Nurses with tattoos and piercings

I am going to begin nursing school next year. I went to a tour of the school and asked a current student if tattoos and piercings are allowed. He said yes because theres a girl that attends the school and she is covered in tattoos. He said the tattoo being visible is better than it being covered with a bandage especially if you have tattoos on your wrist. Patients dont want a nurse with her wrist wrapped up. I agreed and thought he made a good point. I have a lip ring above my lip which if i have to am willing to take out and I have a couple ear piercings. I have a tattoo on my arm which would be covered with scrubs. I just really love tattoos and would love to have more. I always figured it would not matter since hospitals are always freezing can't I just wear a long sleeve shirt under my scrubs? I have seen doctors with tattoo sleeves in the area I live and nurses have told someone I know that they are allowed but I hear a lot of people tell me they are not. Thank you
It really depends. I have a full sleeve and several other visible tattoos. They had to be covered in school for clinicals. No big deal. Long sleeves and band aids worked fine. At work I can show all of them and it isn't against the dress code. However, I don't work at a hospital and expect that if I do switch to acute care it will be back to long sleeves.

There's should be a student handbook that covers student dress code policies. It prob covers info re tats & piercings also. Some schools are more strict than others so it would be to your advantage to know in advance from the school officially.

My school states they must be covered. I have none though.

Also keep in mind the dress codes of the hospitals where you will do clinicals. Some areas do not allow long sleeves and some facial piercings are not allowed per their dress codes. Ours states no visible tats or facial piercings. The people with tats use a waterproof cover-up. We are no longer allowed to wear sleeves below the elbow for infection control, no watches or rings.

Good point, NicuGal. Your jewelry reg - is it hospital-wide? I'd fall apart without my watch.

We are not allowed visible piercings or tats except 1 small pair lobe earrings and no watches

It is hospital wide. I have one that clips to my stethoscope.

My school did not allow visible tattoos and I had to cover mine. My hospital doesn't allow it either and I choose to wear a sports band to cover it instead of a bandage like I did in nursing school. Same with piercings, can't have anything other than ears so some nurses do the clear thing to keep to hole from closing up.

What is the problem with visible skin invasion? Tattoos and piercings in the 21st century are the most hygienic in all of history. So long as there is no broken skin, Grandma doesn't care how you change her dressings. Individual use of one's own body is your choice. And to hide it is a civil violation. So long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. Ex: "I'm a nurse, and my tattoo says I won't give you the best care possible, cause I have a tattoo,cause it's a unicorn."

We had to cover them at our school. Mine is on my wrist and I covered with a bandage...yep, I always felt ppl were wondering if I was a cutter lol!Work wise, it's not a problem at all.

Quote from suntigerWhat is the problem with visible skin invasion? Tattoos and piercings in the 21st century are the most hygienic in all of history. So long as there is no broken skin, Grandma doesn't care how you change her dressings. Individual use of one's own body is your choice. And to hide it is a civil violation. So long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. Ex: "I'm a nurse, and my tattoo says I won't give you the best care possible, cause I have a tattoo,cause it's a unicorn."

The older generation often sees tattoos differently, especially on women. They grew up with tattoos associated with sailors, bikers and gangsters. Even though tats are fairly mainstream now, for many of your patients, they still carry a negative connotation. Why else the big deal about covering them up?