I have visible tattoos. Will this effect me on clinical rotations/residency applications? Have attitudes towards tattoos changed?

[dielsalder34]

Hi everyone,

I am a med student and I have a tattoo on my forearm. I plan on concealing it with long sleeves as much as I can while on rotations. However, there are instances where this will be difficult/impossible. For example, the OR, OB, or other rotations where long sleeves may be considered unsanitary. Do you think I will run into any problems during rotations, or during the residency application process? I know in the past tattoos were generally frowned upon in medicine. Is that still the current attitude? Or has medicine become more accepting of tattoos?

Thank you.

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[IMG69]

There's no answer to this. Of course doctors will tell you no to your face but in reality who knows how they view things like tattoos. I guess the only real piece of advice would be to find a residency program where you can see residents with visible tattoos in their promo vids etc because then you have an answer for that programs views at least? Idk.

 

[odyssey2]

Your only problem will be beating back all the romantic attention you’ll get for looking so cool.
No one will give you a problem for it, you’ll be fine.

 

[Phloston]

Some people will not care. But, yes, it will rub some people the wrong way. Is that fair? Maybe not. But it's just the case.

 

[Gilakend]

I think it also depends on what the tattoo is. Your old unit patch from the war? Probably fine with most people. Giant anime girl? Maybe not.

 

[ciestar]

Some people will not care. But, yes, it will rub some people the wrong way. Is that fair? Maybe not. But it's just the case.

This. It depends on the person. Some people in medicine are super old school.

 

[Banco]

I think it also depends on what the tattoo is. Your old unit patch from the war? Probably fine with most people. Giant anime girl? Maybe not.

What if the unit patch is an anime girl

 

[Lem0nz]

What if the unit patch is an anime girl

Hot. 🔥

Serious answer to OP though is hide it in medical school and worry less in residency. It would be nigh impossible to fire you in residency so just hide it as best you can until you match.

It’s received very well in most surgical disciplines as far as I’ve seen. Had several residents with sleeves and they never caught flak.

 

[MICKY MANTLE]

Do not worry, this may have been a problem 30 years ago, but no longer. Sure, there will be some old-timers left in medicine that may frown upon it and have a personal bias toward tattoos, but doubt highly that it will negatively impact you in any way.

I also agree however, with the poster above who suggested covering it as best as you can, thus eliminating any doubt.

 

[OraclePL]

For the most part I wouldn't worry but there will be occasional old school docs who ding you for it. Also depends on the field you choose, in some fields tats are fairly common.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Probably depends. I have a lot of visible tattoos, and it hasn’t been any problem on my surgery rotation so far. But I’m also at a military hospital.

 

[MissRibeye]

Go to OHSU and you can have tats and crazy-colored hair no problem.

 

[confuzzled10]

I think it depends on the person. Overall, I don't think it would matter. Might even be a bonus if you go into EM. lol. Many of the EM residents at my school have visible tattoos.

 

[Saddleshoes]

In all things residency...
Try to fly under the radar, especially in the first few months.

 

[Redpancreas]

Hi everyone,

I am a med student and I have a tattoo on my forearm. I plan on concealing it with long sleeves as much as I can while on rotations. However, there are instances where this will be difficult/impossible. For example, the OR, OB, or other rotations where long sleeves may be considered unsanitary. Do you think I will run into any problems during rotations, or during the residency application process? I know in the past tattoos were generally frowned upon in medicine. Is that still the current attitude? Or has medicine become more accepting of tattoos?

Thank you.

There's no answer because everyone has their own opinion and no one knows the collective pulse of how the medical community feels about tattoos. I can say trend-wise it's probably gained more acceptance similar to beards, designer scrubs, etc. If it's small/inconspicuous you probably don't have to do anything about it. If we're talking Birdman/Chris Anderson style tattoos, then yes, there will be multiple people who probably turned off by it. It's also important to consider it's not only your colleagues' perspectives that matter, but your patients.

 

[dielsalder34]

There's no answer because everyone has their own opinion and no one knows the collective pulse of how the medical community feels about tattoos. I can say trend-wise it's probably gained more acceptance similar to beards, designer scrubs, etc. If it's small/inconspicuous you probably don't have to do anything about it. If we're talking Birdman/Chris Anderson style tattoos, then yes, there will be multiple people who probably turned off by it. It's also important to consider it's not only your colleagues' perspectives that matter, but your patients.

True. I do plan on keeping it covered around patients as much as possible.

 

[cjmurph14]

Recently accepted to Med School this Fall. Had some forearm tattoos prior to considering EM, but it'll work out if i pursue that route. Also loved shadowing NICU and couldn't cover up due to policy so who knows? Haven't had any major issues, found that patients were more interested than prejudicial during my patient care experiences. I lean on the side of covering or at least asking to cover. My tattoos are for myself anyway.

 

[deleted645092]

I have multiple visible tattoos. It’s never been an issue with patients or staff. I hid them when I started on rotations but stopped after the first week or so. Even had them showing on my sub-Is.

The only people who will judge you are other med students in your class and their opinions don’t matter.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

Some people will judge you poorly for them, some will judge you better for them. I think generally its a wash as long as its not a) offensive b) ridiculous amounts that can't be hidden (I think large face tattoos could be an issue). But even for a crotchety guy like me who doesn't like tattoos, its not going to effect how I interact with/grade students.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

I've had one attending make a somewhat rude comment about people with tattoos in general (mine is covered by clothing, so she didn't know i had one), but she was a judgey person about literally everything (I now know ALL the gossip about the old doctors in that city). On the flip side, I've made some connections with younger patients by complementing them on their visible tattoos - you'll meet a lot of tattooed patients these days, it can be a conversation starter (obviously don't be weird about it). I don't think I've had any noticeably tattooed attendings yet but i know lots of residents with them

 

[iceclimb12]

I have one visible also if in Scrubs. But between white coats, fleeces, and business casual it’s rarely visible. I would recommend generally keeping them covered in clinic/hospital when not scrubbing for surgery or doing a procedure or something, but really only so patients who have varying opinions about such things don’t make snap judgements about you.
On the other hand, I’ve never had a negative comment about it whenever it was visible. Closest thing to a negative comment was when I introduced myself to a faculty member on an audition rotation who I had contacted previously and the first thing he said was “Oh, you have a tattoo.” But it definitely didn’t seem to bother him at all.