Tattoos vs Self-Harm Scars

[incognitarita]

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I was recently accepted into a pre-med program with the plan to go to medical school to become a cardiac surgeon. I have been struggling with mental illness for several years and have a fairly large collection of self-harm scars on my left forearm. I would like to get a (nonoffensive, flowery) tattoo in order to cover those up. However, I'm worried about the repercussions this could have on my career. Would a tattoo or scars (obviously) from self inflicted wounds be more offensive/controversial/risqué in your opinions? Thanks for the help!

 

[TheaterOfTheme]

Interesting question. First off, worry about the undergrad studies. Study what is interesting to you and make sure to take the hard sciences--thats my advice. O-chem, biochem, mol. bio and the like will prepare you a great deal more than most classes (ie easy kinesiology courses etc). But beyond that, take the pre-reqs you need to and study what you like! Its a long road, and luckily you don't have to follow a set path of being a "pre-med". In other words, don't just be a biology major because you feel you have to be.

Now to your question, I actually know of some medical students with self-harm scars that did not tattoo. And there are a ton of medical students that have tattoos. Either way, you will likely do best to cover it up once in medical school for most situations. Most of the time, we are all wearing long-sleeves in professional settings anyways.

In short, don't worry about it right now. And think twice before inking up! Tattoos aren't exactly the healthiest thing to do to your skin 😉

 

[Microbug]

AND IT STRIKES AGAIN!
The neuro/cardiacs 🤣🤣🤣

 

[mehc012]

I was recently accepted into a pre-med program with the plan to go to medical school to become a cardiac surgeon. I have been struggling with mental illness for several years and have a fairly large collection of self-harm scars on my left forearm. I would like to get a (nonoffensive, flowery) tattoo in order to cover those up. However, I'm worried about the repercussions this could have on my career. Would a tattoo or scars (obviously) from self inflicted wounds be more offensive/controversial/risqué in your opinions? Thanks for the help!

Might not get a lot of folks to pop back outta the woodwork for this one, so here's a prior thread on the topic with good discussion.
Scars, Tattoos and Med School.

 

[altblue]

AND IT STRIKES AGAIN!
The neuro/cardiacs 🤣🤣🤣

Prob not the best thread to point this out.

 

[WingedOx]

I'd worry more about the status of the mental health issues first, particularly when you used "have been" instead of "had been".

/FWIW, one of the psych PDs in my area is known to have a full sleeve.

 

[3toedsloth]

Are you still cutting? You should seek mental health care ASAP.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Get your mental health on track before you get too far down the road in college. The stress that can come with consistently performing well does not mix well with mental illness.

As for tattoos, I know many docs with them.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

AND IT STRIKES AGAIN!
The neuro/cardiacs 🤣🤣🤣

Lol why is it always those two?
Cardiac surgery is a dying field, and neurosurgeons work like dogs... people just don’t know what they are getting into, they see the “glamor” I suppose...


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[Goro]

I was recently accepted into a pre-med program with the plan to go to medical school to become a cardiac surgeon. I have been struggling with mental illness for several years and have a fairly large collection of self-harm scars on my left forearm. I would like to get a (nonoffensive, flowery) tattoo in order to cover those up. However, I'm worried about the repercussions this could have on my career. Would a tattoo or scars (obviously) from self inflicted wounds be more offensive/controversial/risqué in your opinions? Thanks for the help!

I can't recommend this pathway until you have your mental health issues fully under control.

 

[mehc012]

Guys, OP isn't asking whether they should go to med school with uncontrolled mental health issues. I think everyone understands the importance of being in a good place before moving on in stressful/high stake career paths. They're just asking which would be judged more harshly: a flowery tattoo, or scars which may or may not obviously point to prior self-harm behavior.

It's not that I don't think everyone's heart is in a great place, but the sheer number of these comments, combined with the wording of a few, makes the overall message read more like "if you've ever self harmed or had serious mental health issues, don't go into medicine" which I think is an overly strong statement. Plenty of your classmates have suffered from severe mental health issues in the past, plenty more will join those ranks during medical training, and the anonymity of this forum means that if we try, we can be a good place to actually ask some of the difficult questions about dealing with the realities of that or the long term sequelae.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Guys, OP isn't asking whether they should go to med school with uncontrolled mental health issues. I think everyone understands the importance of being in a good place before moving on in stressful/high stake career paths. They're just asking which would be judged more harshly: a flowery tattoo, or scars which may or may not obviously point to prior self-harm behavior.

It's not that I don't think everyone's heart is in a great place, but the sheer number of these comments, combined with the wording of a few, makes the overall message read more like "if you've ever self harmed or had serious mental health issues, don't go into medicine" which I think is an overly strong statement. Plenty of your classmates have suffered from severe mental health issues in the past, plenty more will join those ranks during medical training, and the anonymity of this forum means that if we try, we can be a good place to actually ask some of the difficult questions about dealing with the realities of that or the long term sequelae.

You might be surprised at how many people with mental health issues start this path without making sure they are as under control as possible. It never hurts to remind someone that it is a stressful road, so long as you do it respectfully.

 

[Robin-jay]

If I was someone who saw a scar on your arm, it would almost not even come across my mind that it was self-harm. However, if I saw a tattoo on your arm, I may think its covering something up. So tough call.

Either way, got to be mentally up to par with being a physician. You're currently a pre-med, so the path will still be a long and arduous one if you go that route. Please make sure you have everything controlled before putting yourself through that path.

 

[Microbug]

If I was someone who saw a scar on your arm, it would almost not even come across my mind that it was self-harm. However, if I saw a tattoo on your arm, I may think its covering something up. So tough call.

Either way, got to be mentally up to par with being a physician. You're currently a pre-med, so the path will still be a long and arduous one if you go that route. Please make sure you have everything controlled before putting yourself through that path.

self-harm scars are fairly obvious to tell. I recommend OP wear long sleeves.

 

[altblue]

If I was someone who saw a scar on your arm, it would almost not even come across my mind that it was self-harm. However, if I saw a tattoo on your arm, I may think its covering something up. So tough call.

Either way, got to be mentally up to par with being a physician. You're currently a pre-med, so the path will still be a long and arduous one if you go that route. Please make sure you have everything controlled before putting yourself through that path.

I doubt you would have questioned a tattoo like that before seeing this thread. It's up to you OP on whether or not to get the tattoo, but looking mildly unprofessional with a tattoo to a 60-year-old attending is preferable to looking like you committed self-harm.

Really though, what's important now is making sure your mental health is stable so that you don't injure yourself further and can have a happy career. I hope you're feeling better.

 

[Robin-jay]

I doubt you would have questioned a tattoo like that before seeing this thread. It's up to you OP on whether or not to get the tattoo, but looking mildly unprofessional with a tattoo to a 60-year-old attending is preferable to looking like you committed self-harm.

Really though, what's important now is making sure your mental health is stable so that you don't injure yourself further and can have a happy career. I hope you're feeling better.

More so than the other indication. I'm not saying I would automatically assume any tattoo is there to cover up a self-harming scar, but rather I would briefly think about the possibility. It probably wouldn't be much more than a thought though.

 

[mehc012]

More so than the other indication. I'm not saying I would automatically assume any tattoo is there to cover up a self-harming scar, but rather I would briefly think about the possibility. It probably wouldn't be much more than a thought though.

Probably a briefer thought than after seeing the actual scars, though.

 

[Robin-jay]

Probably a briefer thought than after seeing the actual scars, though.

Maybe, i'm sure it depends on the physical features of the scars itself.

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

You may need to or feel compelled to cover up tattoos or scars in a professional setting.
As to my personal opinion, with a majority of gen x-ers having tattoos (forgive me if this is wrong but I’ve seen statistics that back this up) and millennial and younger generations not seeing as much social stigma against them...by the time geneneration x is running the show tattoos may be a non issue.

 

[dr_kateb]

Recently accepted into a premed program? So you're just starting undergrad? Those scars should fade over time and be much less noticeable by the time you apply to med school. Probably wait until then.

 

[JonathanHusky]

couldn't they just wear long sleeves to cover the scars? even with scrubs you could wear a long sleeve under it right? no need to get a tattoo to cover them and unlikely patients would see the scars

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Maybe, i'm sure it depends on the physical features of the scars itself.

You're telling me you'd be more likely to think a tattoo on the forearm is covering something up than to think a bunch of scars on someone's forearm are the result of self harm? You are most definitely the exception.

 

[longhaul3]

I have tattoos that are visible but not obvious when wearing scrubs (i.e., not on my forearms). I have not run into any issues with patients or my superiors. I do not have any scars though.

It's hard to say which option would lead to a smoother path through medical training. I am inclined to say that scars would be the better option because you will spend enough time with people evaluating you (and doctors are observant by nature) that they are likely to look closely at your tattoos and see the scars if they remain at all apparent.

 

[Robin-jay]

You're telling me you'd be more likely to think a tattoo on the forearm is covering something up than to think a bunch of scars on someone's forearm are the result of self harm? You are most definitely the exception.

I probably wouldn't have given much thought to either.

However, after reading this thread, I will be putting both options in my all-knowing memory bank.

 

[TheBiologist]

are the scars able to be covered with clothing?

 

[mehc012]

are the scars able to be covered with clothing?

Remember that at many schools, people change for Anatomy en masse. Aside from that, for forearm scars especially, as they require long sleeves, it can be cumbersome to continually cover up, whether due to:
- It's hot out
- You're sticking my arm in a cadaver and it will get really gross really fast
- It looks weird to never wear short sleeves
- Women's business casual is not 98% long sleeved like men's is, and most of the more common fashion choices are shorter sleeved.
- You're wearing scrubs and my hospital doesn't like long sleeves underneath
- You're scrubbing in and arms are a part of that
- It's just really effing annoying to have to worry about whether anyone can see your arm at any given moment in any given social situation, and can be kind of exhausting, and honestly makes you dwell on an issue which you'd otherwise left behind you, etc.

I wear long sleeves quite frequently (not due to scars, but just because I find them comfortable and it's cold here and layering is great), but I roll them up constantly, whether I'm washing my hands and don't want to get them wet, or I'm hot, or I'm cooking/working on my car/whatever and don't want them dirty. You can't really do that if the idea is 'nobody ever sees my arm'.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

What about a natural tattoo that will cover up the scar but basically is just like the color of your skin? Almost like a permanent “concealer.” I don’t know if that exists…


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[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

What about a natural tattoo that will cover up the scar but basically is just like the color of your skin? Almost like a permanent “concealer.” I don’t know if that exists…


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They have permanent makeup tattoos, but if she ever got a little color or paler, it wouldn’t change with it lol.

 

[catlady87]

They have permanent makeup tattoos, but if she ever got a little color or paler, it wouldn’t change with it lol.

If her scars are hypopigmented, permanent makeup micropigmentation would really help. It's not actually permanent, you need a touch-up every few years or so, which would allow adjustments of the color over time, but it's important to get it done when you have absolutely no tan at all, and then make an effort not to tan.

There is also laser resurfacing which would help flatten any raised scars and would help them blend in, though it won't help the pigmentation issue.

 

[dundermifflinthisispam]

This may not be a popular opinion, but I think the answer to this question is simple. You should be yourself OP and base your decision on what you'd like your body to look like and not on how adcoms, peers, etc... may perceive it. I'd say get the tattoo if you are excited about it and prefer it to the look of your scars! If you're getting the tattoo to potentially avoid scrutiny, I'd say own your past and be comfortable with your scars because you've overcome something significant and you don't need to be ashamed of it. I know this comment doesn't really address professional repercussions, but I think it's worth noting that pleasing others isn't the only consideration you need to make. Being a pre-med can often predispose one to constantly think about what will impress/please others, but it's worth taking your own desires into account as well! You're the one who will have to live with your decision on a daily basis.

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

This may not be a popular opinion, but I think the answer to this question is simple. You should be yourself OP and base your decision on what you'd like your body to look like and not on how adcoms, peers, etc... may perceive it. I'd say get the tattoo if you are excited about it and prefer it to the look of your scars! If you're getting the tattoo to potentially avoid scrutiny, I'd say own your past and be comfortable with your scars because you've overcome something significant and you don't need to be ashamed of it. I know this comment doesn't really address professional repercussions, but I think it's worth noting that pleasing others isn't the only consideration you need to make. Being a pre-med can often predispose one to constantly think about what will impress/please others, but it's worth taking your own desires into account as well! You're the one who will have to live with your decision on a daily basis.

Honestly this. You can cover both for interviews. Outside of interviews who the hell cares? **** people who would judge either.

 

[mehc012]

This may not be a popular opinion, but I think the answer to this question is simple. You should be yourself OP and base your decision on what you'd like your body to look like and not on how adcoms, peers, etc... may perceive it. I'd say get the tattoo if you are excited about it and prefer it to the look of your scars! If you're getting the tattoo to potentially avoid scrutiny, I'd say own your past and be comfortable with your scars because you've overcome something significant and you don't need to be ashamed of it. I know this comment doesn't really address professional repercussions, but I think it's worth noting that pleasing others isn't the only consideration you need to make. Being a pre-med can often predispose one to constantly think about what will impress/please others, but it's worth taking your own desires into account as well! You're the one who will have to live with your decision on a daily basis.

Right. This is the default, ideal answer.