Can nurses have facial piercings

I'm a nurse, and I have an eyebrow piercing, multiple ear piercings, and a septum piercing. I unfortunately have to wear clear acrylic retainers in all of them (except for my older ear piercings, which are so well healed that they can go for months with nothing in them and not close).

I've seen some hospitals that allow visible piercings -- but very, very few. Health care personnel are still held to a different standard, and fair or unfair, that's the way it is.

Ask yourself, too, if you accept the additional risk of bloodborne pathogen exposure. You are creating non-intact skin, because even if you bump a healed facial piercing, it can cause micro-tears in the epithelium and allow pathogens to enter. If you are really careful about not touching your face without properly washing your hands, and you ALWAYS wear a face shield when doing invasive procedures, you should be OK. Just be aware that it IS another potential route for pathogens to enter your body. If you use common sense, it's no worse than working with a paper cut -- you just remember to use precautions.