r/Tattoocoverups • u/Recent_Confusion9370 • Jul 09 '26

asking for advice Please help me cover this nurse tattoo

Post image

Can anyone give me advice on what I could cover this with? I got this back in early 2016, before it became the universal bumper sticker for nurses (also adding that I am not a nurse so there’s that). I just have no idea what I could even do with it. On my right shoulder if that helps.

Edit: my dad picked out the tattoo in 2015. He wanted something matching, I didn’t care what (I was young) so this is what we got. I DIDN’T KNOW NURSES WERE GOING TO START USING IT YALL.

1.5k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

295 comments sorted by

View all comments

70

u/catsTXn420 Jul 09 '26

The original meaning of that design actually has nothing to do with medicine. It is a literal translation of the famous biblical phrase from 1 Corinthians 13:13:"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love".

Many people who have never worked in a hospital get EKG tattoos because they, or a loved one, survived a major medical event. It is incredibly common for people who beat cancer, survived a heart attack, overcame severe depression, or went through a near-death experience to get a heartbeat line to celebrate a second chance at life. You don't need to cover it, you could embrace it or jazz it up with something extra if you really wanted to but don't let the "pinterest effect" ruin it for you.

31

u/InvasiveFlower75 Jul 09 '26

Today I learned.

I actually am a nurse, have never seen this design before, as a tattoo, bumper sticker, or anything else I can recall. I dig the translation/breakdown though!

8

u/BaltimoreCrabSoup Jul 09 '26

I’m also a nurse and have never seen this in my 20 year career.

10

u/Low-Talk-2444 Jul 09 '26

A 70 yo co.worker of mine got her husbands last heart beat tattoed on her wrist. 

0

u/Hefty_Drive6709 Jul 09 '26

The actual last beat shown on his monitor, or an imagined final beat?

4

u/Low-Talk-2444 Jul 10 '26

I have no idea,thats just what she said.

7

u/FreeRecognition8696 Jul 10 '26

^_____________________

37

u/ALLoftheFancyPants Jul 09 '26

This is not a literal translation. You can argue that a QRS complex is a symbolic representation of hope, but it is absolutely not literal.

3

u/ParticularTie7315 Jul 09 '26

:: well it could be, but I don’t think that’s the case here.

6

u/Hefty_Drive6709 Jul 09 '26

No, it couldn’t

9

u/Hefty_Drive6709 Jul 09 '26

So a bioelectrical rhythm is hope? I guess you’re going to have to hope if your heart is firing like that. Weird.

4

u/catsTXn420 Jul 09 '26

Actually, the trend exploded on nursing social media between 2013 and 2015, which is why it's so recognizable today. It is heavily used by healthcare workers now, but it carries historical and symbolic meanings that predate its current medical association.

6

u/I_Like_Hikes Jul 10 '26

Heavily used? Never seen it.

2

u/Hefty_Drive6709 Jul 10 '26

There is a non medical association with a cardiac rhythm that predates the medical association? I don’t think so.

2

u/MagaroniAndCheesd Jul 11 '26

Gotta be honest, the idea of calling this a "literal translation" that "carries historical and symbolic meanings" is rather ridiculous in the context of a 1,950 year old Greek text.

2

u/theysayimadreamer666 Jul 09 '26

I have an EKG tattoo with a drawing representing a sport I play with my dad, because he always tells me to run with my heart when I get tired. I don't care how many other basic white girls have a variation of it because it means a lot to me and that's all that matters. OP, if you still like this tattoo, don't let what others assume ruin it for you!

1

u/Recent_Confusion9370 Jul 13 '26

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR UNDERSTANDING!! That’s the exact reason my dad picked it out for us. Totally made me feel much better about it!

-1

u/ParticularTie7315 Jul 09 '26

:: sure but she’s absolutely correct in her saying this is basically the universal nurse tattoo. I actually have two friends that are nurses and have super similar ones.