So I'm a first year medical student, and for a while now I've been thinking of getting a so called snakebite, which is two piercings in the lower lip (2 lip rings). I'm wondering what people think about this considering my furture profession as a physician.

Will patients find it offending in any way? Will they think I'm less competent as a doctor? I'm not sure how accepted this is... Please share your thoughts or experiences!

(Hope I posted in the right forum)

They have a tendency to see weird and incompetent, physicians with an accent or that are overweight.
Now what do you think?

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Well ...................IMGsurvivor....pls elaborate

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Some hospital will not allow you to attend your rotations if you physical appearance isn't up to "professional standards" (i.e. numerous visible piercings, green hair, etc.). Medicine is a field that is all about tradition and conformity and changes to that will not be met with positive results.

What will you think if you saw a doctor with some piercings or tattoos and he/she is about to open a hole on you?

If your answer is "I'm fine with it", then certainly there are people who will feel the same. So, go ahead but you might need to find someway to persuade your Directors in the future.

For me, I certainly will file a complain with the hospital if I see one. Sorry :"(...

Appearance is as important in medicine as in any professional fields...

You don't want to have 2 rings on the lip if you're having a interview.... unless it's a job relates to contemporary art (maybe...)

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i knew a student that wore extra large scrubs to cover an arm tatoo. there is no way to hide the lip peircings. i would strongly advise against going through with this. i agree, it does not look professional in a hospital setting.

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Dr. Scott
Internal Medicine
PGY-1 in July 2008

AUC Forum Moderator

Yeah, that is just not professional. Fairly silly even if you weren't going to med school.

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Let me ask you this...Do you think it projects a professional image and it will inspire trust in your pateints? Believe me, trust is an extremely inportant element in this business, it can make a difference between sticking with you and asking for somebody else's help.

Reality number 2, welcome to the real world, not college, not high school anymore, the world of professional business at any level or within any career has it's own set of unwritten rules set upon tradition and conformity like NYladoo said. Individuality at this level is not the norm.

Reality nummber 3, your employer sets the rule of conduct and part of that rule of conduct is your appearance, as part of your condition of employment they can tell you to take it off during business hours, what to wear and not to wear. What you do or how you look on YOUR OWN time, that is your problem.

To answer your question...Will patients find it offending in any way? Will they think I'm less competent as a doctor?

Some will definitely will and will complain about it. How many of them? Nobody can answer that unless you try by yourself, a little social experiment.

Do you care if they feel offended or not? Based on what you answer will give you an idea if you are suited for this line of work or not.

Bear in mind I am not judging you or anything, just letting you know what might happen based on how things really work out there.

Good luck.

Max


how will you feel having a physician with a face tatto a la maik tayson ( a famous boxer) doing ob gyn?

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I don't think it would reflect professionalism and trust, especially with the increasingly older population.

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will only cause problems. you're a professional, you have to look the part. here in the US we judge so much on appearance, and unfortunately, with medicine, if a patient doesn't trust you, you can't do your job.

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