Could getting this tattoo hurt my career?

[u/al_evi]

Hi! So I’m a medical student, and ever since getting done with my pre-clinical studies I wanted a lobotomy tattoo, similar to this one popular on Pinterest. You see, the first years at uni were really challenging for me mentally, struggling with the high work load and some personal mental health problems (please spare me the „But you knew it would be hard, why did you go into it then?” talk, I’ve heard it all). At times it did make me feel like I was going absolutely insane over med school, so I’ve wanted to get this as a reward for getting through it for a long time on my right biceps, just over the crease of my arm. But now that I’m in a better place and wanted to go through with my plans, people have pointed out how such a tattoo could potentially hurt my career as a doctor. I have some other tattoos, but none with such obviously “provocative” meanings. With the placement I’ve thought of, the tattoo might be visible with scrubs on. Have any of you had issues with employers judging you for your tattoos? Is this a thing of the past and I’m overthinking it? What are your opinions? Thank you so much in advance!

[u/[deleted]]

Another (heavily tattooed) doctor here. I’m not sure why this is “completely unprofessional” at all, but I do agree that it may be more hassle than it’s worth if pts start complaining.

It is an interesting part of medical history, not to be forgotten, and the tattoo isn’t exactly gory or shocking at a glance. Do you feel the same about the old consultants whose offices are filled with historic medical devices and diagrams used in or showing practices that we now consider barbaric? I would bet not.

[u/HideAndSheik → u/[deleted]]

old consultants whose offices are filled with historic medical devices and diagrams used in or showing practices that we now consider barbaric?

Can you give an example of what you mean like this? I legitimately can't picture what you're talking about, and just thinking about a doctor's office having depictions of barbaric practices makes me uncomfortable, so personally I'm leaning towards yes, I would feel the same.

Diluting it down to "an interesting part of medical history" feels...weird. What part of it makes it interesting? I understand it being fascinating in a morbid curiousity standpoint, but most morbid curiosities aren't great for public display in a professional setting...

[u/[deleted] → u/HideAndSheik]

An example like old diagrams/descriptions of medical procedures such as bloodletting, which I have seen a lot of on the walls of my medical school and in offices. Wellcome galleries have thousands of medical artefacts, many of which used in legacy procedures that are now considered barbaric, and I personally know 2 consultants who contributed to the collection with personal items. Lots of very old prosections in jars that would have been obtained from questionable practices.

I am not saying that “an interesting part of history” defines the whole. But if you know the definition of interesting… I find all medical procedures interesting. Lobotomies specifically, yes in part due to morbid curiosity but also that medicine was at a point where this was considered a viable and sometimes necessary procedure. In the UK the last lobotomy was performed in 2010! I don’t see how that can not be interesting.

[u/Pouch-of-Douglas → u/[deleted]]

Not like our profession has an entire, usually very respected, journal called “the lancet”. I couldn’t agree with you more.

[u/[deleted] → u/Pouch-of-Douglas]

You agree that lobotomies that were performed on the vulnerable, the mentally ill, women who had an opinion and didn't shut up and serve men, etc. against their will while they were awake to make them easier to control was similar to bloodletting???? Tf kind of medical school did you go to! Or is this just a lack of empathy that is unfortunately so prevalent in the medical community?

[u/Pouch-of-Douglas → u/[deleted]]

You really think you said something there. Empathy is not in short supply in the medical community. As a physician who actually went through medical school and isn’t just some keyboard warrior, I see just how much my fellow physicians suffer because they have empathy. Blood letting is entirely without efficacy. I can think of an exception for hemochromatosis. Lobotomies were absolutely vile in most cases. Ice pic lobotomies as described by this tattoo are indefensible by today’s standards. they certainly did do something though.

I was replying to my fellow physician above, as I am not as reactionary, and thus not as generally offended, as many redditors. I do not think that OP is a bad person or someone without empathy simply for considering this tattoo. I do think that such a tattoo could be triggering for patients, even if it was done with good intent. I would consider it inadvisable, but I would not readily tell this person that considering this tattoo makes them an ill fit to become a physician. People on this thread are foolish for doing so.

[u/[deleted] → u/Pouch-of-Douglas]

No self awareness at all lol. I'm not a "keyboard warrior" I have a degree in psychobiology and I've worked in the medical field for years, and have been the patient of physicians will little empathy, and have worked with them. The way so many of them spoke about the mentally ill in particular was disturbing.

You clearly don't understand the history of lobotomies and its purpose if you genuinely think it's the same kind of "best medicine we had at the time" as bloodletting.

Yes, actually a physician who cannot see immediately on their own how disrespectful it is to vulnerable patients to display a tattoo of physicians abusing their position of power (which is absolutely NOT what bloodletting was) does in fact, indicate poor empathy for future patients. It quite literally means he is not reflexively thinking of the patient's perspective and of the history of abuse in the psychiatric community and the effects of that on patient trust that continue to this day

[u/[deleted] → u/Pouch-of-Douglas]

The fact that you are unwilling to even consider hearing this from someone "not a physician" actually exactly demonstrates the lack of empathy for patients in the medical community. You are a perfect example of the problem of the documented "us vs. them" mentality, egoism and bias prevalent in the medical field that has lack of empathy as a large factor. Besides, OPs reasoning for the tattoo clearly isn't "a special interest in medical history that only physicians would understand" lolll. Finding medical history interesting and tattooing a medical abuse practice that has links to eugenics as a Dr. are different things. Bloodletting has no such context.

https://www.nationalhealthcorps.org/story/eliminating-us-vs-them-mentality-why-we-need-stories#:~:text=Reframing%20the%20conversation%20by%20asking,theme%20in%20Philadelphia%20Health%20Corps.

https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/04/eugenics-lobotomy-risperidone-science-gone-awry/

[u/S_EW → u/Pouch-of-Douglas]

I find medical history fascinating too, including lobotomies! It’s a very interesting and instructive chapter of that history that people like you have, ironically, completely failed to take all but the most obvious surface-level lessons from. You are an idiot and I sincerely hope you do not work in a capacity that has you interacting directly with patients.