An MD with Tattoos ?!

Personally, your tatoo and its design sound pretty cool so if I was a med student or a person that knew you I would think of that as a plus. I like individuality, so I wouldn’t have a problem with it. If I was a patient and saw angels on your arms I would think that you were passionate about medicine and caring about people. That would be my opinion []My advice is like the old saying goes: you have to be true to yourself– there must have been something that motivated you to needle the symbol into your arm– so keep it there. Otherwise, the constraints of other people and their opinions will always interfere with things that are important to you! Also, I have seen doctors with tatoos and they were obviously walking around short-sleeved. I guess as long as what is drawn on the tatoo is not offensive then there shouldn’t be a problem.

Well, I can address the specific attire sections of your question, in addition to a (perhaps) reassuring anecdote.

In anatomy, you will almost certainly be required to wear scrubs; however, I can’t imagine much of a wardrobe police in an anatomy lab so you could likely wear an undershirt without too much difficulty. Most anatomy labs are cold, so it might not even seem unusual. More to the point, in the unlikely event that anyone running the course cared, you’re graded on objective criteria anyway.

You cannot wear non-standard attire into the OR. You will wear surgical scrubs and keep the lower arms bare and sterile. That being said, you will also be wearing a surgical gown if you’re scrubbed in which covers you from shoulders to hands anyways. So, no one would see your body art except in the time period between scrubbing your hands and putting on the gown.

It is probably a good idea to keep it covered during the actual interview.

In closing, though, there is more variety in appearance at these places than you probably imagine. In my medical school class, one student had tattoos quite literally covering both arms from shoulder to mid-forearm. I’m currently a resident at what is probably the stodgiest institution in the United States in terms of attire, and my last attending had a nose ring.

Physician-resident

As far as I am aware, most people worry about tattoos because it is a somewhat irreversible decision. Obviously there are expensive surgeries you can get to remove it, but generally people live with the tattoo they get for their entire life. If you can say straight-faced that you are fine with your tattoo and don’t regret it, I wouldn’t see a problem. Also, if you have a tattoo on your right arm, admissions personnel should NOT see it. You should be wearing a long-sleeve dress shirt on interviews, possibly with a suit jacket (although with the suit jacket on you can sometimes get away with a short-sleeve dress shirt).