tattoos

Started by Dr. McDreamy
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IbnSina said:
You're missing my point. Being a physician is what I am.
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I get your point. I just think it's a mistake to subsume your identity into your career. If you could no longer be a physician (or retired, changed careers, etc), would you cease to be? The days of defining oneself by their jobs went out of vogue in the 1960s.
 
I want a tattoo of Freddy Mercury's face on my right ass cheek, so when I wear my assless chaps, I'll be the life of the party.
 
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...while riding my bicycle with my best friend, all the while breaking free with a kind of magic only the miracle can produce.

God, I'm a dork.
 
Law2Doc said:
I get your point. I just think it's a mistake to subsume your identity into your career. If you could no longer be a physician (or retired, changed careers, etc), would you cease to be? The days of defining oneself by their jobs went out of vogue in the 1960s.
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Wait, we get to retire? And even if I did retire, the tattoo wouldn't be a rememberance of what I once was? No, I wouldn't cease to be, I would be the same person, just older, and doing other things.
I don't think that the tattoo would be defining yourself by your job, anymore than wearing t-shirts that say "XXX medical school" outside of school is defining who you are. I don't sit in situations going "now, what would a real doctor do here?"
I mean, you are defining your screen name by what you once were, aren't you?
 
IbnSina said:
Wait, we get to retire? And even if I did retire, the tattoo wouldn't be a rememberance of what I once was? No, I wouldn't cease to be, I would be the same person, just older, and doing other things.
I don't think that the tattoo would be defining yourself by your job, anymore than wearing t-shirts that say "XXX medical school" outside of school is defining who you are. I don't sit in situations going "now, what would a real doctor do here?"
I mean, you are defining your screen name by what you once were, aren't you?
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Screen names and T shirts aren't permanent -- you can lose or replace them both in a second. A tattoo is permanent, and presumably is a form of self expression so important to you that you need to make in indelable.
 
IbnSina said:
Wait, we get to retire? And even if I did retire, the tattoo wouldn't be a rememberance of what I once was? No, I wouldn't cease to be, I would be the same person, just older, and doing other things.
I don't think that the tattoo would be defining yourself by your job, anymore than wearing t-shirts that say "XXX medical school" outside of school is defining who you are. I don't sit in situations going "now, what would a real doctor do here?"
I mean, you are defining your screen name by what you once were, aren't you?
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dude, it's your body - you know that. If you're perfectly comfy having a certain medical tat - go for it. Just be wise about not putting it on your forhead, or at least get more than $10k for it.
 
megboo said:
dude, it's your body - you know that. If you're perfectly comfy having a certain medical tat - go for it. Just be wise about not putting it on your forhead, or at least get more than $10k for it.
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Well, yeah. Since the other two I have are also permanent. I don't have a problem with them not liking tattoos. But being judgmental of somebody else is fairly childish. And since neither of them owned up to having any of their own, then I would surmise that they don't have any. I was just showing that their argument is entirely baseless, but it is hard to hit a moving target.

I could get this one.
Roy-tattoo.jpg
 
Yeah, you could, but then you'd have a Metallica tattoo. That's almost as tacky as the nurse-snake wrapped around the wine glass.
 
megboo said:
I feel for those who get tattos just to get them. I got mine for very personal reasons, not to be part of the "in-crowd". I realize not everyone thinks they're cool, which is why I don't have one on my boob, shoulder, or ankle for everyone to see.
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Everyone sees your boob, huh?



Anyway, I've always thought about getting a tattoo, but haven't found a symbol/picture that has enough meaning.



Edit: Oops, forgot to go to the 2nd page of this thread before posting.
 
Yo Ibn...

I'm going to be judgemental on that tat... If he's gonna go to all that time and trouble for a full-back tat, he neds to spend some more time on it and get some more color. Really. The really nice ones at the biker gatherings always have a lot of color.

Other than that, I got not issue with it. 'Course my USN anchor is grey and black, so who am I to complain? :laugh:
 
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TheProwler said:
hehe, a lot of the guys (myself included) started changing in the hallway after the first week. The bathroom just got to be a madhouse. The girls don't seem to be quite as inclined though....not sure why?
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I must amend my earlier statement. samenewme and I saw bras and panties in the hallways today. The girls don't seem to mind any more than we do.
 
if anyone at MCW wants to know what a tattoo will look like at 80, come check out my cadaver at table 8. You can still discern the Marines logo, but the other ones are pretty fuzzy.
 
Dr. McDreamy said:
so the other day i saw one of the new first years in a t-shirt. the guy had tatoos all over his arms. i'm sure he wore a long sleeved dress shirt to cover that up during his interview. but just curious....for those of you with tatoos..have they been a problem in clinic? how have you been received?

the only rotatoin that youwould HAVE to show them in is surgery and maybe that would increase your bad-ass factor there (which could be a a good thing in surgery)?

opinions?

ps, tatoos are hot, but i'd never get one. i would, however, hit on a guy with them 😎
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a) was he hot? and b) did he have nice arms? tatts on arms only look good on nice arms.

from a pt's perspective, i wouldn't think twice about a doc with tatts. i've also never seen pt's say anything about nurses' tatts, so i don't think they'd dislike tatts on doctors either. you probably shouldn't worry about little ones on your ankles. (especially since i once saw an interview with a plump elderly internist who went to work in shiney pleather outfits complete with lace-up thigh high boots, tatts, LOTS of make-up, and bleached out long hair in an 80s ponytail. but then again, she had a private practice)
 
Church said:
I'm going to be judgemental on that tat... If he's gonna go to all that time and trouble for a full-back tat, he neds to spend some more time on it and get some more color. Really. The really nice ones at the biker gatherings always have a lot of color.
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Yeah, I was wondering why he didn't pick one of the nicer album art scenes anyway. I mean, seriously. I'm holding out for Jesus and Elvis on a rocket ship to the moon. In color.
 
This whole convo reminds me last week about the ER doc that told me I should just get into the business of tattoo removal. Evidently it is becoming quite booming. I have no problem with tats at all...I'm the only one of my friends without one. I just don't have anything worthwhile to throw on there since I change my mind every ten minutes anyway...but from what I've been seeing/hearing, while the number of people in our generation has increased who get tattoos, we also have lots and lots of people going through the expensive and painful process to remove them. If you are truly into that piece then it is fine....but the problem is that stuff that is cool now wont' be forever...Just look at some of the crap music or tv shows we all used to like. I saw saved by the bell the other day on tv and aside from the fond memories, wondered why the hell anyone thought that was a good show. (I know that will piss off someone)
 
red dot said:
a) was he hot? and b) did he have nice arms? tatts on arms only look good on nice arms.

from a pt's perspective, i wouldn't think twice about a doc with tatts. i've also never seen pt's say anything about nurses' tatts, so i don't think they'd dislike tatts on doctors either. you probably shouldn't worry about little ones on your ankles. (especially since i once saw an interview with a plump elderly internist who went to work in shiney pleather outfits complete with lace-up thigh high boots, tatts, LOTS of make-up, and bleached out long hair in an 80s ponytail. but then again, she had a private practice)
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no and no. sigh.
 
I'm gettin' my baby's mama's name tatooed on my neck! That way I'll never be able to get a decent job!
 
forum is extremely amusing.
I initially googled sites to help me decide where to put my next tattoos due to the fact that I plan on becoming a doctor but I discovered so much more.

Now I'm just starting undergrad as a premed student and I have one tattoo on my right collarbone. I found that tattoos are so typical that it's rarely ever about WHAT you have, it's where you decide to put it.

I have the date of my father's passing on my collarbone, because it's the first bone that he broke extensively, causing him to be for the most part, immobile and idle during his cancer.

So I'm currently thinking about a lowercase phi symbol, for the golden ratio, and an infinity symbol (only because I think the lowercase omega looks like a butt?). Now I'd like them to be black but I'm leaning toward white ink.
Where should I put the two symbols, if they were to be symmetrically placed on my body, in order to be discrete enough to be professional but odd enough to be creative?
 
Dr.McNinja said:
Well, yeah. Since the other two I have are also permanent. I don't have a problem with them not liking tattoos. But being judgmental of somebody else is fairly childish. And since neither of them owned up to having any of their own, then I would surmise that they don't have any. I was just showing that their argument is entirely baseless, but it is hard to hit a moving target.

I could get this one.
Roy-tattoo.jpg
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I personally never liked colored ink tattoos... and I'm young and subject to rebellious pieces of body art..
OR displaying current favorites like bands and such on your body.
Unless you know Metallica personally enough to say
Hey, I love Metallica for all love's sake,
then go right on ahead.
You wanna show appreciation for a band that will never witness their name on your skin? Buy a bunch of their albums instead of downloading, and then market them.
Oh and don't forget to walk around with a stereo.
Everywhere you go.
 
Law2Doc said:
Um no - you are missing my point. You are you. Being a doctor is just what you do as your career. If these two things are the same, and you have no identity other than what you do for a living that is really a little sad and misguided. The reverse of a rennaissance man. Most of us will wear many hats in our lives -- of doctor, spouse, parent, weekend athlete, hobbyist, etc. As I said before you will already have the degree and all the garb and gear -- you are already amply advertising your career. so no real point in putting a medically oriented tattoo on to boot. That's less of a self expression and more of an echo.
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Nah, when you're at the biker barbeque joint (I say barbeque joint since I'd be more likely to be at Dinosaur Barbeque than a regular biker bar, lol) who's going to know you're a doctor?

The people who know you're a doctor are the ones who aren't going to be seeing the tattoo anyway, so it's OK to integrate the doctor facet into your tattoo because it's for people who don't really know you. I mean, the people who do really know you already know all about you so your tattoo woudln't really give them any new info anyway. Like, if you were really a huge badass, I'm sure your friends would know so the flaming skull wouldn't really tip them off. The flaming skull is for people who don't know you yet.

And yeah I just realized you posted this a year ago, but still, since the thread's alive again.

That said, I wouldn't make it the only thing you got tattooed or it would just seem a little excessive to proclaim your profession and only your profession. But as part of several tattoos I don't see any problem.
 
What if you got the entire biochem map tattooed on your forearm (suspending belief cause it wouldn't fit), could you use it on tests and boards? Plus, it would be handy to show to your patient and say, see, here's where you problem is.
 
Shadowed an ER doc last week...

Turns out he's a World of Warcraft addict and plays between patients while he's at the hospital I went to (it's a smaller, not-so-busy place, at least during the day he worked). That's right, I saw it myself...I wasn't really expecting to shadow him playing WoW, but that's what happened, and he's one heck of a player, too! He's probably very high on his server, but that's another post 😱

He has a faded, dark green Tattoo on his right ankle. It's the medical symbol with his medical school's letters on one side and year of graduation on the other side. Hidden by scrubs, yes, but an unexpected thing as well for me at least. The doctors I've met in my area have all been very, very conservative...probably because my area has a number of religious minorities represented.

But I'm moving out soon so hurrah!
 
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Acherona said:
I might be uncomfortable going to a doc with tattoos all over his arms. He might have a skewed view of pain thresholds. Plus, what kind of needle hygiene does he practice.
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I worked as a body piercer for a couple of years in college. It was my first experience working with potentially infectious materials. Dave, the guy that taught me practiced better precautions than and MD, PHD or nurse I have ever worked with. Having learned from him, to this day I still cringe to see people touching doorknobs with gloves on, or forgetting to wash their hands, or touching something without gloves on that someone touched previously with gloves on (happened all the time in the office setting! GROSS!)
 
megadon said:
What if you got the entire biochem map tattooed on your forearm (suspending belief cause it wouldn't fit), could you use it on tests and boards? Plus, it would be handy to show to your patient and say, see, here's where you problem is.
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In undergrad there was this bio chem TA who had a DNA double helix tattoed on his back.
 
Long Dong said:
In undergrad there was this bio chem TA who had a DNA double helix tattoed on his back.
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One of my friends who was a bio major has a tattoo of a DNA double helix around his ankle. It's actually pretty cool. He'll be getting his PhD in neuroscience at Berkley sometime.

As for me, I'll be MS1 in August and I have a small tattoo of 3 cherry blossoms in the center of my back. I like it, it's easily concealable, and it has meaning to me. And I don't think I'd remove it for a residency... I'd find another residency program that wasn't so uptight.
 
megboo said:
yeah - it's the ultimate tramp stamp :laugh:
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Yes, and I think we all need to see it now.

My sister is a tattoo artist and is doing my tattoos for me, however none of them will be visible, except perhaps the very bottom edge of the one I'm getting on my right arm.
 
Nutshell said:
I don't think I saw this link posted anywhere...

http://webfarm.foliolink.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=8797&Akey=JHHGRRTX

(May take a few seconds to load) It's all about inked professionals. Good stuff.

NS
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lol at Dr. Dave and the woman "riding" the hypodermic needle.

I'd love to get a tattoo that runs from my hand, up my arm, and over my shoulder. But, I could just see the horror on some patients...and I'm just talking a design, not some of the pretty "unprofessional" ones that contain salacious text or borderline-pornographic imagery.
 
I have tattoos, and Im planning on med-school. They're only on my arms, but also my forearms. (Mostly military and naval/Traditional) I've been covering them up at work for professional reasons (i work at the CDC in Atlanta right now), and it doesnt seem to be a problem. I LOVE my tattoos, and I also love to show them off, when appropriate. I do understand how the aging population may feel however, especially in clinical settings. I dont think that my tattoos will ever hold me back from any endeavor!

P.S. I know that they'll be wrinkly and faded when Im old...but think about it....when you're 92 (god willing), are you going to care what anyone thinks of you...NO!!!! (I'll probably be an senile old man)!

:meanie:
 
I'm thinking about going into anesthesia. Would it be in bad taste to get "good nite" tattooed across my knuckles?
 
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ExPhys82 said:
I do understand how the aging population may feel however, especially in clinical settings.
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It's not just the elderly patients. In OB/Gyn and Peds, I think your appearance makes a big difference. I look a bit younger than I really am, and every time I walked into a patient's room on Labor and Delivery, the patient's husband's eyebrows would shoot up. "This kid is going to take care of my pregnant wife and future child?!?" I imagine that visible tattoos might add to that apprehension.

ExPhys82 said:
I dont think that my tattoos will ever hold me back from any endeavor!
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I hope they don't. 🙂 Good luck with your endeavors!
 
Just a quick factoid related to tattoos.

Some study said the only factor that is very significantly linked to accident in motorcyclists is the number of tattoos.
 
Speaking of tattooed docs, I did my EM rotation at Highland Hospital (Oakland, CA). I have never seen so many residents with tats in one unit. Just about every EM resident in that place wore combat jeans, green scrub top, and had one or both arms covered in tats. Funny part is that Highland has one of the most competitive EM programs in the country.
 
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