Are tattoos acceptable in the medical field?

Like Edwin Rolfe said “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. You should not judge a person by their appearance, but most patients in the medical office will. Unfortunately the older patients’ who are not familiar with the latest in trends like tattoos and piercings will be judgmental. They might even question your competence — even though you were an honor student and can perform your skills with the utmost care. Patients will even refuse care from someone that they feel threatened by.

If you want to be a medical assistant and you don’t have any tattoos yet, consider getting them where you can cover them up if you get them at all. Piercings as well. Piercings are not permanent, but when you start putting dermal implants in your face then it becomes a little hard to cover those up. Stretching of the earlobes as well, when there are different gauges put in the earlobes to stretch them.

If you are already enrolled in a medical assisting program, do not be surprised when your school administrators ask you to cover up your tattoos or take out facial piercings. It is training you to be professional for when you are out in the field.

Last but not least, no one is saying that you cannot express yourself, but keep in mind that not everyone understands why you have those tattoos or piercings. It may be a good idea to get them where you can cover them up. Some offices have a policy about them and some do not. So you have to assume that they are not allowed first and then see if they are.

There are famous people who are actually getting tattoos removed because they believe they were a mistake, so make sure it is something in good taste before you do it because it is permanent. Tattoo removal is very expensive and the skin will never be the same. You have to also think about the harm that can be done when getting a tattoo. As a medical professional in training you are learning about blood borne pathogens, so keep safe and go to a clean place if you decide to get a tattoo.

You still need to remember when working in the medical field that there are people that discriminate against healthcare workers with tattoos and that “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” but some people will.