Q's on PA school and afterwards when working with tattoos and body piercings.

[verceingetorix]

I have changed careers and used to be a welder but due to an injury I have had to change the directions of my life. The plan is to get into PA school for next year if I am accepted. I have a 3.45 overall GPA and 3.85 pre-req GPA. I also have over a years worth of HCE and almost 300 hrs of shadowing. Where I used to work and shadow did not care that I had tattoos since they were covered by long sleeves and a collar. The piercings were okay but my lip piercings had to come out.

 

Here is what I currently have done: 00 gauge plugs and five 10 gauge rings in my ear cartilage. Two 12 gauge lip rings and a 10 gauge tongue ring.

I have five tattoos currently; one on each wrist and one on each forearm. The other one is on my shoulder/bicep/back and a small part of my neck. It is covered by a collar but not when I wear scrubs. The left arm is in the process of getting a full sleeve as well.

 

I want to keep this aspect of my life but is this even possible in the long run? I understand that they are more accepting to students but are their any PA's that have the extent of work that I do and acutally working? Also how hard is it going to be to really find a job with all of my work? I don't want opinions of what people feel or believe is right or wrong as everyone has them. I want to know of real world experiance of PA's who have worked with piercings and tattoos or someone that has worked with one. Just trying to see what I am up against and what changes might be in my not so distant future.

 

Thanks.

[vaston]

We actually just had a meeting regarding the updated policies here at my FP office. Tattoo's cannot be visible and piercings are limited to no more than 3 per ear with no gauged plugs or rings. Tongue rings and facial piercings are specifically mentioned as not allowed.

 

This is my office policy, others may vary. I work in rural medicine at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) meaning we see all of the uninsured/medicare/medicaid patients. We are know as the 'poor clinic' in town and we do our absolute best to maintain a professional atmosphere in order to combat any negative connotations that are associated with being labeled the 'poor clinic'. If you are dealing with a similar population but in an urban setting you may find an office that is more accepting of tattoo's or piercings since they are more common among patients there.

 

I am interested to hear from other PA's that may work in an office that is more open to body art and piercings. I personally don't think you should be limited by your tattoo's, but you will be at the mercy of the hospitals/clinics that you interview with.

[DizzyJ]

I have one exposed tat on my wrist (2 not exposed). I don't cover it. There is a nurse who has a tat on his forearm and he has to cover it up. He uses makeup to do so. I am employed by a physician group. He is hospital employed. I also have 3 ear rings, which I don't remove. I did my first 2 years of practice, but stopped. I work at 3 hospitals and don't remove them. I was asked at one site to remove my ear rings, but other then that specific day, I have never done so again. I've seen a nephrologist with a full sleeve before. He didn't cover it. So, it is possible to find a job, but I'm guessing hospital based employment will be your down fall.

[baussie]

I think something else you have to consider, even if you could find a place of employment that has lenient tattoo/piercing policies, is how you will be accepted by patients. I know my grandmother would absolutely FREAK if she went to a medical appointment and was seen by someone with full sleeves and facial or nontraditional piercings. She would see them as a lack of professional judgement on your part and definitely wouldn't trust your opinion.

 

I'm NOT saying her (judgemental) response is correct or appropriate; my generation is more likely to consider a tattoo a piece of art and would be more accepting, but older folks tend to have much more reserved and/or traditional views. My dog's veterinarian has his ears pierced with like 12 or 10 gauge earrings, and while I thought it was attractive, my father was really wary the first time he met the vet. I'm currently a pharmacy technician and can have no exposed tattoos, no non-otic piercings, and no unnatural hair colors. We have "casual fridays" and wear crisp, dark jeans and company polos, and you wouldn't believe the unwelcome responses we have heard from patrons who think it is highly unprofessional of us to wear anything other than dress clothes.

 

Now, if you've got a tweetie bird tattoo or your favorite football team embedded in ink, it's likely that no one will EVER take you seriously ;)

[mackjacks]

Dermablend is the best makeup I use to cover mine if it helps you at all. I see tattoos in the OR often when people are in scrubs, as long as work can be covered by a suit I wouldn't worry about that at all. Can the piercings be left out for long shifts? Some of them might need to be depending on the work setting. I don't think they would be an issue in my program, definitely not on our 2 casual days each week, might be on the 2 professional dress days.

[verceingetorix]

My tattoos can be covered with a long sleeved collared shirt. The only time they are exposed is if I wear scrubs and that is the one that is on my neck area. It is a tribal so it is just a very small black line. Worst case I use a small amount of makeup to cover it. My piercings have been in long enough that I can take them out so this is not an issue. The holes for my larger gauges make me look strange when nothing is occupying the space but I have done it for other jobs before. One employer actually told me to put the gauges back in as he didn't like how my holes looked.

 

As for bias people I understand that this is just a fact of life and it will happen. My grandmother would freak out too if she saw a pierced/tatted doctor in an exam room. She would probably give him a lecture while she was there as well. She tells me the only reason she puts up with my so-called nonsense is because she loves seeing my kids.

[mackjacks]

I was thinking about this some more and I am guessing any issues you might have could depend on the region you're in. Probably body art is more accepted if you're working in Portland/Seattle/etc vs more conservative rural Oregon or some Bible-belt type region in other parts of the country.

[Joeistoocool]

I work at a hospital in Philadelphia and there is a doc in the ER who has full sleeves and he wears long sleeves to cover them. I have also seen some visible tatoos while observing in the OR and no one has said anything about mine. Although when in contact with patients I absolutely always cover them.

[Joeistoocool]

I work at a hospital in Philadelphia and there is a doc in the ER who has full sleeves and he wears long sleeves to cover them. I have also seen some visible tatoos while observing in the OR and no one has said anything about mine. Although when in contact with patients I absolutely always cover them.

[Joeistoocool]

I work at a hospital in Philadelphia and there is a doc in the ER who has full sleeves and he wears long sleeves to cover them. I have also seen some visible tatoos while observing in the OR and no one has said anything about mine. Although when in contact with patients I absolutely always cover them.

[Acebecker]

One of our docs has wrist and ankle tats that are visible. These are small and tasteful and her Pts don't care. Any others she has are covered. One of the RNs I work with had to remove her lip ring and has had trouble branching out of federal clinics because of her appearance - she's a rocker and has nontraditional choices regarding makeup and hair color. I'm not saying the prejudices are right - she's the best nurse I've ever worked with. But in medicine the bean counters and people who make hiring decisions DO have prejudices and will make snap decisions on your character based on how you look. So, my recommendation is to keep them as much covered as you possibly can until the decision to hire has been made; then become familiar with the clinic/school/rotation site policies and abide by them. My $.02

[Acebecker]

One of our docs has wrist and ankle tats that are visible. These are small and tasteful and her Pts don't care. Any others she has are covered. One of the RNs I work with had to remove her lip ring and has had trouble branching out of federal clinics because of her appearance - she's a rocker and has nontraditional choices regarding makeup and hair color. I'm not saying the prejudices are right - she's the best nurse I've ever worked with. But in medicine the bean counters and people who make hiring decisions DO have prejudices and will make snap decisions on your character based on how you look. So, my recommendation is to keep them as much covered as you possibly can until the decision to hire has been made; then become familiar with the clinic/school/rotation site policies and abide by them. My $.02

[Acebecker]

One of our docs has wrist and ankle tats that are visible. These are small and tasteful and her Pts don't care. Any others she has are covered. One of the RNs I work with had to remove her lip ring and has had trouble branching out of federal clinics because of her appearance - she's a rocker and has nontraditional choices regarding makeup and hair color. I'm not saying the prejudices are right - she's the best nurse I've ever worked with. But in medicine the bean counters and people who make hiring decisions DO have prejudices and will make snap decisions on your character based on how you look. So, my recommendation is to keep them as much covered as you possibly can until the decision to hire has been made; then become familiar with the clinic/school/rotation site policies and abide by them. My $.02