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[deleted1064759]

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[GoSpursGo]

...K? Were you looking for our permission, or reassurance that this is fine, or a general comment for recommendations?

Of the ones you described, I might suggest avoiding gun/dagger/weapon, because violent items especially guns might make some people feel some kind of way. But you do you. You're clearly aware of the relatively conservative nature of medicine when it comes to these sorts of things, so you can make your own decisions.

 

[deleted1079620]

I'm planning on getting some ink that might be hard to cover up (on hand). It might be a bird, skull, snake, dagger, gun, weapon, etc. Might be one of those or not one of those -- don't want to be too specific.

I know tattoos are probably fine, and I don't care what others think unless it significantly impacts me professionally.

I’m curious what kind of birds would be offensive?

 

[Gilakend]

It will 100% impact you, speaking from the experiences of my friends with visible tats. Will it impact you significantly? Probably not? But it's impossible to say.

Best just to wait until you're an attending or even resident and then get whatever you want.

 

[Gambino.]

Tattoos won't always hurt you but they can't help you (typically). I went for stuff that was easily covered and personally would avoid anything below the wrist full stop, especially during school.

Art is subjective but you'd be hard pressed to try and find people that wouldn't at least question your life choices by getting a tattoo of a gun on your hand of all places. I wouldn't be surprised if certain hospitals have policies regarding offensive/vulgar tattoos so read up on those.

Going beyond just grumpy oldschool attendings, you also have to worry about how you present yourself to your future patients and if you're okay with the negative perception tattoos can bring.

 

[xffan624]

I’m curious what kind of birds would be offensive?

Nazi eagle? Nazi Eagle | Hate Symbols Database | ADL

 

[deleted1079620]

Nazi eagle? Nazi Eagle | Hate Symbols Database | ADL

Yeah, I didn’t think about that one.

 

[Gilakend]

Not going to wait that long. Life's too short. Going to do it now, just need to be strategic.

As long as you can at least temporarily cover it up it should be fine if you are hell-bent on not waiting a couple years. But please don't get a knife or gun on your hand that you can't cover up until after old geezers and stickler professionals don't control part of your future.

 

[mrbreakfast]

Many hospitals - including the one at which I work - have tattoo policies.

If you get a skull, gun, knife, etc, on your hand, you can reasonably expect your hospital to require you to wear gloves the entire time you're at work.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Do you have other tattoos or are you going straight to the hand? Because I really would not do that

Put it somewhere you can cover with scrubs. I have a very mildly edgy tattoo on my arm but it’s mostly covered by scrubs and definitely covered by the patagucci. Only comments so far have been complements though

(I’ve also thought a lot about hand tattoos because it’s actually a cultural practice of my ancestors, that’s having a bit of a cool revival right now - but I think hand tattoos in medicine are still less accepted than other tattoos and probably not worth it when you can put the tattoos in more acceptable places. There’s a reason hand tattoos are called Job Stoppers)

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

I’m curious what kind of birds would be offensive?

Given their user name, I'm thinking

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Why not just get it on the bicep or something

 

[Gambino.]

Can't hide the gains buddy boy

Can I just swing these to cover it if necessary?
View attachment 357427

The only thing I can think of is the OR for rotations, but my city is definitely pro-tattoos so I'm not worried. I imagine after someone match, it'll be hard to justify firing him over a tat you can easily cover up in the clinic.

Sounds like you've already made up your mind before even posting this.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Can't hide the gains buddy boy

Can I just swing these to cover it if necessary?
View attachment 357427

The only thing I can think of is the OR for rotations, but my city is definitely pro-tattoos so I'm not worried. I imagine after someone match, it'll be hard to justify firing him over a tat you can easily cover up in the clinic.

Your friends at infection control will cry about your lack of hand hygiene

 

[RangerBob]

You'd be wrong about it being hard to justify firing over a tattoo. It comes down to "professionalism." If a patient complains, or an attending is extremely conservative, then it'll keep you in their sights and pick up on all the little things, and things can just snowball from there. I'm just being honest--if I had a resident with a knife tattoo on his hand, I'm going to keep a closer eye on them because frankly I'm going to question their judgement. ER resident with tasteful/non-violent sleeve? Totally fine. Skulls/guns/knifes on the hand (not really a common site for tattoos for professionals)? All sorts of red alerts.

If you wear one of those sleeves people will ask you all the time why you're wearing them. And you also can't disinfect them between patients, so you can really only use them when sitting at a computer. Realistically, exam gloves are your only option with patients (and surgical gloves in the OR), which means there will be some exposure.

Just my two cents. If you really want a tattoo, it should be easily covered with normal professional dress. Tasteful sleeves in scrubs are more accepted now. But weapons or anything suggestive of death/violence on your hand just sounds like a bad idea in my opinion. If your mind is as set as it sounds, I'd urge you to go with a tattoo that most people won't find offensive.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

On the other hand (no pun intended), is there really an issue with wearing a latex glove all day long? I'd only need one on so I can still check my phone with my other hand.

Can just swap it out every hour or so.

Residency interviews? Unless you wore like mittens or something which would probably still be weird

 

[wholeheartedly]

On the other hand (no pun intended), is there really an issue with wearing a latex glove all day long? I'd only need one on so I can still check my phone with my other hand.

Can just swap it out every hour or so.

Yes, it’s really an issue. you need to wash your hands/ change gloves after every patient interaction. That’s s why hand sanitizer is outside every room most places. Gloves can have tiny micro tears so you can’t skip hand hygiene between patients.

It’s very easy to spread bugs between patients if you don’t do this and it will be noticed by infection control. This is monitored closely per regulatory requirements and poor compliance rates can cost the hospital. hand hygiene compliance reports go to leadership, and in some cases external patient safety sites like leapfrog which rate hospitals on it.


Def. put it somewhere else.

I’m very pro tattoo but even I would raise an eyebrow at a gun tattoom esp. on the hand unless it had some sort of military service significance.

You also want to be careful you aren’t accidentally copying something that’s going to have gang significance or appear to others, esp patients, that it has gang significance.

 

[LunaOri]

If you are determined to get a hand tattoo, I’d suggest sticking with something less aggressive. A wristlet of little brightly colored skulls, or an abstract pattern, would be more acceptable than gun/knife. And be aware that single-color blue-black art will be mistaken for prison tattoos by a lot of people, and that can definitely be a problem. You really don’t want patients to think you are a former felon.

 

[percyeye]

Whether you think you are or not you are trying to signal something to the public by not only having a tattoo on your hand but of something possibly offensive none the less. No different if you were wanting to put a tattoo of a gun on your neck. It reeks of bad judgement and I'm sure you don't' want to wear a damn glove for the next 30 years of your life as you will spend most of your waking hours at work as a Physician.

But that is your right and at the same time you will have people judging you whether you like it or not. If I had to have my child treated by a Physician with a tattoo showing a gun/knife etc I'd probably pass and prefer another. No different than if an Investment Banker or someone was giving me a pitch and they had some stupid tattoo on their face or neck I'd for sure have second thoughts whether they were good at their job or not.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Life is full of choices. Make good ones. Plenty of people will look negatively at visible tattoos in health professionals. Many won't. You do want people to take what you say seriously, dont you? Visable tatoos, even tasteful ones, may cause many to question your judgement. Are you hoping to serve all your patients, or just the ones that agree with you and your choices? Something to consider. I have seen hundreds, possibly thousands of great tattoos. I would however, have some doubts about my cardiac surgeon having a tribal tattoo on his/her face and neck.

Edit. Extreme example to make a point. Our local hospital has a no visable tatoo policy. I think the cost/benefit of visible tattoos for healthcare professionals in our society is too high at the moment. Good luck and best wishes.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Has anyone shared the obligatory tattoo location /stereotypical meaning pic yet?

 

[wholeheartedly]

 

[xffan624]

Just so we're on the same page, would something like this be "offensive"? Please don't quote the image.

Just my personal opinion but that tattoo seems like a terrible idea. I wouldn't be offended but I would judge you. I could imagine many patients being offended/terrified.

 

[Rapsidy]

Is this tattoo worth possibly not matching in residency over/getting kicked out of residency? If it is then get it and who cares what others think.

If it’s not worth that possibility then get what you want in a place that is easily hidden.

 

[SunBakedTrash]

Just pick a different career. Be a computer programmer or something. Image is everything in medicine.

 

[wholeheartedly]

I actually think wearing gloves during patient encounters seems like a good idea, regardless of tattoo or not. At my school we're not allowed to wear gloves with SPs, but can we wear them in the real world?

see annex A

Indications for glove use in health care - WHO Best Practices for Injections and Related Procedures Toolkit - NCBI Bookshelf

 

[wholeheartedly]

If I'm willing to be gloved with patients and wear full sleeves hiding the ink, I can't think of a reason HR would fire me over it. I know people on here and reddit are the typical hypersafe risk averse crowd, but I'm trying to be logical here.

For what it's worth, I am good at establishing rapport with patients. I get along well with grandmas and older people in general pretty well.

You can’t be continuously gloved. It’s not going to work.

It feels like you kinda just want to come on here and argue at this point.

In a perfect world, nobody would care. As is obvious, our world is far from perfect. We’re all advising you based on that reality.

That design looks like it would also work well on the deltoid area.

 

[RangerBob]

Definitely not trying to argue. As you've seen, I am considering all the responses. I don't argue with people on the internet since that is a waste of my time, this is a discussion.

When you say hard to be continuously gloved, can you be more specific? I just checked a couple of prominent hospital network policies and tattoo coverage is sufficient. I think it'll be fine if I'm not gloved for a few minutes here and there.

You have to change gloves each time you see a different patient. So it's very likely patients/staff/attendings will still see the tattoo when you're swapping globes. And it'll be really odd to show up gloved to residency interviews. (Putting on a cast and lying as alluded to previously would obviously be a really horrible way to start the interviews as well).

I think the tattoo example you show is on the "unprofessional" spectrum--because of the content and also because it's on your hands. You could be the best doctor in the country, but people are going to judge you in the first few seconds and having a skull hand tattoo will not work in your favor. People are likely to assume you're a gang member, have an abnormal obsession with death/darkness, or just have poor judgement. None of those are things you want someone wondering the first few seconds they meet you.

Personally, I would not see/send a family member to a physician (or any professional) with a tattoo like that on their hands. I wouldn't use a banker who dressed in shorts, Hawaiian shirt, unkempt hair, and used the word "dude" a lot either.

I can't imagine many specialties where that tattoo would be considered OK. If I were a residency program director and I saw that tattoo on someone's hand, they would have to really impress me (or I'd have to be really desperate) for me to rank them. Once again, because I would question their overall judgement. It's just a big red flag.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

Definitely not trying to argue. As you've seen, I am considering all the responses. I don't argue with people on the internet since that is a waste of my time, this is a discussion.

When you say hard to be continuously gloved, can you be more specific? I just checked a couple of prominent hospital network policies and tattoo coverage is sufficient. I think it'll be fine if I'm not gloved for a few minutes here and there.

Gloving up for every patient encounter is unusual and will get you noticed (not in a good way). You'll get asked why and if the answer is "I got a tattoo in med school that I was worried people would judge me for" there's a good chance people will question your overall judgement.

Having tattoos that some people will find troublesome that can't be easily covered with regular clothing will also get you noticed (sometimes good and sometimes bad).

That all being said, getting that won't guarantee you problems, but it will absolutely increase your risk of negative interactions with patients/staff/co-residents/attendings. I can't quantify that risk, but its definitely there.

Only you can decide if its worth it.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Definitely not trying to argue. As you've seen, I am considering all the responses. I don't argue with people on the internet since that is a waste of my time, this is a discussion.

When you say hard to be continuously gloved, can you be more specific? I just checked a couple of prominent hospital network policies and tattoo coverage is sufficient. I think it'll be fine if I'm not gloved for a few minutes here and there.

I‘ve made a post in here on hand hygiene requirements and gloves and posted the link to an article with a figure that lists when gloves are appropriate in clinical settings.

You wear gloves for certain situations with patients and put them on after hand hygiene before whatever you’re doing that requires gloves. After you’re done, you take off the gloves and do hand hygiene before moving onto the next thing.

You can’t wear gloves at computer stations, desks, around the rest of the hospital etc because no one knows if they’re clean or dirty when you’re wearing them all over the place and people will talk to you about it. There’s a good possibility you’ll forget yourself going around then coming into a patient room, you‘ll miss hand hygiene cuz the gloves, then go touch a patient‘s dressing with gloves that have been all over.

I was an infection preventionist/hospital epidemiologist for several years. One of my jobs was to watch for cross contamination situations and trust me, I’ve seen a lot of mixups when ppl try to wear gloves all the time. It’s not best practice and is monitored.

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

I'm planning on getting some ink that might be hard to cover up (on hand). It might be a bird, skull, snake, dagger, gun, weapon, etc. Might be one of those or not one of those -- don't want to be too specific.

I know tattoos are probably fine, and I don't care what others think unless it significantly impacts me professionally.

Not sure why you would get a gun or something like that on you lol. I mean make good judgement because ink is permanent. I have lots of tattoos but they are almost all coverable. I love tattoos, but in our society (especially professional careers) tattoos are still taboo. Just put yourself in an employers shoes and ask yourself "Would I hire this person if they had X tattood where everyone could see" because as an employee you represent the hospital/practice.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

OP, are you a med student? Resident? Pre med? Regardless. Any reusable glove or hand covering will be considered a fomite, meaning it can carry germs from patient to patient. I would be sure to have a plan for a hand covering that meets infection protocols and hospital/school tattoo policies before getting the ink. Tat removal is expensive. Part of me is with you, and says " Go for it", but that would not be good advice.🤟

 

[Goro]

Just so we're on the same page, would something like this be "offensive"? Please don't quote the image.

Are you trolling now? If not, it screams of bad judgement and a lack of professional behavior.

 

[Goro]

I love tattoos, but in our society (especially professional careers) tattoos are still taboo.

There was a time where tats were symbols of rebellion. Now they're a symbol of conformity.

Getting back to the OP, it's an odd hill to die. I don't think that people are being hyperconservative in this thread....there are real attendings posting responses. You know, people with actual jobs in Medicine. For many medical students, residency is their first job ever.

 

[operaman]

Yeah echoing the others that you’d be best off waiting until after training. Surely there’s other non inked parts of your body you can do until you’re far enough along that this can’t hurt you.

I’m not that old and something like the hand tattoo you posted would absolutely make me question your judgement. If you were my resident I would not trust you with my patients and would probably not give you much or any autonomy. Ever. That’s best case scenario assuming you’re actually good.

If you suck even a little bit then I’d be one of those attendings documenting every little slip up you make because I don’t want to wait for something terrible to happen before having a paper trail. And I’m relatively young! And I don’t really have any issue with tats in general. It’s simply the complete lack of judgement it displays.

Truth is if I saw it in interviews I would blackball you immediately and probably call my friends at your school and ask them wtf is up with this guy. As evidenced even in this thread, your judgement appears to be lacking.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

 

[LunaOri]

Just so we're on the same page, would something like this be "offensive"? Please don't quote the image.
View attachment 357438

Yes, this would frighten and disturb many patients, especially children and the elderly.

 

[LunaOri]

I think that particular tattoo would work just as well on your foot, where it would be easily covered.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

If the rational professional arguments in this thread aren’t working, also consider the fact that hand tattoos are notorious for healing badly and aging poorly. I doubt the fresh tattoo in that picture looks quite that crisp these days. You haven’t answered whether this is your first ink, but it kinda sounds like it might be. In which case also consider that starting hand tattoos without full sleeves or other visible ink looks frankly kinda stupid

Start high up on your arms and work your way down as you achieve more status/job security

(You’ll notice that lots of us responding in this thread have tattoos of our own so we’re not just being overly conservative!)

 

[cj_cregg]

Not trolling, already have a guy who's ready when I am.

Opera, that's a little harsh. You'd probably barely even notice what it was in passing. I'm also not interested in IM or primary care, where I think presentation matters the most. If it's relevant, I see myself doing my own thing in the future -- likely some sort of solo practice or group with equal partnership. Definitely in a position where I can do pretty much whatever I want and be my own boss.

All things to think about. I'm getting the full sleeve for sure, and starting lower on the arm, just seeing if the hand is feasible. I still don't see any reason I can't just cover it up with gloves. Wrap it up when I need to make an impression or wear the hand cover I posted earlier.

I'll preface this by saying that I have zero problems with tattoos generally and don't think twice when I see a colleague with a tattoo in any location. My big issue here is the content/the skull. Multiple physicians in this thread have explained to you why it's not practical to constantly cover your hands at work, and I agree with them. I would also imagine that constantly wearing one of those hand covers you posted (which frankly, looks weird, will be noticeable when you're shaking people's hands, and you can never wear while examining a patient) or an exam glove would raise questions of its own, and people will assume the worst...which honestly, is not far off from "I got a dumb offensive tattoo," though my mind would probably go to a swastika or something like that. During your clinical rotations and practice you will be examining people's babies, doing death pronouncements in front of family members, holding patients' hands as they are suffering, writing/drawing explanations for patients as they make difficult decisions about their care...do you really think doing all that with a skull or another symbol related to death or injury on your hand is a good look? You acknowledge in your title that you think the tattoo you're planning for is offensive to others - why do you feel a need to do something you know is likely to offend other people? Is it really worth whatever ego boost you get? There are plenty of tasteful hand/wrist tattoos out there if you really feel a need to express yourself in that particular way.

Is it going to get you fired? Probably not. Are people going to make judgments about your character and quality of care based on it, including patients, colleagues, potential employers, and supervisors? Yep. "Being your own boss" is not really a thing in medicine these days - unless you think you have the savvy to run a business and navigate the ins and outs of dozens of different insurance providers and federal, state, and local regulations without the help of a larger health system, not to mention being on call literally 24/7/365 in solo practice, it's very unlikely you'd own your own practice. Even if you did, you still need to make your patients comfortable and happy to be solvent.

edit-clarity

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

Not trolling, already have a guy who's ready when I am.

Opera, that's a little harsh. You'd probably barely even notice what it was in passing. I'm also not interested in IM or primary care, where I think presentation matters the most. If it's relevant, I see myself doing my own thing in the future -- likely some sort of solo practice or group with equal partnership. Definitely in a position where I can do pretty much whatever I want and be my own boss.

All things to think about. I'm getting the full sleeve for sure, and starting lower on the arm, just seeing if the hand is feasible. I still don't see any reason I can't just cover it up with gloves. Wrap it up when I need to make an impression or wear the hand cover I posted earlier.

Opera is an ENT...

 

[NotAProgDirector]

We have a "bare below the elbow" rule in the hospital for infection control. Wearing a sleeve, or non-disposable gloves would not be acceptable. If the tattoo was felt to be inappropriate, you would likely be required to cover it with a bandage of some sort. If it wasn't coverable, you would not be allowed to work.

I think you underestimate how miserable you will be wearing gloves all the time. It might not be just when you're "in seeing patients" -- you might be required to wear them constantly. You'll find that using a computer, etc, will all be a challenge. Not to mention the skin problems that can occur.

If anyone starts complaining that it makes them feel uncomfortable -- medical students, interns, faculty, nurses, secretaries -- it will instantly become an enormous problem. Unless you're going to try to argue this is a religious freedom issue, you don't have the right to wear anything / have any tattoo that you want at work.

If you're being serious about that pic, I have a huge problem with it. Honestly, I saw that pic and I assumed this was a troll thread -- that you're pulling everyone's leg here. Images of death -- whether they are skulls, guns, knives, etc -- will almost certainly cause a problem.

And if you think that it won't be a problem going forward, even in private practice, you're being naïve. You will be covering for your future partners on weekends, nights, etc. If they find your tattoo distasteful, they will simply pick someone else. Could you open your own private practice and do whatever you want? Sure, but that's not so easy (depending upon the field, location, etc).

A tasteful tattoo in a standard location that can be easily covered is no issue at all. In general, if you have to ask "is this tattoo OK?", the answer is that it isn't.

 

[Smurfette]

I'll be honest. While I don't care if someone has a tattoo, if I see it and it's something a bit controversial, I will have thoughts about it, even if I am polite and say nothing aloud. As will most people, by the way.
If I'm hiring a new partner, and they have some crazy visible hard-to-hide tattoo, it may give me pause on hiring them. The example given would give off a clear, "don't hire this guy" impression at your interview. And I am 99.9% sure my partners and managers would feel the same way. Patients would find it objectionable and complain as well. HR won't fire you, but getting hired may be difficult.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Well, I think I have said all I need to say. OP is pretty adamant about moving forward and enrolling in the school of life. I believe his tuition is going to be quite expensive.

 

[Babble Heap]

I'm heavily tattooed and completing training in a very competitive surgical sub-specialty. Some tattoos are visible, some are not. Some were placed before training in medicine, some during. I, like you, enjoy thematically challenging subject material, and have full, circumferential torso art that features just that. My entire anterior torso, for example, is one, gigantic skull. My compromise has been to keep all new ink hidden under my scrubs. I don't wear additional garments to cover anything, and I'm not secretive or shameful about my love of tattoo art. Changing in the locker room has, at times, elicited gasps, but those are private moments away from other professional duties.

I'm not going to wax philosophic about the complexity of body art in medicine, because ultimately it is your body, and your choice. I think it's important that you understand, however, that a tattoo like that on the dorsum of your hand will likely torpedo your career. I would just like to recommend that you put as much thought into getting the tattoo as you have getting to this point in your medical training.

 

[operaman]

Not trolling, already have a guy who's ready when I am.

Opera, that's a little harsh. You'd probably barely even notice what it was in passing. I'm also not interested in IM or primary care, where I think presentation matters the most. If it's relevant, I see myself doing my own thing in the future -- likely some sort of solo practice or group with equal partnership. Definitely in a position where I can do pretty much whatever I want and be my own boss.

All things to think about. I'm getting the full sleeve for sure, and starting lower on the arm, just seeing if the hand is feasible. I still don't see any reason I can't just cover it up with gloves. Wrap it up when I need to make an impression or wear the hand cover I posted earlier.

All I can offer is my unvarnished opinion, and I suspect many others share my feeling.

If you do ultimately go with the crazy hand tat, be sure to use the same username when you come back to post the inevitable “I was dismissed from my residency program for my tats” thread.

 

[LunaOri]

Forensic psych is the only field I can think of where this tattoo might not be a problem.

 

[TJRock]

Forensic psych is the only field I can think of where this tattoo might not be a problem.

How about pathology? Seems like it wouldn't bother anyone getting an autopsy!

 

[Browns99]

Not trolling, already have a guy who's ready when I am.

Opera, that's a little harsh. You'd probably barely even notice what it was in passing. I'm also not interested in IM or primary care, where I think presentation matters the most. If it's relevant, I see myself doing my own thing in the future -- likely some sort of solo practice or group with equal partnership. Definitely in a position where I can do pretty much whatever I want and be my own boss.

All things to think about. I'm getting the full sleeve for sure, and starting lower on the arm, just seeing if the hand is feasible. I still don't see any reason I can't just cover it up with gloves. Wrap it up when I need to make an impression or wear the hand cover I posted earlier.

I'm convinced you are NOT getting the tattoo you claim you are, just by your response " I'm getting the full sleeve for sure, and starting lower on the arm"..... seems like you just wanted to stir the pot with responses.

 

[misterwolf]

Let me introduce you all to Dr. Brosious who is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon!

 

[Gilakend]

Okay after seeing the pic of the tattoo I am 80% sure this is one of the most effective troll posts I've seen. Shockingly well done.