gadad

I wouldn't go to a doctor who has a tattoo. If I had a doctor and then found that s/he had a tattoo, I'd change doctors. To me, tattoos are evidence of a simple absence of judgment. They have no real benefit and serve to alienate a large portion of the population. If a prospective doctor has no better judgment than that, they're not qualified to have me for a patient.

EngineerHead

Well of course you can lie, I was skipping over that one.

gadad, so harsh! Everyone makes mistakes, no? Not saying tattoos are mistakes, but just answering back with respect to your point of view.

gadad

You know, I may be wrong about it. But whether I'm wrong or right shouldn't be as important to a prospective doctor as whether they can make a living in a medical practice. I was born in the middle year of the baby boom, which for the next few decades will provide a huge bloc of the medical profession's potential patients, and I'm sure that a lot of Boomers are as turned off by tattoos as I am.

Icarus

Why would you have to lie? I haven't seen too many job applications that ask about tattoos, and policies on tattoos typically only apply to visible tattoos.

And gadad, its not a matter of being right or wrong, its a personal opinion. To a lot of people, tattoos have the benefit of being a mode of personal expression among other things, and I don't think they alienate that large of a percentage of the population. You have as much right to change your doctor for having a tattoo as you do because you don't like their eye color or the way they style their hair - none of which are based on their medical knowledge, judgement, or skill. But if you think it is, then that's fine. I still say that if it's not visible in a professional setting, what does it matter?

EngineerHead

The jobs you apply to don't request for you to disclose information on personal body art or piercings? At the end of it all, are you not requested to sign acknowledgment that everything has been completed to the best of your ability?

shades_children

I've never been asked this. But then again, I haven't worked many different jobs. I'm having trouble imagining what sort of employer would ask people this sort of question. Modelling agencies?

Icarus

No - never seen it as a question before. And what business is it of theirs anyway? As long as you conform to their appearance standards while working - i.e. if the standard is no visible tattoos and your tattoos will always be covered while working...

BUandBC82

I'm a baby boomer and my husband is a physician and I don't have a problem with a doctor having a tatoo. I guess I wouldn't want it to be a skull or somthing crass, but something in good taste (and small) wouldn't bother me, but then my father was an old sailor with tatoos.

I know some professional men will put a tatoo on their ankle where it is easy to hide under their work pants.

mmmcdowe

I worked in radio, hospitals, teaching (including adult and elementary), research, and at a gym. I have never been asked to disclose that I had tattoos as far as I can remember. There have been a few policies about displaying tattoos though. I'm not entirely sure if it is a question that is even allowed to be asked unless it is a matter of the job (asking a model if she has tattoos that may interfere with a shoot or something).... For most jobs the rule of thumb is if they don't see it in the interview then as long as it stays that way there isn't a problem.

If you change doctors because of finding out that they have a tattoo... well that's quite a bit of hassle if you are satisfied with the quality of their care. Further, in a hospital setting, say surgery, if you request another surgeon because he's got a tattoo you are either going to be denied or find yourself being rescheduled (and they probably won't be feeling too generous about that).

BUandBC82

andtarskies - I asked my husband if he knew of any doctors at the hospital with tatoos. He could not think of any. If they have them, they're hiding them.

andtarskies

Thanks to all for your input! This reinforced what I thought before and gave me perspective. I don't think I'll be getting the tattoo, memorization seems the way to go as I don't see my career as something I want to sabotage before it begins. Also, I don't know if I grok 'on your body for the rest of your life' well enough to make body art a responsible decision now. I appreciate your honesty.

mmmcdowe

Lol grok, glad to see another Heinlein fan.

DocDan

I am an attending physician (in other words, I finished medical school and residency) and I am getting a band-style tattoo of a Rod of Asclepius (the Greek symbol for healer) around my upper right arm to celebrate my 10th year since receiving my MD degree.

I have NEVER been asked on any hospital job application or during an interview whether I had any tattoos. I can also tell you that there are many medical students, residents, attendings, nurses, and other clinical health care professionals who have ink.

Quite frankly, if any person judged me solely because I had a tattoo, I wouldn't want them as a patient... It IS a "two-way street" after all. Fortunately the vast majority of patients not only couldn't care less about a doctor with a tattoo, many of them have some ink themselves.

- Dan

Jessicaaa

My Dad died when i was 8 years old, and recently i got a tattoo on the inside of my left wrist saying Dad with a butterfly above it, and i don't see how anyone can say that's a mistake, because it's one way of keeping him with me forever, along with many other things. I think people are being far too judgemental saying they'd never trust a doctor who has a tattoo, because they could have personal meanings behind them, like mine, and it certainly doesn't effect their intelligence. In fact, they could have far better knowledge that someone else with a tattoo. People shouldn't judge so much these days.

premed4

Hi, I didn't really read much of this thread but I just wanted to give my opinion. I don't really know many doctors with tattoos but IMO it depends on the type of tattoo, I meaningful tattoo that actually has significance is acceptable (as long as there are not a lot of them and they are not huge, like less than 3, and not taking up a giant part of your body). On the other hand tattoos that make you look scary and less intelligent might scare a patient. I know one doctor like this, he happens to be a pediatrician, and I don't know how this has affected his career but I know that even though he looks like a biker (and from what I can tell is a biker) he still has a job somewhere.