Appearance standards for PA schools

[PA2017m]

This is a bit of a random question but I was wondering how picky PA schools are about appearance, specifically hair color? I've been considering dyeing my hair to something a little more outrageous (pink?) just as something fun before I graduate as a professional PA (obviously I would dye it back to my natural hair color before working or clinical years) but I wasn't sure how it's viewed upon by PA schools? Or just how they view tattoos/piercings in general? 

 

Thanks! 

[Rhizopus]

I'd say walk around any hospital or clinic and you'd get an idea of what is appropriate and what isn't for PA school. Most programs want you to dress like you would on the job and have guidelines on appearance. Tattoos and piercings - sure! Keep it tasteful. I know a highly respected PA with full tattoo sleeves, but she generally keeps them covered at work. Some piercings are nice, but I would avoid gauges or anything like that. Avoid anything that could be easily infected, too! I'd keep the hair toward the natural color side of things. 

 

Check out page 15 of the Indiana State PA Student Handbook. It's a typical example of what to expect:

 

http://www.indstate.edu/health/sites/health.indstate.edu/files/amr-pa-student-handbook.pdf

[OneDayAPA_Maybe]

For our program, we are required to wear business appropriate attire daily because we are working towards a career. I think if you were to do something like a light tinted red that looks natural, that would be appropriate. However, you may think that a color change is not a big deal, but professors i.e. your future colleagues, may view it differently. Remember, we are no longer in college, but are in a master's level degree working towards becoming a professional. 

[thinkertdm]

In my program, we were working with patients within the first month, and had to wear professional attire, and this included grooming.  I agree with the above, however, you are not working TOWARDS being a professional, you are one starting on the first day. 

[UGoLong]

It's a delicate balance. A PA -- including a PA student -- is expected to be able to quickly build rapport with a wide variety of people. It might be fun to have pink hair, lots of piercings, and tatoos that are visible, but it might also make it harder for you in the end.

 

And, if you are applying to PA school, even more of an issue.

 

The times they are a changing, but many of us are still from an earlier era.

[Lyrical M]

In the ER I work in, there are a number of nurses with pink, blue, purple, etc hair, and it's never been an issue.  Never seen a doc, PA, or NP with that though.  I personally think it's cool, and times are changing, but yeah many "higher ups" have not "come around" yet.  I once knew a psychiatrist who worked in a psych hospital  who had lots of piercings, full tattoo sleeves always visible, and crazy styled hair.  But he worked in the teen unit, and he related well with them and they loved him.

[dchampigny]

I think the difference is that you are about to be a provider. You are automatically held to a higher standard, as you are making clinical decisions.

 

 

Sure, this is entirely judgemental, but if you are working in an ER, how do you think people would perceive you if you were giving them bad news (we lost your loved one, the cancer is back, etc) while you were "decked out" with pink hair. I would struggle with that.

[MT2PA]

I've worked in hospitals that have had very strict dress codes - so much so that technically the only piercings allowed were the ear lobes (not even any other ear piercing) - and I'm sure there would have been some hair color indications.  Not that I saw all of them enforced nor do I agree with many of them.

 

But schools have dress codes and it's not out of the question that they might stipulate things such as 'a natural hair color'.  

 

As far as practicing goes....I shadowed where a resident had dreadlocks, tattoos, and piercings all over the place and she practiced great medicine.  I had no questions about her abilities and it was obviously something she had for many years.  No one seemed to have an issue with it.  All depends on where you work and your patient population.  

[CAAdmission]

Just an observation: Medical care is intrinsically "other" oriented and hopefully patient centered.

 

Having pink hair screams "Look at me! I want to be the center of attention!"

[rev ronin]

I love the spirit of being mature enough to realize that there's a time and place to be original, and a time and place to be boringly conformist.  I've always encouraged my kids to do whatever they wanted to their hair, because it grows out.  My almost-19-year-old just went from long hair shaved on one side, which was itself adapted from a grown out mohawk, to a much more conservative short haircut, on his own initiative and without telling me first, just because he realizes he wants a better job and funny hair could stand in his way.

 

Yes, nursing and technician staff have more freedom to be zany with their hair than providers do.  To some extent, I think men have more freedom to have visible tattoos as PAs than women do, as that is something more associated with military medic service, but as pointed out above... attitudes on tattoos are changing.  Almost all my patients over 18 but under 30 have ink somewhere, and a lot of the folks in their 40's do too.

[PA2017m]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I've never actually dyed my hair a different color before, and I actually don't have tattoos or piercings, I asked those questions more for other people's benefit. I'm still on the fence whether I want to dye my hair myself but you've all given me a lot to think about so thank you! 

[andrewb]

Fwiw I love tattoos and have a number of tattoos, none visible in normal business attire. My two cents: When you are established in a job, have a sense for what the spoken and unspoken expectations are, what kind of presentation garners the respect and trust of patients, then you can decide if unconservative fashion statements are worth the possible drawbacks. Maybe it's my military background but when you are a newb you should only seek to stand out by the quality of your thought, speech, and action. Whether a student or fresh on the job, conform to the norm.