Can you have tattoos in the medical field?

Most hospitals and clinics require that tats be covered any time you are on shift or in the workplace. There are some exceptions, and obviously if you are a doc in private practice, you can do whatever the hell you want, but most places with bosses uphold a conservative workplace.

Remember that many hospitals are now affiliated with a religion and in most religions, tattoos are a sin.

Edit: Wrist tats can be tricky. Plenty of hospitals don't allow watches to be worn by nurses/mid to low level patient care workers as they harbor bacteria.

You can but they must be covered. I know a lot of nurses who will get wrist tattoos because they can cover it up with a watch. But if it's not able to be covered you have to wear long sleeves at all times. It's much more reasonable to just get them in spots that wont show when wearing short sleeve scrubs. You don't want to wear sleeves the Rest Of Your Life. That's a long time to commit to for a simple tattoo.

absolutely, there was a cool picture that came out about a year ago of a heart surgeon that was completely covered, head to toe, in tats. In his scrubs he looked like a doc without them he looked like some hardcore biker.

Yes

So long as they remain covered and not visible

is it going to effect your medical skills?

yea of course you can , why not