Tattoos on the job

[Don1977]

I agree with Ruff.....who cares about tattoos as long as they can hold there own.

[reaper]

It's called be professional. I have Tats, but they are not visible in normal clothes. You have to use your head, when you decide to get them.

You should care what the Pt's think, you work for them! I could care less where they are on a Firefighter. But, if you run EMS calls, then I do. You are suppose to be a medical professional, not look like a gang banger! This is how grandma will see it, when you come to her house.

[Just Plain Ruff]

but it's not my opinion that counts. It's the opinion of management of your current job that counts. If they say no tatts below the elbow so be it.

If they say no body art of any kind and "We check" then no body art of any kind.

I think the bottom line is this, take the most conservative service out there, I worked for them, they said no visible body art anywhere on the body. If it isn't covered up by a polo shirt and shorts then you cannot apply to work here. No piercings of any kind except ears of women.

They were firm in their requirements and if you went out and got drunk one night and got a tattoo of you "Mama" on your arm and it wasn't covered by your short sleeve shirt then you were gone. Bye sayonara. They were extremely strict on this one policy.

So I would advise this for all those who are looking to get a tattoo - if it isn't covered up by a polo shirt and shorts then think long and hard about getting one because there are going to be services that will not hire you or WILL fire you for tattoos. Better left unseen.

Humorous story - I was on a plane and there was this little old lady sitting in the middle seat of a row of seats. I was right next to her. This guy came and took the window seat and he had KKK and skin heads tattooed all over his body. He had skull tatts on his bald head and also the words "Die" on one hand and "Jews" on the other hand.

She asked him to move. He refused. She then rang her call attendant bell and asked the flight attendant to move him because his tattoos offended her. The flight attendant asked the guy to move and now he was just being an ass.

The flight attendant asked the lady why she wanted him to move and she showed him her Concentration camp tattoo and the flight attendant said "I understand" the guy didn't move and became very angry and nasty. He was then removed from the flight by two Connecticut State troopers.

The entire plane clapped as he was led off the plane.

It was a good day.

Some tattoos offend people and this was one of those tattooed people that offend people and this is why people have such a negative opinion of tatt's. The person may be the nicest person in the world but to have a tattoo gives them a negative connotation and impression that is very very hard to get past.

So I've already said I have no problem with tatt's and I have no problem with those with tatts, but you need to be able to do your job and do it well and I expect nothing less from anyone else.

[letmesleep]

DAMN YOU FLY A LOT Ruff, hey that is a bad ass story, and quite honestly that skin head can go to hell for all I care. My question is this tho, Why did he have to move just because she was offended? She didn't seem to have a problem with him being on the plane, from the way it sounds, so why did she ask to be reassigned to a different seat? just curious.

I will agree that there has to be a certain level of professionalism in our appearance, as far as the public is concerned, but does it really matter if you have visible tattoos when your Pt is on their death bed? I have many tattoos, and they are very large as well, but they are all covered by my uniform. I do this because of policy. My district will hire those with visible tattoos, but with the agreement that you will not add to them. On the other side, if you don't have visible tattoos when hired you are not allowed to get them. As I see it, there is a lot of misunderstandings about tattoos which lead to discrimination towards those who have them. Do I agree that we should NOT look like gangbangers? YES, but on the flip side should you judge somebody for having them?

Very simply, for a district and/ or private service not to hire based of body modifications is discrimination in my book, but regulating how their employees look following their hiring is acceptable. Case in point, when I started here I had no piercings but there was no policy stating that I could not have one. I made a request to the admin office who then presented it to our Board (old school, and small town), they gave me premision stating that I would have to adhere to the policy laid out for ear rings in regards to nothing dangling. This policy was put in to place approx 15years prior to me asking, and was established for the women of the district. I was the first male requesting to wear ear rings, and they approved as long as I followed the policy of such. I have never had any issues with my Pts or Admin, and have frequently talked about tattoos with numerous Pts on the way to their destination. A little common sense goes a long way!

[Just Plain Ruff]

there is a lot more to this story than I can put down here but suffice it to say she was a concentration camp survivor and the Die Jews tattoo sent her over the edge. Again, there is a lot more to the story and we had 2 hours to chat and I got a very very very good idea of what she went thru and I understood her concern.

Yes I do fly a lot - over a million miles over the past 7 years. I spend 500-800 per week on airfare for my job.

I need to write a book or short story on what this woman told me in our two hour flight. I actually have her address and phone number and she has mine. She was a wonderful seat mate.

But to shorten this, she watched her entire family get carted off to the various gas chambers as well as 2 family members were shot in the head right in front of her. one got caught stealing another prisoner's bread and another got caught looking at a guard wrong.

I don't think any of us on this forum, me included, can say we can understand what the jews and other focused groups went through at the hands of the Nazi's so good riddance to Mr. Skinhead.

I need to stop writing and remembering what she told me, it makes me sad and teary eyed.

[letmesleep]

With all due respect to her life experiences....my question was NOT meant to be harmful or uncaring. As I stated the skin head can go to hell, it was simply a question since she had only asked for him to be moved. I have no doubt that she had plenty to tell, and I'm sure she could teach all of a few life lessons.....NO offense intended

[Just Plain Ruff]

With all due respect to her life experiences....my question was NOT meant to be harmful or uncaring. As I stated the skin head can go to hell, it was simply a question since she had only asked for him to be moved. I have no doubt that she had plenty to tell, and I'm sure she could teach all of a few life lessons.....NO offense intended

Goodness I hope you don't think I thought you were uncaring. I must have mis-read your post. No offense was even thought of.

She nicely asked the guy to move. There were over 60 empty seats on the plane yet the dumb ass refused to move. When the attendant talked to him he became irate and used some language that was inappropriate on the plane. The attendant was very nice but he got irate. He refused to move and in fact the attendant gave him more than one chance and he was obstinate. A second attendant came up while the third halted boarding so no-one else would see what was happening.

Finally the captain was the one who ordered him off. Two troopers came on and escorted him off. I think they were troopers, I didn't get a chance to read their patches but the did say "connecticut"

the guy could have easily moved yet had to play the victim. too bad so sad.

It was fun to watch yet scary because this guy was 2 of me and I'm not a small guy.

[Just Plain Ruff]

DAMN YOU FLY A LOT Ruff, hey that is a bad ass story, and quite honestly that skin head can go to hell for all I care. My question is this tho, Why did he have to move just because she was offended? She didn't seem to have a problem with him being on the plane, from the way it sounds, so why did she ask to be reassigned to a different seat? just curious.

Actually I see where you came from. All she did was ask him to move because she said his tattoos offended her. He became the verbal agressor. She did nothing to him. Actually she said to the flight attendant that she would move and let him stay there but the guy had already started down the road to getting himself kicked off the flight. Had he have not become the agressor and begin to spout some words that were uncalled for short of saying what they were which I'm sure you can guess. He actually said that the Nazi's didn't go far enough. (that was his least offensive statement)

I'm sure she had an issue with him getting on the plane yet we do not have that choice because anyone can fly.

Please don't think I was offended by your questions.

had the guy have gotten up and moved or allowed her to move then he would have made it to Baltimore but he went down a different road thus sealing his fate.

[letmesleep]

As he should have!!!!

[toutdoors]

Interesting views on this topic, and I will have to say that I will be hypocritical on this topic.

On the one hand, there is a male paramedic that I work with on my part time job with a private ALS company. He has quite a few, although not a full sleeve, of tat's on his arms. He has to wear a long sleeved shirt. He is only allowed to wear one earring. He is a heck of a medic. Great with the elderly, you would think he was talking to his grandmother anytime he has an elderly lady in the rig. His skills are very good, and he is possibly one of the sharpest medics on drugs I know. My first impression of him was a little reserved, but he has proven to be a very competent and caring medic.

On the OTHER hand. I was doing one of my last days of clinicals in the ER a few days ago. In comes a paid crew from a smaller hospital, one of the providers, (not sure if EMT or medic). This person had two full sleeves, his lip and nose pierced, and those big old hole piercings in both ears. Sorry, but I lost 100% respect for the guy right off the bat. I don't care if this guy taught the medic I work with that I just described, I had no respect for the guy. Personally, if this person were to show up to care for my mother, I would in all likelihood file a complaint with his employer. Valid or not, if he has the freedom to come to work in that manner, I have the freedom to explain to his employer how his appearance made me uncomfortable and made me question his skill level. Shallow minded? Quite possibly, but then again, just a personal viewpoint.

It was stated earlier in this thread that this is a profession. It should be treated as such. Questions have been asked as to why EMS is not a get rich line of work. Here is one example, as weak as it may be. From what I understand, there is a dress code at pretty much every service out there. So if you work in a private company, they can be as picky as they want in regards to dress codes. I believe that if you show up to someone's personal crisis, they (and their family) will take your appearance to heart. If you look, talk, and act professional you will quite possibly win their hearts and minds. On the other hand if the first thing they see is a person full of tattoos, and holes the size of a quarter in your earlobes, you may very well have lost a lot of confidence in your patient.

People must remember, that in this profession, our patients do not care about OUR life, they are concerned about theirs. They may not see the "art" in all the ink that is on a person. They may see something totally different. For this reason, I think that conservative is a good approach. Not to say an EMS provider can not have a tat, just understand that visible ink may impair your ability to be employed at some companies or make some patients uncomfortable. For the record, I like tasteful tat's. I think some of them are incredible works of art, although I don't have one.