Tattoos!

[mmbucklerky]

Just wondering how common Tattoos are in the nursing field. Random- I know. :)

[tatacho7]

A LOT of nurses are tattooed... it's awesome.... it all depends on the employer. I have tattoos and planning on getting more. Mainly on the torso area, easy cover up. hahaha.

[JessicaNICURN]

Hi!

I have three tattoos that are all hidden when I wear my scrubs. I know my nursing school was strict about having them covered. However, now that I am a nurse, it totally depends on the facility. I know Children's in Boston asks that all tattoos be covered. My hospital does not have a policy against them. I would avoid getting one that cannot be covered until you are done with school. :)

-Jessica

[cagjlg]

My facility (in TX) has no policy about tats, but they do about hair color. I'm an older female with no tats. Mainly because I'm so aware of saggy skin! LOL But would LOVE to have my purple streaks back! Alas, I like my job more.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Awe even lab? No fun.

When you consider that lab is practice for clinical, and many clinical areas do not allow visible tattoos, it becomes clearer why your lab instructor might want you to practice concealing them before you get invited to leave clinical when you appear for your rotation.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

I love my 2 tattoos, and they are easily covered by my scrubs. People are surprised when they learn I have ink. I guess I still give off the good little catholic girl vibe. Ha!

I hear ya. Not a good Catholic girl vibe here, but this COB has tattoos that are older than at least half of the AN posters, and maybe three-quarters of ya. So there.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

You may have a window where tattoos are generally accepted and it won't matter; but I'm betting your kids take one look at your tattoos and decide "That's nasty. I'm never doing THAT." And the next generation, tattoo parlors will be going out of business everywhere. Your kids have to have something to rebel against.

Funny! Son is in a maritime field and wouldn't have a tattoo if you paid him. Daughter is a physicist and has a tattoo on her abdomen that has something to do with her research, a few circles with different colors and lines between them with some equation or other, I have no idea what it means. But it is completely covered.

Me, I'm waiting to retire (hah!) and see if there will be any more grandchildren before I get any more ink, and then I'm adding some ivy vines on my back with children/grandchildren initials in the leaves, like a family tree. All designed in my mind already. But it still wouldn't show with professional attire.

[BertG77]

Just thought I'd put this out there: Patients' perceptions of patient care providers with tattoos and/or body piercings. - PubMed - NCBI

I find this interesting and ridiculous, though I understand why these findings are the way they are. I'm curious what others think about this (especially the double standard between the genders). I'm a male nursing student with many tattoos (that I cover up) though I would love to work somewhere where I didn't have to (like either of my local general hospitals).

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

Extremely common. Why do you ask?

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Just thought I'd put this out there: Patients' perceptions of patient care providers with tattoos and/or body piercings. - PubMed - NCBI

I find this interesting and ridiculous, though I understand why these findings are the way they are. I'm curious what others think about this (especially the double standard between the genders). I'm a male nursing student with many tattoos (that I cover up) though I would love to work somewhere where I didn't have to (like either of my local general hospitals).

I suspect that many or most of those 150 patients were Boomers or older. We were raised that tattoos were low class, but were excused if you got them during your military service.

[Bumex, DNP, NP]

I've been an RN for a few years. I have a sleeve of tattoos, and no one has said anything.

[MsCupcakes]

I have an extensive amount of tattoos - my school requires them to be covered and is requiring removal of my non-coverable (hand) tattoos prior to starting clinicals. I did work in a medical job prior to beginning nursing school, and never had any issue with my tattoos whatsoever.

While I have no problem covering my tattoos, I do wish I had an option other than removal since it is both painful and costly.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Just thought I'd put this out there: Patients' perceptions of patient care providers with tattoos and/or body piercings. - PubMed - NCBI

I find this interesting and ridiculous, though I understand why these findings are the way they are. I'm curious what others think about this (especially the double standard between the genders). I'm a male nursing student with many tattoos (that I cover up) though I would love to work somewhere where I didn't have to (like either of my local general hospitals).

As nurses, it is not our job to characterize patient opinions and feelings as "ridiculous." We care for people as we find them. If many older people dislike their caregivers having visible ink, and most people in care settings are older, then it stands to reason that healthcare employers would, and do in many cases, request their employees to cover up said visible ink. It is not about employers disrespecting your special skin art or how meaningful it is to you. Delivering nursing care is never about you. It's about the patient.

No, this is not to say that patients can be insulting or abusive and we have to be passive receivers of said aggression, although a seasoned nurse perceives that there's a reason for that kind of behavior and uses therapeutic techniques to help that patient move beyond the fear behind his anger, or tease out the patient's journey down the pathways of disturbed cognition. It is to say that as an employment decision by the employer to set it as a condition of employment in a given setting, there could be good reasons for it (as this study elucidates). Data, data, data.