Establishing a good doctor-patient relationship is one of the most crucial elements of proper treatment and health care. However, what happens when a doctor doesn’t really conform to the standard ‘doctor image’ and shakes the patient’s trust by having a visible, or any tattoo?

Well, this is a tricky topic. In the past decade, the medical school and medical staff, in general, have become more progressive, so much so that doctors having tattoos is a completely normal occurrence. However, there are still some dilemmas whether the tattoos should be visible or not and whether they shake the patient’s trust towards the doctor.

In the following paragraphs, we’ll take a look at some misconceptions in regards to doctors with tattoos and what we as patients can expect from these untraditional medical professionals.

Can Doctors Have Tattoos?

Traditional Appearance and Trust

Some studies have found that patients prefer and trust more doctors who appear like traditional doctors. Such doctors are very well put together, wear traditional attire like a white coat or blue scrubs, and are generally the embodiment of a healthy, proper doctor whom we should look up to.

Patients are believed to be more satisfied with a traditional looking doctor since they associate it with professionalism and proper behavior, not only in the hospital but also in their private life.

Even when it comes to doctors talking about tattoos, it is surprising to see that more than 40% of doctors do NOT approve of tattoos in medical professionals and staff. Sure, a lot of doctors are in favor of tattoos, but even then, they believe the tattoos should be completely covered during work. So, where do we draw the line between personal and professional life and one affecting the other?

In an ideal world, doctors would be able to wear their tattoos openly and proudly, and still earn their patient’s trust based on their good work, not their appearance. But, people have been exposed to the ‘traditional image of a doctor’ for so long that any departure from such an image shakes the patient’s trust.