Tattoos in med school

Started by def1
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def1

def1

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Silly question but how are tattoos on medical students viewed? I have one on my forearm and I'm just wondering if I'll have to conceal it all through medical school. I'm sure 3rd and 4th year wont be a problem since I can easily cover my arms with my white coat but I'm wondering if it will be something that I should also cover up for preclinical years.
 
Visible tattoos are perfectly fine in med school. Just have it covered for interviews if you haven't interviewed yet.

EDIT: I see you've been accepted. I'll just leave that there for anyone else who is curious.
 
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I highly doubt it's a problem. Unless you have some crazy naked lady or curse word on your arm. I worked at one of the hospitals I'll be rotating at, and their policy allows tattoos for employees as long as the tattoos are tasteful (and I suppose not somewhere crazy). I'm assuming it's that way most places. I've got two on my feet myself and had to spend about $70 on airbrush foundation to cover them for my interview. Not worried about them for school though.
 
def1 said:
Silly question but how are tattoos on medical students viewed? I have one on my forearm and I'm just wondering if I'll have to conceal it all through medical school. I'm sure 3rd and 4th year wont be a problem since I can easily cover my arms with my white coat but I'm wondering if it will be something that I should also cover up for preclinical years.
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I know a guy in medical school (he's an M4) who basically is completely tatted in every possible place on his body that you could see if he didn't have long pants and a long-sleeved, collared shirt on. He's the top of his class.

I'm not sure if anyone at the medical school is aware of his tattoos, since he covers them for all rotations, but I don't think they really care as long as the patients don't see them. They're grooming him for his preferred specialty and have basically promised him a residency at their hospital, so if they know about the tattoos, they've obviously looked past them.
 
The respondents above have forgotten about scrubbing for operative procedures, bedside procedures and other activities, such as being in the trauma bay, where you won't be wearing your lab coat. A forearm tattoo would be visible in those situations. However, as others have noted, It is generally not a problem as long as you otherwise keep it covered and invisible to patients. Bear in mind that medicine, especially surgery, is conservative and that some older faculty members may have preconceived notions about students with visible tattoos.
 
Winged Scapula said:
The respondents above have forgotten about scrubbing for operative procedures, bedside procedures and other activities, such as being in the trauma bay, where you won't be wearing your lab coat. A forearm tattoo would be visible in those situations. However, as others have noted, It is generally not a problem as long as you otherwise keep it covered and invisible to patients. Bear in mind that medicine, especially surgery, is conservative and that some older faculty members may have preconceived notions about students with visible tattoos.
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You are correct, I didn't even think about this. My rule for getting tattoos has been they have to be covered by scrubs, but that's just me :shrug:

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Winged Scapula said:
The respondents above have forgotten about scrubbing for operative procedures, bedside procedures and other activities, such as being in the trauma bay, where you won't be wearing your lab coat. A forearm tattoo would be visible in those situations. However, as others have noted, It is generally not a problem as long as you otherwise keep it covered and invisible to patients. Bear in mind that medicine, especially surgery, is conservative and that some older faculty members may have preconceived notions about students with visible tattoos.
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Yea I definitely wouldn't want to be judged on rotations by attendings and residents because of the tattoo. I'll probably just wear something like this under my scrubs

under-armour-base-4-0-crew-shirt-black.jpg
 
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sinombre said:
I really want a half sleeve, but am too scared to get one because of the potential ramifications. I don't want to have to worry about covering up every single day.
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Wait until your an attending? Still could be a problem though.

My rule, nothing that will show with scrubs on. I'm covered in tattoos but you cant see any of them hahaha
 
What about piercings? I have both of my traguses (tragi?) pierced but they're not that noticeable since I only wear very small studs in them...
 
OP, not a ton you can do about it now. You should be able to keep it covered most of the time, and I suggest that you do. You can't keep it covered all the time though, so just be aware of that. I don't imagine it being a huge deal if you are a good student, but don't be surprised if there is a negative reaction.

In the preclinical years, you don't need to worry about it too much as long as it is covered when you are around patients (which it will be with your coat).

Ost3oclast said:
My rule, nothing that will show with scrubs on.
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This is a good rule. If you need a tattoo that bad, get one, but get one that is covered in scrubs. There will be times you will only be wearing scrubs, so counting on long sleeves or a coat isn't enough. Attitudes are changing, but they still exist. Just because a tattoo shouldn't change someone's opinion of you doesn't mean that it won't. Why risk it?

silverturtle said:
What about piercings? I have both of my traguses (tragi?) pierced but they're not that noticeable since I only wear very small studs in them...
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It's on the ear and small, so it may not be a huge deal. However, it may be a good idea to take them out when you are in the hospital, you can put them back in later. Nor sure if those are a huge deal or not.
 
Winged Scapula said:
That's not going to work.

You are not allowed to wear shirts, especially long sleeve shirts under your scrubs, in the operating room. In addition if you're to be doing any bedside sterile procedures will also not be allowed to wear that.
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What about leg tattoos? I can't imagine a situation where you have to scrub up to your knees or wear shorts around the hospital/OR.
 
I was actually wondering the other day if you could walk into med school with dreadlocks (well maintained).
 
I have full sleeves and have had nothing but positive comments and as a member of student government, i deal a lot with administration. i am also a first year and am very aware that my 3rd and 4th year may get dicey, but nothing i can do about it now.
 
WompyWomperton said:
I was actually wondering the other day if you could walk into med school with dreadlocks (well maintained).
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Just remember that for any subjective grading you will now have a "dreadlock factor" which could be a lot or little depending on the part of the country and/or how awesome you are or are not otherwise.
 
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FrkyBgStok said:
I have full sleeves and have had nothing but positive comments and as a member of student government, i deal a lot with administration. i am also a first year and am very aware that my 3rd and 4th year may get dicey, but nothing i can do about it now.
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Yep, nothing you can do about it now. But I would be prepared for less acceptance once you hit the wards. For example, I consider myself pretty liberal but do not care for tattoos or full sleeves at all. There will be some who are even less favorable toward them than I.

As noted above, there's nothing students can do about perceptions except be the best student you can and hope that you overcome first impressions.
 
silverturtle said:
What about piercings? I have both of my traguses (tragi?) pierced but they're not that noticeable since I only wear very small studs in them...
Click to expand...

Tragus piercings are small, on the ear, and I don't think anyone would mind.
However, I couldn't use my stethoscope with my piercings in, so I ended up just getting rid of the earrings (they were labret style).
 
Winged Scapula said:
Yep, nothing you can do about it now. But I would be prepared for less acceptance once you hit the wards. For example, I consider myself pretty liberal but do not care for tattoos or full sleeves at all. There will be some who are even less favorable toward them than I.

As noted above, there's nothing students can do about perceptions except be the best student you can and hope that you overcome first impressions.
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Does your personal bias against tattoos affect the way you would treat residents with tattoos that are training under you?
 
AdrianVeidt said:
Does your personal bias against tattoos affect the way you would treat residents with tattoos that are training under you?
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I would like to think that the answer is absolutely not. Just because I don't like tattoos doesn't mean that I ascribe any particular personality traits to people who do (barring the exception of people with facial tattoos).

However, remember that surgery is pretty conservative and I run sort of an "upscale" office, so have not been privy to students and residents with visible tattoos...yet.

Given that 40% of the US adult population under the age of 40 has tattoos that may change, but the sleeve or tattoos visible outside clothing is still somewhat unusual, IMHO, in medicine and especially surgery.
 
Agreed, it may be the norm in the future, but until then I think you may still run into some specialties or demographics (elderly) who may treat you differently. And it's too late now. Is it at least tasteful?
 
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Winged Scapula said:
I would like to think that the answer is absolutely not. Just because I don't like tattoos doesn't mean that I ascribe any particular personality traits to people who do (barring the exception of people with facial tattoos).

However, remember that surgery is pretty conservative and I run sort of an "upscale" office, so have not been privy to students and residents with visible tattoos...yet.

Given that 40% of the US adult population under the age of 40 has tattoos that may change, but the sleeve or tattoos visible outside clothing is still somewhat unusual, IMHO, in medicine and especially surgery.
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Lol just my luck that the field I am most interested in will probably be the one that judges the tattoo the most 😳

Obviously as you said, there is nothing to be done about it now in terms of getting rid of it, however, do you feel there is anything I can do to overcome any possible negative initial bias? Is it just a matter of being an impressive student?
 
IniestaDeMiVida said:
Agreed, it may be the norm in the future, but until then I think you may still run into some specialties or demographics (elderly) who may treat you differently. And it's too late now. Is it at least tasteful?
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I like to think its tasteful, its certainly not a skull or some type of biker tattoo lol. Its my last name written in script style lettering, which I got for personal reasons.

Also its relatively small and on the inside of my forearm, a lot of people don't notice it right away. In fact, some people don't realize it til I tell them.

I don't have a picture of mine, but I found a similar one on google search. Except mine is a little smaller and higher up towards the elbow.

c75fbea0f2519b6a0b4b3dcdc7dc80ed_view.jpg
 
nysw said:
Tragus piercings are small, on the ear, and I don't think anyone would mind.
However, I couldn't use my stethoscope with my piercings in, so I ended up just getting rid of the earrings (they were labret style).
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obviouslyteal said:
I have a daith piercing and a few other piercings on my ear (used to have a tragus actually) and didn't take them out for interviews. Although my hair may have covered most so not a big deal. Also I have a nose ring, changed to a stud for interviews and took it out for them until at one interview I totally forgot and left it in. Result? Accepted! As long as it's tasteful, not flashy or sparkly or anything like that it should be fine.

Also, I have tattoos but none are visible in normal work attire. I know med students with more visible ones i.e. forearm and they've done just fine.
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Whew. This makes me feel better. I was planning on getting another one or two ear piercings...
 
silverturtle said:
Whew. This makes me feel better. I was planning on getting another one or two ear piercings...
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Same here. I have been thinking about getting another piercing as an acceptance present to myself, but wasn't sure if it would be wise given that I already have my rook and conch pierced in both ears.

Hopefully during clinical years and residency my piercings won't be an issue. I had clear retainers put in for my interviews, but it is a pain to go see my piercer that often.
 
While Winged Scapula makes a point, I'm more along the lines of; if someone's going to judge you based on that, that's probably not the type of place I want to be working in the first place. I once had an PD tell me that his kids would be scared of tattoos, I laughed but really I thought he was a bad parent. I mean, all in all you're going to have to deal with people like this no matter what you do. The best you can do is stay true to yourself, be the best you can be and be polite about it. Just remember "conservative" or whatever you wanna call it , is just codework for oppressing something that's different. If it wasn't tattoos it'd be something else.

Don't worry, the greatest generation are leaving soon.
 
NontradCA said:
While Winged Scapula makes a point, I'm more along the lines of; if someone's going to judge you based on that, that's probably not the type of place I want to be working in the first place. I once had an PD tell me that his kids would be scared of tattoos, I laughed but really I thought he was a bad parent. I mean, all in all you're going to have to deal with people like this no matter what you do. The best you can do is stay true to yourself, be the best you can be and be polite about it. Just remember "conservative" or whatever you wanna call it , is just codework for oppressing something that's different. If it wasn't tattoos it'd be something else.
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Great idea except you don't get to choose the attendings you work with on rotations. You can't just be like "oh Dr. X doesn't like tats...I'll just switch to a different attending then cause she isn't someone I want to work with anyway".
 
calvnandhobbs68 said:
Great idea except you don't get to choose the attendings you work with on rotations. You can't just be like "oh Dr. X doesn't like tats...I'll just switch to a different attending then cause she isn't someone I want to work with anyway".
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Sure, that's fine. Obviously if you have something that's permanent to your skin you will just have to deal with it. :idea: The idea is not let it bother you, even if it bothers them.
 
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NontradCA said:
While Winged Scapula makes a point, I'm more along the lines of; if someone's going to judge you based on that, that's probably not the type of place I want to be working in the first place.
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This has been my mentality all along. I will definitely have to deal with it during rotations, but hopefully I can work hard enough to overcome it. But after that, I would rather go in a field and/or residency that accepts me with my tattoos, than be a trailblazer fighting my colleagues the rest of my life. Not worth it.
 
NontradCA said:
Sorry, greatest generation *and* their kids.
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Not everyone who dislikes tattoos are "greatest generation" and baby boomers. I belong to neither of those. While certainly the former associates tattoos with people of certain walks of life or SES, that is not necessarily the case *now*.

As noted above, if you choose to do something that others find objectionable, you can't change their response/feelings about it, but you can change how you react/feel about it.

😛
 
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