Working With Tattoos In Rolla Missouri

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Hello everyoneprobably a weird question, but here it is......I have only been an LPN for a few years now, and have only had one job and it's herein Seattle. I commute in to work, my husband is military and he is most likely going to get stationed in southern Missouri at Ft LeonardWood. I have extensive tattoos including full sleeves, nothing visible with a long sleeve shirt on under my scrubs. Where I work at completely does not care if they show at work. From what I have been reading about southern Missouri, the area is known as the Ozarks and has a reputation for being very old fashioned and part of the Bible Belt.does anyone have any knowledge of working down there and having tattoos? For that matter, did I just get lucky to have my only job as a nurse not care about my tattoos showing? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! I am not looking forward to moving somewhere so hot and humid in the first place, much less having to wear long sleeves :-(

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

I live on the Kansas side of the Kansas City area, so am no expert of southern Missouri. But, I think it's mixed with a lot of ultra religious and hillbillies. So, you may want to wear long sleeves, but may be perfectly okay. Here, in the city, full sleeves are very common. I know, no help at all, sorry. ;)

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Lol...every bit of info helps, so thank you! So are you saying that in KC there are plenty of nurses working with full sleeves and/or lotsa visible tattoos? Or just the population there in general? Thanks very much for your time!

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

No, I just meant the population in general. I'm assuming that even here, the nurses probably cover as much as possible. But, I don't think it would prevent you from getting hired here or in southern MO.

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Specializes in Med Surg.
I live on the Kansas side of the Kansas City area, so am no expert of southern Missouri. But, I think it's mixed with a lot of ultra religious and hillbillies. So, you may want to wear long sleeves, but may be perfectly okay. Here, in the city, full sleeves are very common. I know, no help at all, sorry. ;)

Lol. You don't spend much time around hillbillies, you city slicker, you. :).

OP, your patients will probably be more tattooed than you are. I'm from southwest MO and tattoos are common. Don't believe everything you read--most of the media coverage assumes we're stupid because we speak with southern accents.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
Lol. You don't spend much time around hillbillies, you city slicker, you. :).

OP, your patients will probably be more tattooed than you are. I'm from southwest MO and tattoos are common. Don't believe everything you read--most of the media coverage assumes we're stupid because we speak with southern accents.

Southern accents are not stupid.... they're SEXY!!!!

I just think about that opening line from a Conway Twitty song as he drawls...."hello, darlin..."

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Specializes in Med/Surg,Cardiac.

I think most places have policies that state no visible tattoos. Honestly I think the enforcement will vary from place to place. I do wish I could have a sleeve without discrimination.

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Specializes in Adult/Ped Emergency and Trauma.

Wow, Texas here now, but worked all over the US South. If the skeletons in all our closets were visible by everyone- No one would be worried about 'art' on an arm.That said I wouldn't want a child to see naked bodies, skulls, scary images, or anything that would offend (common sense).

We had an open policy in my ER regarding tats, but I made a girl cover a rebel flag for obvious reasons.That said, I would rather my patient's be comfortable with me, regardless of my policies. A more in depth question might be, "Will this offend the the patient population in the Ozarks?".

But, that's just me. I put their comfort before my need to express myself.I personally would wear a sleave in any hospital, the focus is on the patient for me, not my artistic freedom. You'll find a medium.

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Specializes in med/surg.

I live/work less than 100 miles from Ft. Leonard Wood. My hospital does have a "professional appearance" policy-which meant that I had to remove my piercings when I became a nurse, no visible tattoos, professional hairstyle, well groomed, facial hair trimmed (yes, the women too)(ha ha-just kidding), no chipped nail polish, minimal jewelry, etc.

Of course it is enforced unit by unit-my unit manager happens to be one of the more strict ones.

Can't speak for the rest of the hospitals in the area.

BTW, the hospital at the Fort is pretty small-no cardiac or urology services to name a couple-we get transfers from there all of the time. You may be better off driving a little ways and working at a larger hospital.

Yes, it's the Bible Belt-lots of Baptist churches and Republicans.

Yes, lots of hillbillies and gravel roads, lots of hunters who make their own deer sausage and hamburger and that is their meat for the year, lots of trailer parks and trailers in general, lots of people on disability, poverty is high, lots of drug addicts and alcoholics, lots of people on probation/parole. They aren't kidding about Missouri being the meth capitol.

Yes, hot and humid. Didn't spend a whole lot of time outside this summer-most of June and July was over 100 degrees and very humid. Wait til you see an ice storm though! I grew up in Chicago, and we got snow-not ice. There's not much snow here.

Oh, and even after living in this state for 12 years, I still see new bugs. There are lots and lots of bugs.

It'll be a bit of a change from Seattle. Keep in mind that you will be only about a 3 hour drive from KC or St. Louis. There are lots of lakes and outdoor recreation to keep you entertained-you may want to invest in a boat, a 4-wheeler and a mud truck before moving here! It's a different way of life, but not too bad once you get used to it.

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I feel pretty strongly about my tattoos and I work at a facility that does not allow visible body art. I have a pair of Ink Armor sleeves that work extremely well and keep me from having to wear a long sleeve sweatshirt under my scrubs. Here's the link: Cover Tattoo | Tattoo Cover Up | Tattoo Cover | Free Shipping U.S - TAT2X I would also like to say that the policy can vary quite a bit from place to place and just because you'll be in the Ozarks doesn't automatically meany they won't allow you to show your ink. In my experience I have found that the larger facilities tend to be more conservative while smaller clinics seem more flexible. Good luck with your move. I have spent time in Southern MO and I can tell you that it is beautiful...yes, it is definitely more conservative than Seattle.

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Hello everyoneprobably a weird question, but here it is......I have only been an LPN for a few years now, and have only had one job and it's herein Seattle. I commute in to work, my husband is military and he is most likely going to get stationed in southern Missouri at Ft LeonardWood. I have extensive tattoos including full sleeves, nothing visible with a long sleeve shirt on under my scrubs. Where I work at completely does not care if they show at work. From what I have been reading about southern Missouri, the area is known as the Ozarks and has a reputation for being very old fashioned and part of the Bible Belt.does anyone have any knowledge of working down there and having tattoos? For that matter, did I just get lucky to have my only job as a nurse not care about my tattoos showing? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! I am not looking forward to moving somewhere so hot and humid in the first place, much less having to wear long sleeves :-(

I just moved from Fort Leonard Wood this past May. I'm in Springfield now working at the hospital here. If you are on post at the hospital there it doesn't surprise me that they don't care about your tatts. Most of the hospitals here don't care either. I think they are so short of nurses that you could have a tattoo between your eyes and still be ok. LOL Welcome to my neck of the woods!

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Born and raised Missouri girl here - I actually used to work at PRMC in Rolla before my husband and I moved out of state! FABULOUS and very professional hospital for such a rural area. Some of my pts actually preferred it over the hospitals in St. Louis. I loved it! Great people, and I was sad to leave. But yeah. No tats, no freaky hair colors allowed. They were trying to achieve magnet status when I was there (several years ago) so I don't know if they hire LPN's anymore. All nurses wear the same scrub colors hospital-wide, so that your patient knows you are a nurse walking into the room, not a housekeeper or tech. I loved the navy...I have to wear all white at the hospital I'm in now.

As for the conservative/hillbilly aspect...Rolla is home of the University of Missouri-Rolla, which has one of the top-rated engineering programs in the country. Lots of PhD's floating around that town, tweed jackets and and all. :)

Rolla is a great area if you like to do things outside - lots of hiking, biking, running, rafting/floating. Hills and rivers galore. Good luck with your move!! I think you'll like the area. It's gorgeous!

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