Will my tattoos hold me back?

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I'll make this short and sweet. I am a 31 year old woman in college for the first time. I am pre-nursing and doing well but I'm afraid that I won't be employable because I have a full sleeve on my arm as well as a few other small but visible tattoos. I have seen many nurses wear long sleeves under thier scrubs but I'm sure there will be many times when the sleeves must be rolled up and my artwork will be revealed. I hate that my past poor decisions may have such an impact on my future but nursing is what I really want to do. Any advice? I don't want to waste my time and money in nursing school if I won't be able to find a job when I graduate.

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I have sleeves in progress on both arms, plus tattoos on my chest, back, and both legs, and I've never had a problem. I just always wore long sleeves under my scrubs. No one knew I had tattoos until I told them, if I even chose to. My Army uniform covers my tattoos as well. It's only when I'm doing PT in the PT uniform that people know I have tattoos. :) They're for me, and generally speaking, my work is not about me.

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If they are not visible it wont be an issue...there are special foundations that cover tattoos.

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As a mid-career professional who is returning to school as anew nursing student, I have considered many times that my many visible tattoos(lower arm and wrist) might hinder my professional advancement in thehealthcare industry. Even though overthe past nine years I have worked in hospitals doing clinical work as apsychometrist, my tattoos have never created a stumbling block for me. I believe this is in large part to my workingat a VA healthcare facility where I'm working with veterans who recognizetattoos as a part of military culture. At times, I have even considered my tattoos an asset as they have endearedme to my patients and helped me to easily establish rapport. Within the confines of VA healthcareemployment, I have never once worried about my tattoos holding me back. However, now that I'm changing careers andreturning to student status, I've started considering how my tattoos mightaffect my job opportunities with private hospitals in the future. Tattoos have without a doubt become moresocially acceptable, but whether or not they are professionally acceptable is acompletely different question. The goodnews is that with the new options available for tattoo removal, tattoos are reallynow less than permanent. This is a goodthing! I love my tattoos, but I alsorecognize that they are not my identity. If I need to get them removed at some point in life in order to proceedwith other life goals, then that's exactly what I'll do. The tattoos are just artwork. I think it's wonderful that if the situationarises when people have to make the decision about whether their career is moreimportant than their artwork, they can easily find trained medical professionalswho can safely and effectively remove tattooed artwork with quality results. While the complete removal may take severalsessions, the results can produce a clean canvas of skin that is sociallyacceptable to all. A great resource forinformation about laser tattoo removal can be found at http://www.newlookhouston.com/ . Thisweb site has a tattoo removal guide that is very comprehensive and can answerjust about any potential questions regarding the laser tattoo removalprocess. The availability of laser tattooremoval offers a significant opportunity for people who want to eliminate pastchoices in order to move into a new direction in life, such as in my case ofchanging careers in my late thirties. I'malready looking into having the lower part of my tattoo sleeve removed becauseit's less important to me now than it was fifteen years ago. Today, what's important is attaining mycareer goal of becoming a nurse anesthetist, and there's no way I'm going tolet my tattoos stand in the way of such a great and time-consuming endeavorthis late in my professional life. I'mso thankful that laser tattoo removal has become so advanced and refined that Ican enter into that decision without any qualms about getting the results thatI want.

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personally, I would smile to have a tattooed nurse taking care of me.

I wish tattoos weren't frowned upon. I have a few myself, nothing crazy, but one that I will have to "hide", which I don't feel I should have to. I wish that would change.

Also there is this brand of stuff that works looks like it is amazing..check it out!

Dermablend is the name

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mIBKifOOQQ

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Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

Depends on the job and depends on where you work. Where I work the people with tattoos tend to work more ER. I have never seen a nurse with exposed tattoos in OB. If there are 10 people applying for a job you need reasons not to hire the 9. So they may make things more challenging, but I have known and seen nurses with tattoos.

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Specializes in Neurosurgery, Neurology.

In my hospital there are RNs, MDs, PAs, NPs, PCAs, etc with tattoos. No one seems to care, so I think this depends on the hospital. I have noticed that most nursing schools have a rule where tattoos should not be visible during clinical rotations. I'm a PCA and have tattoos that are somewhat visible below the sleeve of my scrub top (tattoos only on my upper arms). In the years that I've been working, patients have never been negative about them, only asking what it means, and that's about it. I know when nursing school starts in the Fall, I'll have to wear the jacket or long sleeved shirt under the uniform top.

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awesome story about the nurse who got sleeves because of her cancer recovery, I myself underwent Endoscopic Transsphenoidal surgery when I was 14 to remove a pituitary adenoma that onset cushing's disease. I did the same exact thing, I have a full sleeve to represent what I went through, its a series of moths changing colors from pastels, and translucent colors to represent sickness, and vibrant colors to represent my recovery. Knowing I one day would decide to go into the nursing profession, I went for it anyways, life really is too short to not do what you love, no job should get in the way! Plus long sleeves are a no-brainer. :)!

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Check out this website. I thought it was a great idea for those with sleeves.

cover up tattoos | tattoo cover up | tattoo cover - TatJacket

THANK YOU !!!!

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Specializes in Emergency, LTC.

It's unfortunate society can be a bit thick-headed and discriminant but tattoos are still a shocker to some. Several people have mentioned Geriatrics as a specialty where tattoos are discouraged but it depends on your boss. My first healthcare job was working as a PCT for a LTC facility and my manager had several tattoos and her husband did also, so she didn't care if you wore scrub tops without an undershirt.

While getting my CNA License, during clinicals I did have to take my nose ring, 2nd/3rd holes and cartilage piercings out (only one hole in each ear allowed) and had to cover my arms (my left forearm is tattoed). I will start nursing school soon and I know it'll be the same there. My currnent job is working with seniors so again, I have to cover them up. I have a small music note on my hand and even with that one, some visitors at work are like "OMG you have a tattoo!" I roll my eyes when no one is looking. I agree with professionalism but at the same time, it's 2014. I've seen tons of techs, phlebotomists, etc. working in hospitals with tattoos visible. The reason you'll never see a doctor with them is because they're wearing their lab coats!

It's sad you think your tattoos were a mistake. So long as they have some sort of meaning to you and are done by a good artist, I think they're beautiful. Sure, some days I wish I hadn't gotten my forearm done cuz it would allow for more wardrobe options but I look at it like this: WORK IS WORK and PERSONAL LIFE IS PERSONAL LIFE. I can be whoever the heck I want to be outside of work so I won't let my "young decisions" damper my spirit.

The good thing about going into a semi-conservative field is I've learned how to be a plain Jane so nowadays, getting ready takes me about 30min!

I have a bear and swan on one side, representing my brother and I's spirit animals (we got matching sibling tattoos) and a bible verse and Stariway To Heaven lyrics on the other side of my forearm. If that offends someone, then they're the ones with issues, not me.

I was raised Christian and in the bible it says not to modify your body or it's a sin but it also tells us not to pass judgement. If that's the case, women with pierced ears are sinners, yeah? Well, we won't bring controversial issues into this.

I'll leave you with a quote I saw somewhere:

"Sometimes the nicest people you meet are covered in tattoos while the most judgmental people you meet go to church on Sunday."

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I have a L arm 3/4 sleeve and a visible tattoo on my Inner RFA. When I was a student I worried about being judged by my looks. Once I became a nurse and found my confidence I never even thought about how I might be judged! If you project confidence, IMO, it doesn't matter what kind of tattoos you may have! I've worked in SAR/LTC for five years now and it's never the older women who comment on my tattoos, it's the older men who have tattoos themselves!own who you are.

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Specializes in Emergency, LTC.

A nurse I work with currently was sooo surprised when she found out about my forearm! She said she would've never guessed because I looked so "conservative. LOL Sweet girl image, I suppose? The point is, people will only know what you allow them to know :)

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.
That's kind of the way I'm looking at it too. In a competative job market, why choose me when there are plenty of other, non-tattooed applicants. It really stinks though. I have a 4.0 GPA and am doing very well. I know I would make a great nurse if given the opportunity... The clinicals at my school require us to wear long sleeves anyway so I guess I'm lucky there. I just have this icky feeling that this will create problems in the workplace.

Hello, new student. Greetings from a long-time nursing instructor with multiple tattoos. Although I don't have any that aren't mostly covered by my scrubs, I have not encountered a problem. I have had many heavily tattooed students in the past. We are all required to cover them in the clinical setting. This might pose a problem, especially in areas such as NICU or OR for infection control reasons. However, that said, all students who graduated from our program with numerous tattoos are now happily employed. It may limit your ability to work in some settings, especially the most conservative facilities, but there are plenty of places that will see you for your skill and not for the lack of ink or the presence of it. For example, our Level 1 trauma center is staffed by many staff members with full sleeves.

If you TRULY regret the decision (ex- no longer like your tattoos or feel that they no longer represent who you are), you can look into removal after you graduate. In the meantime, nose in the books, less harsh criticism of yourself, and wear long sleeves to any interviews.

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