the same "It's not professional stuff -_-" Now that I work I don't get questioned but sometimes I feel the stare of either some of the people I'm working with or Pt's. I really love tattoos and I also really love nursing and I think that the whole super conservatives just make you feel that since you have tattoos you are not up-to-par. Thoughts anyone?
Hehe Alright so as long as they're not offensive it should not be a big deal! thanks guys!
Define offensive.
A local FD recently won the right to have the Grim Reaper and a skull in flames as accepted tattoos because they did not fit the definition of offensive. Since most of them are Paramedics, patients including kids, are now subjected to tattoos which some terrifying dreams are made of.
Tattoos have also represented ownership of women in other countries and are also a sign of human slavery or trafficking here in the US. The "crown" is just a tattoo of a crown but with a specific meaning to the woman forced to wear it. None of the tattoos are what you would call "offensive" by definition but would definitely mean something to someone who might have been through some form of captivity. The same for Holocaust survivors and their families. What you might perceive to be "not offensive" can have a totally different meaning for someone else or a very different cultural interpretation.
I doubt if any of that will matter to you. But, let's take a more personal view.
I love art and I love fashion. I love being up with the latest. Over the last 40 years since my teen years I have changed my hair style and color dozens of time. Of course when I joined the adult working world I had to be in compliance but I was still able to change it up a lot. I also had all the latest in clothes and shoes. A few piercings (small holes) were also part of the fashion. My love of art led me to paint and repaint the walls of my house many times. I also changed the artwork frequently. Every year I found a new trend in art which I liked. Out with the old and in with the new. But, there was some art which my friends thought was very trendy which I would never put on my walls. I found it "offensive" to my senses even though is did not fit the legal definition of "offensive".
The nice thing is I kept the base canvas, my body, a clean slate for the next fashion or style. I have not done any permanent damage. I can still be creative and artful in appearance without disturbing what I was born with.
I remember being a kid in the 1960s at the circus and saw the "tattooed couple". A man and woman were featured as a freak show. Thinking back, they look like some today. I can guarantee that fashion will change again for tattoos. WWII they were popular for military personnel. After Vietnam they represented baby burners. Tattoos might be the rage today but what about 5 years from now? Will you be an embarrassment to your kids? I see the men still hanging on to wearing long hair since the 1970s. They are looked at like scummy bums by some in EMS, the ED and others in healthcare regardless of their socioeconomic status just because long hair on men is not today's look. Bald is in today. A few years ago that look was considered skin heads and commonly associated with the Aryan nation. That image is still vivid for some.
You might be taking "offensive" at only a superficial level. Live long enough and take lots of selfies to see how your opinion of art might change.
I work in a competitive entity of healthcare. How our "customers" view our staff's appearance can both potentially and actually affect our census. Low census = low everything else. Until our demographics completely change and are not primarily comprised of a unappreciating tattoo demographic we will have limits on tattoo exposure.
What *I* happen to think of tattoos is irrelevant.
I'm personally covered in tattoos, but only in places that are not visible in scrubs with my hair down. I've always had a bunch of piercings too, but had to take out most of them. All I have left is my ears, septum, and tongue ring all of which can be hidden during my shifts. When I started out in nursing I worked my way up from CNA to med aide to LPN-C. Now I'm waiting to take RN boards. A lot of it depends on the facility and what regulations they have. During RN school I got so frustrated with being the round peg put in the square hole that I went and got my ears modified. I figured I could still be my individual self, and you can't make me cover my ears. Lol But I really feel the same as you, the times are changing.
A local FD recently won the right to have the Grim Reaper and a skull in flames as accepted tattoos because they did not fit the definition of offensive. Since most of them are Paramedics, patients including kids, are now subjected to tattoos which some terrifying dreams are made of.
Tattoos have also represented ownership of women in other countries and are also a sign of human slavery or trafficking here in the US. The "crown" is just a tattoo of a crown but with a specific meaning to the woman forced to wear it. None of the tattoos are what you would call "offensive" by definition but would definitely mean something to someone who might have been through some form of captivity. The same for Holocaust survivors and their families. What you might perceive to be "not offensive" can have a totally different meaning for someone else or a very different cultural interpretation.
I doubt if any of that will matter to you. But, let's take a more personal view.
I love art and I love fashion. I love being up with the latest. Over the last 40 years since my teen years I have changed my hair style and color dozens of time. Of course when I joined the adult working world I had to be in compliance but I was still able to change it up a lot. I also had all the latest in clothes and shoes. A few piercings (small holes) were also part of the fashion. My love of art led me to paint and repaint the walls of my house many times. I also changed the artwork frequently. Every year I found a new trend in art which I liked. Out with the old and in with the new. But, there was some art which my friends thought was very trendy which I would never put on my walls. I found it "offensive" to my senses even though is did not fit the legal definition of "offensive".
The nice thing is I kept the base canvas, my body, a clean slate for the next fashion or style. I have not done any permanent damage. I can still be creative and artful in appearance without disturbing what I was born with.
I remember being a kid in the 1960s at the circus and saw the "tattooed couple". A man and woman were featured as a freak show. Thinking back, they look like some today. I can guarantee that fashion will change again for tattoos. WWII they were popular for military personnel. After Vietnam they represented baby burners. Tattoos might be the rage today but what about 5 years from now? Will you be an embarrassment to your kids? I see the men still hanging on to wearing long hair since the 1970s. They are looked at like scummy bums by some in EMS, the ED and others in healthcare regardless of their socioeconomic status just because long hair on men is not today's look. Bald is in today. A few years ago that look was considered skin heads and commonly associated with the Aryan nation. That image is still vivid for some.
You might be taking "offensive" at only a superficial level. Live long enough and take lots of selfies to see how your opinion of art might change.
So, a guy who has thinning hair and wants to go bald to avoid the old man look should be concerned that some one else may think he's a skin head?
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
Define offensive.
A local FD recently won the right to have the Grim Reaper and a skull in flames as accepted tattoos because they did not fit the definition of offensive. Since most of them are Paramedics, patients including kids, are now subjected to tattoos which some terrifying dreams are made of.
Tattoos have also represented ownership of women in other countries and are also a sign of human slavery or trafficking here in the US. The "crown" is just a tattoo of a crown but with a specific meaning to the woman forced to wear it. None of the tattoos are what you would call "offensive" by definition but would definitely mean something to someone who might have been through some form of captivity. The same for Holocaust survivors and their families. What you might perceive to be "not offensive" can have a totally different meaning for someone else or a very different cultural interpretation.
I doubt if any of that will matter to you. But, let's take a more personal view.
I love art and I love fashion. I love being up with the latest. Over the last 40 years since my teen years I have changed my hair style and color dozens of time. Of course when I joined the adult working world I had to be in compliance but I was still able to change it up a lot. I also had all the latest in clothes and shoes. A few piercings (small holes) were also part of the fashion. My love of art led me to paint and repaint the walls of my house many times. I also changed the artwork frequently. Every year I found a new trend in art which I liked. Out with the old and in with the new. But, there was some art which my friends thought was very trendy which I would never put on my walls. I found it "offensive" to my senses even though is did not fit the legal definition of "offensive".
The nice thing is I kept the base canvas, my body, a clean slate for the next fashion or style. I have not done any permanent damage. I can still be creative and artful in appearance without disturbing what I was born with.
I remember being a kid in the 1960s at the circus and saw the "tattooed couple". A man and woman were featured as a freak show. Thinking back, they look like some today. I can guarantee that fashion will change again for tattoos. WWII they were popular for military personnel. After Vietnam they represented baby burners. Tattoos might be the rage today but what about 5 years from now? Will you be an embarrassment to your kids? I see the men still hanging on to wearing long hair since the 1970s. They are looked at like scummy bums by some in EMS, the ED and others in healthcare regardless of their socioeconomic status just because long hair on men is not today's look. Bald is in today. A few years ago that look was considered skin heads and commonly associated with the Aryan nation. That image is still vivid for some.
You might be taking "offensive" at only a superficial level. Live long enough and take lots of selfies to see how your opinion of art might change.
People will find any reason to be offended these days, which is clearly demonstrated by your post. Can't please them all. As long as it's not against an employer's dress code, I say do what you want. The person who chooses the tattoo will have to live with the consequences.
This topic is plain and simple. How do you guys feel about nurses with tattoos? I'm at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to my age and what I chose as my career and all the way through school I either had to cover up or give a long explanation as to why I have it. Most of the older nurses always came at me with the same "It's not professional stuff -_-" Now that I work I don't get questioned but sometimes I feel the stare of either some of the people I'm working with or Pt's. I really love tattoos and I also really love nursing and I think that the whole super conservatives just make you feel that since you have tattoos you are not up-to-par. Thoughts anyone?
-Yadi, LPN
When you choose to do something that is permanent, there is the expectation that you also choose the consequences that go along with that decision.
I like tattoos, and really enjoy the creativity that some artists are able to come up with. Some are very clever, some are not. I personally do not have any tattoos because I did not want any of the consequences of having permanent ink on my skin.
I have a co-worker/friend in the ICU who is a beautiful soul inside and out. She is 'good people' through and through, is a solid nurse, has been there for about 10 years, and is about 6 years from retirement. I observe her getting grief from management from having permanent ink on her forearms. They made her cover up her arms in patient care areas, and there is nothing there that makes me think gee, maybe that's inappropriateâ€.
My friend tells me that management has told her that it's not the content, per se, but the fact that she is so tattooed that creates the problem. She tells me that she was told It makes patient's feel ill-at-easeâ€. She still have a job and makes an income.
So, a guy who has thinning hair and wants to go bald to avoid the old man look should be concerned that some one else may think he's a skin head?
In some areas and depending on the person, yes.
Whether we want to admit it or not we all have some bias or do some form of stereotyping of certain groups.
Different ethnic groups and males with tattoos might be viewed differently than a 20 y/o white female.
A bald guy driving a truck with the Confederate flag might be viewed as a redneck (racist or otherwise) with all the good and bad that comes with that image.
Do you get past the scruffy clothes and dirty hair to learn more about the homeless person you see in the ER?
What about stereotyping drug users or even those who come to the ER with pain issues? There are length discussions here on this forum about that and many are judgmental.
Some may just have preconceived ideas about tattoos. Some of us who have worked in big city ERs have also had to go through training to recognize tattoos of different gangs which could be potential threats especially if paired near their enemies. Did all the photos of tattoos and violence leave an impression? Hell yes! Do we have time to examine every tattoo for artistic value? Probably not.
I don't care if you have tattoos or not. But, I don't want kids or even the elderly looking at pictures of the Grim Reaper or flaming skull and crossbones when they are feeling their worst. At some point there has to be some common sense and a little compromise if you want to treat patients. Even people with certain religious and cultural dress have had to compromise to meet safety and dress codes of the hospitals.
The only one I have a problem with is the Confederate flag dude.
It's the people with the preconceived ideas that's the problem. Not the people with tattoos.
But it is just a flag. People have different interpretations for what it stands for. Growing up in the south I do not find it offensive. It could also be considered art as a tattoo. Would you have a problem if worn visibly as a tattoo?
But it is just a flag. People have different interpretations for what it stands for. Growing up in the south I do not find it offensive. It could also be considered art as a tattoo. Would you have a problem if worn visibly as a tattoo?
The swastika is just a flag too, right?
The problem with using the Confederate flag as an example is that it symbolizes one thing to the majority of Americans: the time when the south wanted to break with this country so they could own other people.
Where a bald man is not just symbolizing a skin head.
He can be a balding guy, a skin head, a chemo patient, a fashion statement, a Mr. Clean fetishist, a Charlie Brown fan, an LL Cool J impersonator, Moby...
heinz57
168 Posts
Define offensive.
A local FD recently won the right to have the Grim Reaper and a skull in flames as accepted tattoos because they did not fit the definition of offensive. Since most of them are Paramedics, patients including kids, are now subjected to tattoos which some terrifying dreams are made of.
Tattoos have also represented ownership of women in other countries and are also a sign of human slavery or trafficking here in the US. The "crown" is just a tattoo of a crown but with a specific meaning to the woman forced to wear it. None of the tattoos are what you would call "offensive" by definition but would definitely mean something to someone who might have been through some form of captivity. The same for Holocaust survivors and their families. What you might perceive to be "not offensive" can have a totally different meaning for someone else or a very different cultural interpretation.
I doubt if any of that will matter to you. But, let's take a more personal view.
I love art and I love fashion. I love being up with the latest. Over the last 40 years since my teen years I have changed my hair style and color dozens of time. Of course when I joined the adult working world I had to be in compliance but I was still able to change it up a lot. I also had all the latest in clothes and shoes. A few piercings (small holes) were also part of the fashion. My love of art led me to paint and repaint the walls of my house many times. I also changed the artwork frequently. Every year I found a new trend in art which I liked. Out with the old and in with the new. But, there was some art which my friends thought was very trendy which I would never put on my walls. I found it "offensive" to my senses even though is did not fit the legal definition of "offensive".
The nice thing is I kept the base canvas, my body, a clean slate for the next fashion or style. I have not done any permanent damage. I can still be creative and artful in appearance without disturbing what I was born with.
I remember being a kid in the 1960s at the circus and saw the "tattooed couple". A man and woman were featured as a freak show. Thinking back, they look like some today. I can guarantee that fashion will change again for tattoos. WWII they were popular for military personnel. After Vietnam they represented baby burners. Tattoos might be the rage today but what about 5 years from now? Will you be an embarrassment to your kids? I see the men still hanging on to wearing long hair since the 1970s. They are looked at like scummy bums by some in EMS, the ED and others in healthcare regardless of their socioeconomic status just because long hair on men is not today's look. Bald is in today. A few years ago that look was considered skin heads and commonly associated with the Aryan nation. That image is still vivid for some.
You might be taking "offensive" at only a superficial level. Live long enough and take lots of selfies to see how your opinion of art might change.