Tattooed nurses

[CaptainCabinets]

Would you be put off by a tattooed nurse? At the moment I’ve only got them in places a patient would never see but I do plan to add some to my upper arm in the near future.

Just want to hear your thoughts and reasons!

Wouldn’t bother me.
I think some older patients might be a bit 😒 but so long as you are looking after them well they would soon get over themselves.

TSSDN - maybe their only break? Or they had just come out from a patient hanging or a baby found dead or a horrendous murder?
Or they were waiting for family to arrive there and to explain what they've found?
It's the same when people judge them for being in McDonald's in uniform or buying coffee

tattoos are are personnel thing some people love them some people some hate them .Being honest i don't like them but if it"s not and my arm nothing to do with me

A degree is not any kind of proof of education these days

It is though. Its not much of one, but you need to be above illiterate.

Mcdonalds and Costa aren’t really the same thing at all though Ollivander are they.

Fair point about the circumstances.

Maybe not no, but having a friend who ended up doing a 16hr shift the other day, 2.5hrs of which was spent scrubbing urine off the ambulance and themselves, I can't judge them for having a cig!

If I had a lovely nurse working their arse off to look after me when I was inevitably feeling crap, I wouldn't give the tiniest, tiniest shit about their tattoos.

Unless they were really wonderful ones and then they might take my mind off how bad I was feeling.

I have been in hospital three time in as many years, twice the night nurse responsible for our ward was a young man: Celtic inspired tattoos up both arms and dreadlocks piled up! Awesome sense of humour, such gentle care and dignity with dying patients and mindful that the wards were female. Third time, by the book female nurse, beautifully turned out, no sense of humour and ambivalent towards those who were passing. Judge the person, not the look :)

But then you’re getting back in your ambulance reeking if fags!

Let’s just hope that, like it looked, they were enjoying a fag on a sunny day.

TSSDN - yep. But they would if they were having one on their protected break too. A massive amount of ambulance/emergency staff smoke, the stress is unbelievable (10 years in the ambulance service)
Same as nurses/carers/doctors that smoke I guess

Some places dont employ with tattoos-hospices and some geriatric wards.

Bear in mind that the responses you get on Mumsnet aren’t likely to be typical of the wider population...

Also depends on the demographic you are looking after. Older people may be more likely to look askance (although apparently they should just “get over themselves “ ), also some cultural groups have negative associations (who I suspect will not be told to “get over themselves “) with tattoos. Nursing obviously ain’t like (say) IT support, where the computer is happy so long as you twiddle the right bits —it’s important for the patient to feel comfortable with the caregiver. So eg paediatrics OK but perhaps not hands/neck/face for dementia nursing.

I would understand that you had had some issues in your life and that you had poor judgement

Theres only one person with poor judgement in that statement!

Cant believe all the crap spouted on this thread. Maybe its time nhs rules changed and moved into 21st century?

clearly false bodily aesthetic priceless how long did it take you to come up with that? Of course its not natural, did you think we all thought people were born with tats?

Ghettos? Where the freak in uk are 'the ghettos'?

And apparently its even worse that a woman wants to tattoo her own body than if a man does it? Sexist bullshit. Her body her choice and its time people got over themselves. If she is saving your life or making your life much better wtf does it matter whats on her body? Some tats are horrid and why anyone would have them is anyones guess but thats not what op is proposing. Dont people understand that many tatoos are celebrations of life events or have special meanings to people? Why shouldnt she be able to do what she likes to her own body?

Its no longer 1950.

You know what is always really obvious on these threads?

Disliking tattoos is a perfectly reasonable stance. As is not getting a tattoo as you dislike them.

What isn’t reasonable is assuming you can judge someone’s education or professionalism because of THEIR likes.

Smacks rather of arrogance doesn’t it?

It is, however, a reflection of his aesthetic judgement which may or may not be a reflection of his education only if the tattoo is crap and he's an artist.

I forgot to ask my son's doctors to steip so I could assess their body art as confirmation as to whether they could cut him open and chop bits up!

Yeah I agree. I dont like most tattoos - sometimes I see one that’s done by someone talented, but a lot I don’t like and think are meh at best. I don’t ever want one myself. And it’s ok to think that.

I also don’t TELL people irl I don’t like them if they have them. And I don’t make assumptions about people’s education level or abilities. If they want a tattoo it’s their body. I’d only judge if it was something that was racist etc.

What I want to see from a nurse is efficiency, bedside manner, and scrupulous hygiene. A tattoo or an armful of tattoos has no bearing on those things at all.

Besides everyone Has them these days. They’re no longer even slightly niche - I’m probably in a minority of people I know who dont have them.

user1499173618. When one of my elderly parents received a cancer diagnosis... the physical appearance of the doctor terrified my already highly anxious parent. I do think that, in professions facing the public, it is wise to try to at least not look scary

What was it about them that was scary though?

I really, really don’t like tatooes. But most people seem to have them now so I’m in a minority. If you’re a good caring nurse then I wouldn’t care at the point I’m receiving treatment tbh.

Tattoos? No problem. However of you are a midwife with long nails..............

I'd think they look awful like all tattoos, but it wouldn't make me think you were a bad nurse or anything like that.

SleepingStandingUp - where shall I begin? Shaved head, weird facial hair, holes in his nose and eyebrows where piercings had been taken out, small neck tattoo but that gave the impression it was much bigger, just covered by clothing. And really inarticulate. Totally terrifying feeling r an elderly person learning they have a few weeks to live.

Everyone and their Aunt Fanny has tattoos now. I don't think I'd even notice as a patient.

I wouldn't get it done anywhere it might be seen in a work uniform though, just because it shouldn't affect your career doesn't mean it won't.

To be honest, if I am poorly enough to need to see a nurse or medical practitioner then I don't give a toss what they look like, whether they have tattoos or not etc. All I care is that they're making me better or helping me with my pain/illness.

Imagine being so entitled that you're disgusted by the nurses working hard to ensure you're well, just because they have tattoos.

If you're compassionate sympathetic kind and clean I personally couldn't give a shit.

Let’s face it, Nurse’s are in short supply. If you are qualified for the job having a tattoo is not going to make a blind bit of difference
sprogletsmum yes, older people do have to adjust to the world they find themselves in. I think, as I and others have said, that if you are a good nurse then people won’t give a damn eventually what your appearance is. They will get over the initial shock to their sensibilities.
I have no idea what you mean about some cultural groups having negative associations ??