Your honest opinion of tattoos/piercings for med student?

[LupaCupcake]

I have always been an "alternative" looking woman in some respects. I have multiple tattoos , facial piercings, and my earlobes are gauged to a zero (about the width of a woman's pinky). I recognize that I cannot broadcast my body art openly in professional situations. I hide my tattoos with clothing, I hide my stretched earlobes with flesh colored tunnels that make my earlobes look completely normal and I wear flesh colored retainers in my facial piercings.

I would like some honest advice regarding the facial piercings. I have 3 in total, my nostril, center lip and medusa (like a fake beauty mark above lip with very tiny diamond stud). I have no problem with my nostril because the retainer is completely hidden, even I can't spot it after I put makeup over it, but the medusa and lip concern me. If you look closely at my face, you can make out those retainers. I love body art and self expression, but medical school is more important to me than my jewelry.

Do you think if someone noticed these retainers that it may negatively impact my chances of acceptance? Do you think patients in the future may feel uncomfortable if they notice my retainers?

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[EngtoMedHopeful]

I know a surgeon with numerous tattoos on his forearms. I never really thought about how they might have any impact on his image as a doctor before. He's African American, and the tattoos are dark, though, so I suppose they stick out a lot less on him than they would on a Caucasian individual.

I could see how visible tats and piercings could make patients uncomfortable, particularly older patients, although I'll be honest that even I would feel a little weird with a heavily pierced and tatted doctor. I guess it's just due to my perception of what a physician looks like more than anything. Realistically speaking, the vast majority of doctors just aren't very "alternative" looking. I wouldn't refuse care from an excellent doctor because of it, though. It would just be kind of like, "Hm, well this is different" for a second.

I don't think I've ever seen someone with a flesh-colored plug in, so I can't say whether I think it could make people more or less comfortable.

To be on the safe side, I would think it would be best to at least try to figure out a way to completely conceal the plugs with makeup for interviewing purposes. You don't know what the interviewer's opinion on tats and piercings is, and you don't want anything trivial to skew their perception of you. Is it a bit unfair? In a way, but interviewers aren't immune to biases.

 

[Darth Doc]

Considering how anal everyone is about what they wear... must wear navy suit... I would think a conservative appearance could only help. Obviously you would still be yourself and your non-traditional look at life will help you stand out and be unique. Just my two cents.

 

[68PGunner]

Drop it like it's hot. Physician is a profession. Image is very important.

At the end of the day, medicine is still a profession that's very oriented toward customer satisfaction. What would your patient think when you come in with all your jewelries?

I met an oral surgeon with a small tattoo on his arm. However, it's a unit crest from his first deployment. Other than the small tattoo, that guy was clean cut.

 

[gyngyn]

We strongly advise students to avoid visible body/facial art until after they have matched. That irreversible first impression can not be removed from the mind of even the most forward-thinking program director or senior faculty.

 

[LupaCupcake]

I do want to say, I would never be speaking with a PT or going to an interview with my piercings just "hanging out". I wear my retainers 24 hours a day during the week and I don't pop any jewelry back in till Friday evening.

Someone has to be close to me in order to spot my retainers, about arms length distance and even then they usually never notice, BUT.....a chance does exist that they will notice something "odd" in my face lol. That means I am risking someone noticing it and that is not worth it. It is just jewelry. I just took my retainers out. Facial piercings close rather fast My tattoos are easily hidden due to location (leg, upper back, upper arm). My earlobes are hidden, no one has ever realized that I had gauged lobes unless I told them. I even fooled people with gauged lobes hehe.

So, that is done...retainers are out of face to let the holes close over.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Personally? Wouldn't give a rat's ass. Professionally? Wouldn't hire you no matter how competent. Unfortunately, image is part of the real world, and it costs money to fail at it.

 

[LupaCupcake]

I look at it like this, if someone said "I didn't get hired because I was wearing dangling earrings in my ears. I knew the policy stated they were not permitted, but I thought they were so pretty I had to wear them"! I would look at that person and think they had a problem with priorities.

So the two piercings in question are gone. No biggie. I understand how important image is and even if I don't always agree, I will comply with image standards. Change can be good anyways

 

[QofQuimica]

Personally? Wouldn't give a rat's ass. Professionally? Wouldn't hire you no matter how competent. Unfortunately, image is part of the real world, and it costs money to fail at it.

This.

You did the right thing, Lupa. Totally ok for the hospital transport guy, the x-ray technologist, the phlebotomist, and maybe even the ER nurse to sport as many tats or piercings as they want. Not ok for you. In general, you are going to be judged against your peers, and once you are in medicine, your peers are not a bunch of people with tats and facial piercings. I can't think of too many professions that more highly value conformity and conservatism than medicine, and for good reason. Because never mind how patients perceive body art; you really don't want to be the one out there doing something different than the rest of your colleagues are when it comes to patient care.

(I say all of this with the caveat that body art done for religious/cultural purposes, including nose piercing, henna, etc. may be acceptable in many contexts, even for physicians.)

 

[Law2Doc]

We strongly advise students to avoid visible body/facial art until after they have matched. That irreversible first impression can not be removed from the mind of even the most forward-thinking program director or senior faculty.

It never really ends, though, and you do them a disservice suggesting that "after match" they are home free -- in fact the stakes increase. As a student you need to avoid it until you match, but then once you match you need to avoid it evn more until you land your fellowship, and then entry level job, and so on. Eventually when you are senior partner of a practice somewhere with a well established patient base and reputation you can probably do whatever you want, but by then how many sixty year olds think they look cool with facial piercings and tats.

Like it or not, even though a lot of us are pretty liberal minded, we shouldn't pretend that medicine isn't a very conservative, very patient service driven field. There's lots of real estate that gets covered up by scrubs if you still really need to express yourself.

 

[gyngyn]

It never really ends, though, and you do them a disservice suggesting that "after match" they are home free -- in fact the stakes increase. As a student you need to avoid it until you match, but then once you match you need to avoid it evn more until you land your fellowship, and then entry level job, and so on. Eventually when you are senior partner of a practice somewhere with a well established patient base and reputation you can probably do whatever you want, but by then how many sixty year olds think they look cool with facial piercings and tats.

Like it or not, even though a lot of us are pretty liberal minded, we shouldn't pretend that medicine isn't a very conservative, very patient service driven field. There's lots of real estate that gets covered up by scrubs if you still really need to express yourself.

I am hoping (expecting!) that if they put it off until the match, they will have the opportunity to learn this for themselves.

 

[LupaCupcake]

I agree with the above statements. It is not exactly a career field where one can just toss aside standards of uniformity and overall aesthetics. I was always mindful when I got tattoos that they needed to be easily concealed by normal clothing and that is exactly why I do not have any tattoos on my forearms. I don't like the idea of wearing long sleeve shirts everyday at work lol. I don't need to show the world my tattoos to love them, it will be my secret other side that only friends and family are aware of.......and ppl that browse nontrad on SDN.

The piercing holes are already partially closed.

 

[Quizlet04]

How big were your holes gauged? How are you avoiding the dreaded post-stretch cat butt ears? That is a thing.

 

[LupaCupcake]

My holes ARE still gauged. My ears are not an issue. I have flesh colored plastic retainers that match my skintone on my ears perfectly, it looks like I don't have them pierced at all. I can also put normal earrings into them. Those are staying because no one can spot them. They are zero gauge and Im keeping them for life. My ear gauges and my tattoos are not going anywhere, just the facial piercings which are closed at this point and I really don't miss them that much. A zero gauge is not huge like some people get, it is approximately the width of my pinky finger which I can slip through easily. If I had huge gauges it might show, but a zero is just the right size to hide

On a side note I got myself new plugs recently for my ears, they have a fish on them...lol. I love aquariums, I have multiple aquariums in my house and it is a passion of mine. A hobby that really relaxes me, I have even gotten some of my fish to trust me to the point that I will hold the food in my fingers and they just eat it out of my fingers and nip at my fingers a little. *grin* Its cute in a fishy sort of way ^^ sorry, had to add that in