Tattoo: can do, or taboo?

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Maxwell Edison

Maxwell Edison

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An accepted part of being a doctor is having an immaculate appearance reflecting honed professionalism. That's why we don't see any docs with facial peircings.

That said: for a long time, I have wanted to get a tattoo, but I have recently worried that it may be viewed as unprofessional. However, I don't actually plan on having it be easily viewed; it would be concealed if I were wearing, say, scrubs. Do you think people would have a problem with this (that is, having a tat, even if it is one that is not visible during work hours)?

Of particular intrest to me are people who are already inked up and in a MD program. Other input is welcomed, but I'm hoping to hear from my target demographic.

Incidentally, it would go on my arm. So that answers that.
 
If Jack Shephard can do it, so can you.

Maxwell Edison said:
An accepted part of being a doctor is having an immaculate appearance reflecting honed professionalism. That's why we don't see any docs with facial peircings.

That said: for a long time, I have wanted to get a tattoo, but I have recently worried that it may be viewed as unprofessional. However, I don't actually plan on having it be easily viewed; it would be concealed if I were wearing, say, scrubs. Do you think people would have a problem with this (that is, having a tat, even if it is one that is not visible during work hours)?

Of particular intrest to me are people who are already inked up and in a MD program. Other input is welcomed, but I'm hoping to hear from my target demographic.

Incidentally, it would go on my arm. So that answers that.
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I have 3 tat's, none are visible when Im wearing a short sleeve shirt though... I have seen doctors in ER's with tattoos, so if you really want to get one i dont think its that big of a deal. Just make sure that you think ahead 10 years and that you won't regret it. I got all mine done related to martial arts since i took classes for 8 years and now im in the market to get them removed 👍
 
Lol, I'd say don't do it. But if you must, you must...
 
If The Todd can rock em, you can rock em

On a serious note, if its not incredibly offensive or on your face (or some other wierd place), I wouldn't worry about it
 
I just got my first tattoo a few weeks ago. I also noticed some other people with visible tattoos at my orientation last weekend. I don't think it's "taboo" or anything, but I'd say make sure it's something you really want and that you won't regret it later on in life. Mine is somewhat small and sort of in the middle of my back (not shoulders) so it's very easily concealable, which is something that was important to me even before I decided I wanted to go into medicine.

The best advice I can give though is not to let anyone else influence your decision. That being said, I'm going to stop writing 🙂
 
Maxwell Edison said:
An accepted part of being a doctor is having an immaculate appearance reflecting honed professionalism. That's why we don't see any docs with facial peircings.

That said: for a long time, I have wanted to get a tattoo, but I have recently worried that it may be viewed as unprofessional. However, I don't actually plan on having it be easily viewed; it would be concealed if I were wearing, say, scrubs. Do you think people would have a problem with this (that is, having a tat, even if it is one that is not visible during work hours)?

Of particular intrest to me are people who are already inked up and in a MD program. Other input is welcomed, but I'm hoping to hear from my target demographic.

Incidentally, it would go on my arm. So that answers that.
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If it's not observable when you are wearing scrubs you are fine. Generally, ink and piercings hidden by clothing are your own business. Certain patients and older clinicians tend to be of a different generation and have their own notions about the professionalism/competence of folks with visible tattoos so if you haven't already got one it's generally a good idea to keep them hidden if you get them. A "Mike Tyson" is always a bad move in this field.
 
Yeah, just get it somewhere only your special friends will see it. I have one on my quad. Unfortunately, even some not-so-special friends have seen it. kidding....sort of. No, it shouldn't be a problem as long as it isn't a tarantula crawling around your neck with a speach bubble that says "Trust me I'm a doctor....I'll kill you". Otherwise, you're fine.
 
scholj said:
The best advice I can give though is not to let anyone else influence your decision. That being said, I'm going to stop writing 🙂
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That's bad advice because whether or not the OP chooses let other people influence his decision, the opinions of other people on this matter will still affect his life. The obvious example, the OP goes on an interview, an interviewer sees it, he gets rejected from the program. The opinions of other people can and do affect your life, ignore them at your own peril.
 
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Well my PI just got a large (3inch in diameter) on the inside of his arm. It is pretty hideous for my taste... anyway, it was the talk of the lab and pretty controversial. Nevertheless, he got away with it because he is already established. He also has a snake on his butt but its not very visible I only saw it when he bent over one time. Bottom line, dont have visible tattoos because they do affect what people think of you which i think is important in medicine. But if you really want to, wait until you are established in your position.👍
 
sgglaze said:
That's bad advice because whether or not the OP chooses let other people influence his decision, the opinions of other people on this matter will still affect his life. The obvious example, the OP goes on an interview, an interviewer sees it, he gets rejected from the program. The opinions of other people can and do affect your life, ignore them at your own peril.
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Unless he's getting a facial tattoo or something on his hands, I don't think an interviewer would be able to readily see whatever he's got. If he's unsure about getting the tattoo to the point where he needs to post in a forum to come to the final conclusion, I would say hold off, wait until he's absolutely sure. And as far as taking other people's opinions goes, he could go to a tattoo parlor and get the exact opposite response as he's getting here. So who should he listen to? Body art is a very personal thing and he should determine what's right for him.
 
scholj said:
Body art is a very personal thing and he should determine what's right for him.
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Medicine is actually a fairly conservative profession and for the next decade or so what people think of you is going to make a big difference in your career. People do judge books by their cover, fair or not. Best to keep personal things personal (ie hidden). When you are older and established you can do what you want.
 
Thanks for everyone's advice, it's been good. I just wanted to clarify something here, though: I do want to get inked, regardless of what you individual responses were. That said, if I had heard unanimously that a tattoo was a death blow, I would not have done it because I want to be a doctor more than I want to pay $100-200 for body art.

As tattoos are evidently not bad (unless of course they are evident), I'm probably going to go under the needle some time this summer.

Again, thanks for your help(s).
 
Maxwell Edison said:
Thanks for everyone's advice, it's been good. I just wanted to clarify something here, though: I do want to get inked, regardless of what you individual responses were. That said, if I had heard unanimously that a tattoo was a death blow, I would not have done it because I want to be a doctor more than I want to pay $100-200 for body art.

As tattoos are evidently not bad (unless of course they are evident), I'm probably going to go under the needle some time this summer.

Again, thanks for your help(s).
Click to expand...

Chillax -

it's no big deal. People have worse than tatoos (including me).

jd
 
it may not be unprofessional, but it will make you look like a tool.






😉
 
i have several tattoos...but they're not visible until i want them to be. i've got a tiny little N on my inside left wrist (it's my daughter's first initial), and even that's easily covered by a wristwatch.

i also have 3 facial piercings that i can easily remove for as long as i need to. you can mod the crap out of yourself as long as you can look professional when said mods are not appropriate.
 
Maxwell Edison said:
Thanks for everyone's advice, it's been good. I just wanted to clarify something here, though: I do want to get inked, regardless of what you individual responses were. That said, if I had heard unanimously that a tattoo was a death blow, I would not have done it because I want to be a doctor more than I want to pay $100-200 for body art.

As tattoos are evidently not bad (unless of course they are evident), I'm probably going to go under the needle some time this summer.

Again, thanks for your help(s).
Click to expand...

also, helpful hint: buy stock in Noxeema deep cleanser. it feels sooooo nice on fresh ink.
 
are you interviewing this coming year or are you already accepted? if you can wait just till you finish interviewing, THEN get it, that might be a sound way to go..

i didn't want a tattoo.. but i had the same question about dying a strand of my brown hair electric blue. it's something i'd wanted to do since college, but then i went to law school where that would definitely not have flown, and then started working.. now i'm going to med school, and since rotations aren't for a couple years, i was thinking this would be a good time to go for it. but i don't know, maybe professors will object...
 
I have some unorthodox ear piercings and nobody has said a word. Visible all the time.

Also, there are at least 5 people in my class with tattoos, none of which are visible with a t-shirt and shorts on.
 
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i have a t-shirt length sleeve that goes up to my shoulder on both sides. its traditional japanese ink (done traditionally with tap needle). it has my family crest, one on each shoulder (i am japanese). it's REALLY noticeable if i take off my shirt, but few people even know i have it.

my PI actually saw the bottom of it for the first time in a year and made me show it to him. he thought it was sooooo cool. especially after i explained what it represented.
 
If other people can't see it, then why are you worried about their opinions of it. They won't know you have it (unless you announce it to them), so they wouldn't be judging you on it. Also, I know plenty of docs that have them. If it's going to be visible to only you, you've got to make your own decision.
 
I have two tattoos. I was given a tour at a med school by a student with a tongue piercing. (Seriously)

Tattoos and piercings are mainstream now. I am not just saying this. If I was more industrious and it wasn't 2 a.m., I would find and link to a study I read about not using tattoos and piercings as screening factors for a psych consult in the ER because they are so common and mainstream. The article gave % of prevalence for certain age groups, and it is higher than you think.

Get one if you want one. They last for life, or until you get an expensive laser procedure to get them removed. If what other people may think of you makes you doubt if you should get one, maybe it's not for you.

2tattoos.jpg
 
Hey there,
I just graduated from and MD/PhD program. During my many years there, I got a tattoo and dyed my hair orange and blonde (I normally have black hair). I've shaved my head bald and now have long hair. I'm happy to say it NEVER gave me any problems in med or grad school, just envy from fellow students that I was gutsy. I did make sure I didn't stray too far from the norm for residency interviews (cut my hair, natural color, covered my tattoo) and am happy to say I matched at my first choice in peds. Now that I'm in, I plan on getting a few more tattoos as an intern.

So long that it isn't offensive and/or you can cover it up in the professional setting, you can freely wear body art as a med student, resident or physician. Just use common sense. Everyone knows it's becoming increasingly popular, and it seems that medical professionals are becoming more accepting.
 
Shpamme said:
are you interviewing this coming year or are you already accepted? if you can wait just till you finish interviewing, THEN get it, that might be a sound way to go..

i didn't want a tattoo.. but i had the same question about dying a strand of my brown hair electric blue. it's something i'd wanted to do since college, but then i went to law school where that would definitely not have flown, and then started working.. now i'm going to med school, and since rotations aren't for a couple years, i was thinking this would be a good time to go for it. but i don't know, maybe professors will object...
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From what I've personally observed, med schools are more conservative than law school, so what won't fly in law for sure won't fly in medicine. The interview is NOT the crucial hurdle of visible tattoos/colored hair/piercings etc. Your time to impress doesn't end after the interviews, it actually begins. The crucial concern is the older attending who might get annoyed with you in the wards (maybe send you home to change into something that covers it up), or the older patient who may complain about you. I've heard of both these things happening to students and it doesn't tend to look good. At most schools the goal now is to give students more clinical exposure in the first two years and so you will be going to the hospital to take histories and perform physical examinations in the first two years. So you are going to need to look the part well before rotations.
 
chhsu said:
Everyone knows it's becoming increasingly popular, and it seems that medical professionals are becoming more accepting.
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Your geriatric patient or older attending is not necessarilly going to be hip with the current trends. What "everyone" in their 20s may know isn't particularly relevant.

Unless you can keep it covered, it can come back to haunt you.
 
Don't get a tatoo or anything else permanent anywhere where people can see it. And yes, I do realize that having something that you can't see unless you're at the pool sort of defeats the purpose. Medicine is the exact opposite of a "do what you want" field. I don't have anything against tats at all. But you better believe some of your patients and some of the people in charge of you will have a problem with them. Medical training is hard enough without people judging you all the time...
 
Law2Doc said:
Your geriatric patient or older attending is not necessarilly going to be hip with the current trends. What "everyone" in their 20s may know isn't particularly relevant.

Unless you can keep it covered, it can come back to haunt you.
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I've never had a problem with it and don't plan on changing now. I've actually been offered a fast track position during residency regardless of my appearance. My CV spoke much louder than my appearance. During my away rotations, attending didn't give me any problems. In fact, I was offered residency positions at my 2 away electives. I don't believe physicians are as shallow as you think. They want good candidates and faculty for their programs and they know it's not defined by how you look. If any program didn't accept you because of your appearance, you wouldn't want to go there anyway.
 
chhsu said:
If any program didn't accept you because of your appearance, you wouldn't want to go there anyway.
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I'm not sure most people would want to limit their career options for the sake of some ink. It only takes rubbing one person wrong to hurt you -- I'm not sure that taints the whole program. You may have been lucky in not coming across some of the dinosaurs I'm referring to, but be sure they are out there. You pick your battles and IMHO this is not one worth crashing and burning over.
 
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Law2Doc said:
You pick your battles and IMHO this is not one worth crashing and burning over.
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Exactly; I've got enough things to crash and burn about without the aid of a visible tattoo 🙂


In the middle of this discussion I forgot about a friend of mine who goes to a local MD school who has her hair dyed a grape-juice shade of purple. It seems like once you're in, you can't be kicked out (although they may lay some pressure during rounds years) just on the basis of looking funky. Now after school is done...well, that's a different story.
 
when i volunteered in canada (french translator) i spent a lot of time with the kids...i dyed my hair pink and purple and blue a lot, the kids loved it and the staff knew the kids would always talk to the short girl with the funny hair.
 
Maxwell Edison said:
In the middle of this discussion I forgot about a friend of mine who goes to a local MD school who has her hair dyed a grape-juice shade of purple. It seems like once you're in, you can't be kicked out (although they may lay some pressure during rounds years) just on the basis of looking funky. Now after school is done...well, that's a different story.
Click to expand...

I agree - you can't be kicked out, but most people have greater career aspirations than just not being kicked out. You depend on good evaluations/recommendations to get to where you want to go. Never underestimate the power of good word of mouth, or your ability to rub someone the wrong way. Maximize the former and minimize the latter.
 
a word on the tattoos. if you are so inclined, choose you placement wisely. doing the very popular neck tattoos or full sleeve tattoos, probably not wise in a generally conservative field such as medicine. some hospitals also have some regulation on tattoos as well.

as a general rule, if you can see them when you are wearing scrubs, they are probably ok. i think that in the coming years it will become more acceptable as is already has become more acceptable recently. but i would still stay away from the in your face tattoos (mike tyson, chuck liddell, or any gang signs, or high neck tattoos).

i have several (half sleeve, upper back, and wrist). all have special meaning to me. the most significant is the one that is routinely seen (my wrist) it is a memorial tat for my son, no one has ever had an issue with that one.
 
Another important consideration is placement of the tattoo on your body in a location where you won't tire of it (so that you won't be tempted to blow money on removing it). You could choose a location on your arm that is covered by shirt sleeves and requires your turning your neck or a mirror to see it.
 
I know a doc who has flames all the way up both arms, in addition to multiple ear piercings. You can't see the tats with full sleeve dress shirt and white coat, but they are certainly all out there in scrubs. It surprised me at first because in a field like ob/gyn I wondered how his patients would take it (women can be especially picky about who they strip naked for). But he's an awesome doc and his patients absolutely love him, so he gets away with it without any complaints. Of course he is already an established physician and has no superiors to boss him around anyway. He jokes that he likes to yell out "Come on baby, jump into the fire!" when delivering, which always gets a few laughs. That being said, be careful as a student because we won't have it that laid back and will have lots of people judging us. Get something that can be covered in professional attire, and if you want to be extra safe coverable in scrubs too. I've considered getting one, and if I do it'll be something on the upper arm, under short sleeve just in case.
 
I'm getting one on my ankle so It wont be visible unless its summer time. Im glad someone made this thread I was curious myself.
 
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I would be careful when choosing a tattoo size and placement for your arm. Scrub sleeves are a lot shorter than on most shirts, so you will want to actually try one on before you decide what will be visible and what will not.

Edit: Re: GuitarHero1 No, you won't be allowed to wear anything under your scrubs (undershirts, etc) while scrubbed in for surgery (at least that's the way it is here, I assume it's the same everywhere). On an EM, etc rotation it won't matter so much.
 
A doctor in the ED where I work has a gnarly tattoo on his arm (dragon that goes all the way down to his palm). If that works for him, you should be okay. He's like 33.
 
Dakota said:
I would be careful when choosing a tattoo size and placement for your arm. Scrub sleeves are a lot shorter than on most shirts, so you will want to actually try one on before you decide what will be visible and what will not.
Click to expand...

Can you wear tshirts or long sleeve t's under the scrubs that will cover a tattoo? A nurse in the hospital I volunteered for always were a long sleeve t under her scrubs so I was wondering if that's possible.
 
After I found out I was accepted, I went out and got my fifth tattoo inked, and my first visible one. While I think there is merit to previous posters that say visible tattoos may hinder your career aspirations, I think personality, humility and strong work ethics can help you to overcome any initial bad vibes from patients/attendings. Of course, I'm just a first year, so I can't say much for concrete info. I say go for it.

Oh, and behold Asclepius, god of medicine!

l_a2d0ed6dc21713b8bae128e71b31730b.jpg


(oh, and that's the back of my right arm)
 
i probably won't take the tatoo route until after i interview, and even then would not get a visible one.

i don't have any facial peircings but i do have some unconvential ear peircings, i suppose. my tragus is pierced and i am likely getting the rook done sometime soon. would you recommend that i take these out for interviews?
 
Maxwell Edison said:
An accepted part of being a doctor is having an immaculate appearance reflecting honed professionalism. That's why we don't see any docs with facial peircings.

That said: for a long time, I have wanted to get a tattoo, but I have recently worried that it may be viewed as unprofessional. However, I don't actually plan on having it be easily viewed; it would be concealed if I were wearing, say, scrubs. Do you think people would have a problem with this (that is, having a tat, even if it is one that is not visible during work hours)?

Of particular intrest to me are people who are already inked up and in a MD program. Other input is welcomed, but I'm hoping to hear from my target demographic.

Incidentally, it would go on my arm. So that answers that.
Click to expand...

i dont see why it would be a problem unless it were very easily visible. Like a tear drop on your eye or something of that nature. I wouldnt have it where you could see it with a short sleeve shirt or shorts.
 
Timmythemic22 said:
After I found out I was accepted, I went out and got my fifth tattoo inked, and my first visible one. While I think there is merit to previous posters that say visible tattoos may hinder your career aspirations, I think personality, humility and strong work ethics can help you to overcome any initial bad vibes from patients/attendings. Of course, I'm just a first year, so I can't say much for concrete info. I say go for it.

Oh, and behold Asclepius, god of medicine!

l_a2d0ed6dc21713b8bae128e71b31730b.jpg


(oh, and that's the back of my right arm)
Click to expand...


👍 nice
 
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