Tattoos?

ixchel · Jul 25, 2016

It's funny to consider this idea of tattoo stigma when a massive percentage of my veteran patients have tattoos down their arms, sometimes on both. Many make no attempt whatsoever to hide them, and they love telling stories related to them. They wear them as the badges of honor they are.

heinz57 · Jul 25, 2016

Well it's out of place because that OP is also talking about things people chose.

How about a culture sensitivity class? Do they not teach that in nursing school or the hospitals anymore? Not all tattoos are by choice. Sometimes you have to recognize your patients view tattoos differently especially when sick or medicated. We recently cared for two 16 year old girls who had been victims of a sex trade organization. They were tattooed to show who owned them. One has a few tattoos of ownership. Not all tattoos are "art". What about all the tattoos of hate? Some can actually look very artful. Should they be covered up? I have seen a few slip through uncovered and admired by some nurses who thought the tattoos were pretty but offensive to some of the patients and other nurses who fell into that hated group. The local ambulances and FDs allow skulls and grim reapers to be visible. Some of these are what nightmares are made of. Appropriate for pediatric hospitals? We would prefer not but have no say in their dress code when they transport our frightened kids. We just try our best to say they won't hurt them. Who determines what is art and what isn't?

If you are going to stay in health care you need to understand how your actions and reactions affect other. Maybe it is because I have worked in larger cities where we are educated about tattoos, cultures, dress allowances and sensitivity to our surroundings as it pertains to the patients we treat that we have a much different view on our dress code and work of choice.

I have tattoos but they are in places easily covered. I have had coworkers with visible tattoos like inside of wrist and hand and they haven't had issues. All hospitals have prohibitions, its just a matter of how much your manager enforces them.
Tattoos still have a stigma with the older generations, so be prepared for some issues there. Follow your heart, but if you want to be in management some day, make sure you can cover them up. Good Luck!

This again is from a misinformed generation which doesn't realize the "older" generations have already been there and done that. But, the United States is now made up of many different cultures where tattoos hold a different meaning to tattoos.

The bottom line, just like some of us discovered back in the 60s and 70s (yes that older generation), fashion cycles and sometimes you will have to follow the norm to get the job or career you want. It is all about choices. Many of us followed our hearts but found at some point our own heart wanted change. Mess up early and watch your options diminish. Guess what happened to some of my generation that didn't conform to what the job wanted? This goes for any generation.

PinayUSA · Jul 25, 2016

You are misinformed. Tattooing is regulated in MOST states, and many require licensure. I was married to a professional tattoo artist for many years and had direct knowledge of his requirements for Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Incorrect

I have two guys who work for me with jail house tattoos., one guy for over a decade. He got his tat in Dallas County Jail while locked up, all it cost him was a honeybun. It was intereting how they did the tat with stuff allowed inside the jail

I am sure the person giving the tattoo wasn't licensed.

PinayUSA · Jul 25, 2016

It's funny to consider this idea of tattoo stigma when a massive percentage of my veteran patients have tattoos down their arms, sometimes on both. Many make no attempt whatsoever to hide them, and they love telling stories related to them. They wear them as the badges of honor they are.

Little different from a person serving in the armed forces and a nurse or joe blow. Those guy are in ports or bases where the local economy is heavily based on the guys paid and time off. They will even bring in girls from other parts of the countries to service them. So while the guy has time off he is at the local red light district enjoying his time off doing his thing and then getting a tat to mark his time.

Been there, done that

Editorial Team / Moderator · Jul 25, 2016

Incorrect
I have two guys who work for me with jail house tattoos., one guy for over a decade. He got his tat in Dallas County Jail while locked up, all it cost him was a honeybun. It was intereting how they did the tat with stuff allowed inside the jail
I am sure the person giving the tattoo wasn't licensed.

No, I am correct. Let me amend my statement for those of you who didn't follow: professional tattooing is regulated. Kitchen scratchers/jailhouse artists obviously are not.

bugya90, ASN, BSN, LVN, RN · Jul 25, 2016

For those of you who seem to think people with tattoos are somehow uneducated, shallow, or otherwise incompetent; next time you go in for surgery ask your surgeon how many on his/her team have tattoos including themselves. Same thing goes for the next time you go to your lawyers office. You will be amazed at how many intelligent professional people have ink. Some of the most intelligent physicians I know have tats and a friend of mine just graduated law school and over half of his graduating law school class had some sort of tattoo.

Also what do you say to our military men and women who have tattoos? Because they have tattoos they are somehow beneath you in intelligence? Even though they're the ones who are fighting to protect your freedom of speech that gives you the right to say such uneducated, immature, hateful things. :shaking my head:

DivaliciousMe85 · Jul 25, 2016

I have 13 tattoos (and had a belly button ring as well as a nose ring) and have 3 degrees, including an MBA. I was in an accelerated JD program (where I held down a 3.3 GPA and was part of a journal/honor society and was the VP of the Business Law Society and on the board for the Student Bar Association). I am now planning to attend nursing school where I will go on to get my BSN, NP licensure and then potentially a PsyD. Pretty sure my tattoos have nothing to do with my level of intelligence.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Jul 25, 2016

How about a culture sensitivity class? Do they not teach that in nursing school or the hospitals anymore? Not all tattoos are by choice. Sometimes you have to recognize your patients view tattoos differently especially when sick or medicated. We recently cared for two 16 year old girls who had been victims of a sex trade organization. They were tattooed to show who owned them. One has a few tattoos of ownership. Not all tattoos are "art". What about all the tattoos of hate? Some can actually look very artful. Should they be covered up? I have seen a few slip through uncovered and admired by some nurses who thought the tattoos were pretty but offensive to some of the patients and other nurses who fell into that hated group. The local ambulances and FDs allow skulls and grim reapers to be visible. Some of these are what nightmares are made of. Appropriate for pediatric hospitals? We would prefer not but have no say in their dress code when they transport our frightened kids. We just try our best to say they won't hurt them. Who determines what is art and what isn't?
If you are going to stay in health care you need to understand how your actions and reactions affect other. Maybe it is because I have worked in larger cities where we are educated about tattoos, cultures, dress allowances and sensitivity to our surroundings as it pertains to the patients we treat that we have a much different view on our dress code and work of choice.
This again is from a misinformed generation which doesn't realize the "older" generations have already been there and done that. But, the United States is now made up of many different cultures where tattoos hold a different meaning to tattoos.
The bottom line, just like some of us discovered back in the 60s and 70s (yes that older generation), fashion cycles and sometimes you will have to follow the norm to get the job or career you want. It is all about choices. Many of us followed our hearts but found at some point our own heart wanted change. Mess up early and watch your options diminish. Guess what happened to some of my generation that didn't conform to what the job wanted? This goes for any generation.

You are missing the POINT! We are discussing tattoos that people CHOOSE to get. Please stop being so ignorant because maybe next time you go to the doctor or hospital the there will be nurses with tattoos that are very capable of doing their jobs.

Tattoos AREN'T as forbidden as they once were. They are mainstream & very common place. It has been said over & over that people have landed jobs with visible tattoos & nothing happened. I also landed a job with a full sleeve.

The amount of ignorance in this post KILLS me!

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Jul 25, 2016

Incorrect
I have two guys who work for me with jail house tattoos., one guy for over a decade. He got his tat in Dallas County Jail while locked up, all it cost him was a honeybun. It was intereting how they did the tat with stuff allowed inside the jail
I am sure the person giving the tattoo wasn't licensed.

Wow. No. She is talking about running a business. Anyone can do anything illegal, which (tattooing in jail) that is by the way.

Wrench Party · Jul 25, 2016

Just get it in a location not visible in normal work attire and this shouldn't be an issue. Plenty of my coworkers have tattoos in places

like their shoulders, backs, legs, upper arms that are not visible under scrubs.

TC3200 · Jul 25, 2016

You are missing the POINT! We are discussing tattoos that people CHOOSE to get. Please stop being so ignorant because maybe next time you go to the doctor or hospital the there will be nurses with tattoos that are very capable of doing their jobs.
Tattoos AREN'T as forbidden as they once were. They are mainstream & very common place. It has been said over & over that people have landed jobs with visible tattoos & nothing happened. I also landed a job with a full sleeve.
The amount of ignorance in this post KILLS me!

I think YOU are the one who missed the point of Heinz57's post, which is don't do something that you might regret later. You sound blissfully ignorant, lol. Don't do something that could handicap you. My mother told us kids "If everyone jumped in the lake, would you jump in the lake?" Sure, tatts may be hot or mainstream now. That doesn't mean they will *always* be in vogue or mainstream throughout time. Rudee Vallee's megaphone crooning music was real popular in the 1930s, but I bet comparatively few people like it nowadays.

This is to all of those who insist on following the crowd:

IF you want to ink yourself all up, the fact is that you do so at your own risk. Put aside a large sum of money that you can use for tatt removals later, because one day you just might get sick and tired of those tatts and want them gone. Cher was one of the first women who tatted herself up, back in what, the early '80s? To me, tattoos are just old hat now. Tiresome, hackneyed, unnecessary. At a glance, many of them look like dirt on skin. I can't help looking at photos of even the '90s and seeing how much CLEANER the tattoo-free people look. That natural skin just looks OH SO MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE to me. Other people have mentioned that patients may adversely react to tattoos, too. But, hey, it's your body. You can pump it full of unregulated tattoo pigments from God knows where, to your heart's content, but don't come crying around when fashions change or you get some illness from heavy metals, or someone who'd make a good spouse passes you by for marriage material, or you look like Hades when you're 75.

Because all we conservative people are going to say is "I told you so."

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Jul 25, 2016

I think YOU are the one who missed the point of Heinz57's post, which is don't do something that you might regret later. Don't do something that could handicap you. My mother told us kids "If everyone jumped in the lake, would you jump in the lake?" Sure, tatts may be hot or mainstream now. That doesn't mean they will *always* be in vogue or mainstream throughout time. Rudee Vallee's megaphone crooning music was real popular in the 1930s, but I bet comparatively few people like it nowadays.
This is to all of those who insist on following the crowd:
IF you want to ink yourself all up, the fact is that you do do at your own risk. Put aside a large sum of money that you can use for tatt removals later, because one day you just might get sick and tired of those tatts and want them gone. Cher was one of the first women who tatted herself up, back in what, the early '80s? To me, tattoos are just old hat now. Tiresome, hackneyed, unnecessary. At a glance, many of them look like dirt on skin. I can't help looking at photos of even the '90s and seeing how much CLEANER the tattoo-free people look. That natural skin just looks OH SO MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE to me. Other people have mentioned that patients may adversely react to tattoos, too. But, hey, it's your body. You can pump it full of unregulated tattoo pigments from God knows where, to your heart's content, but don't come crying around when fashions change or you get some illness from heavy metals, or someone who'd make a good spouse passes you by for marriage material, or you look like Hades when you're 75.
Because all we conservative people are going to say is "I told you so."

What? So much ignorance in one little post. No. Heinz57's posts discuss people who are FORCED to get tattoos! Did you read that? I did, several times! Which has NOTHING, ZERO, NADA to do with the topic at hand.

Second, there are many different professionals who have visible & non visible tattoos.

Third, I don't care if it's in or not & neither do most people. What I am SAYING is that it is more common place & "normal" for healthcare professionals to have tattoos than before. So it is becoming accepted.

Fourth, I don't know ANYONE who has heavy metal poisoning from a tattoo. If you do your research & go to a PROFESSIONAL tattoo shop, that won't happen. I'm curious, since the tattoo only touches the skin, how am I "pumping myself full of ink"? Or do you know people injecting ink into themselves?

Fifth, I'm gonna look AMAZING (better than you) when I'm 75. And what do you have to say to that tatted up grandparents out there?

Sixth, I have never been "passed over" because of my tattoos. If people like you can't see what's beyond the cover, no wonder the US is going to hell.

How about next time you do some research & educate yourself before spouting off ignorant statements. People are able to hold professional jobs & get married WITH tattoos. I don't care if you don't like it but don't be ignorant about it.

By the way, I LOVE each and every one of my tattoos. They all hold a story behind it, they are special to me.