Medical Tattoo Fellowship Admissions Call
Schedule a 30-minute virtual consultation with The Medical Tattoo Fellowship instructor to learn more about the program, review your experience, and determine whether the fellowship is the right fit for your professional goals.
This call is designed to provide clarity on training structure, requirements, and progression through each phase of The Medical Tattoo Fellowship™, as well as answer questions about application and enrollment.
Participants will have the opportunity to discuss their background in tattooing and receive direct guidance on next steps.
What Is the Medical Tattooing Fellowship Program™?
A Structured Pathway to Specializing in Medical Tattooing
Medical tattoo training requires more than learning a single technique. Medical tattooing is a specialty within the tattoo profession, and developing competency requires progressive education in anatomy, scar tissue, surgical procedures, aseptic practice, tattoo technique and real-world case assessment.
The Medical Tattooing Fellowship Program™ was created to provide tattoo artists with that pathway.
Inspired by the educational structure of medical specialty fellowships and the one-on-one tradition of tattoo apprenticeships, this program combines comprehensive online education, live instruction, supervised hands-on training, and continued mentorship into a structured learning experience designed specifically for experienced tattoo artists.
Our goal is simple: to prepare artists to work safely, confidently, and ethically with surgically altered and medically compromised skin.
Why a Fellowship?
In medicine, physicians complete years of foundational education before entering a fellowship to specialize in a particular field. During fellowship, they continue learning under the supervision of experienced specialists, applying their knowledge to real clinical cases while refining judgment and decision-making.
Tattooing has long followed a similar philosophy through the apprenticeship model, where artists learn directly from experienced professionals over time—not simply by watching videos or completing isolated classes.
The Medical Tattooing Fellowship combines these two educational models.
Artists first establish a strong academic foundation before progressing into individualized, hands-on training where technique, critical thinking, and clinical decision-making are developed through direct mentorship.
Medical tattooing deserves the same thoughtful progression because every client presents unique anatomy, surgical history, tissue quality, and healing characteristics that cannot be mastered through technique alone.
Program Structure
The fellowship is designed as a progressive educational pathway.
Phase I – Foundational Education
Before beginning hands-on fellowship training, all participants must complete the required online prerequisite courses.
Medical Tattooing Foundations
Develop a comprehensive understanding of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, compromised skin, cancer treatments, surgical procedures, consultations, medications, contraindications, and ethical practice.
Aseptic Technique for Tattoo Artists
Learn advanced infection prevention, surgical aseptic principles, barrier techniques, sterilization, cross-contamination prevention, and elevated clinical practices designed specifically for medical tattooing.
Nipple & Areola Design - Coming Soon
This advanced course will focus on artistic design principles, nipple composition, realism, color theory, symmetry, and creating natural restorative outcomes.
Completion of the prerequisite coursework ensures every fellow begins hands-on training with a consistent educational foundation and shared understanding of the medical principles that support safe practice.
Phase II – In-Person Fellowship Training
Following completion of the prerequisite education, fellows may continue into the hands-on portion of the program.
Unlike traditional classroom instruction, fellowship training is conducted through individualized mentorship between an experienced medical tattoo artist and a tattoo fellow.
This one-to-one learning environment allows instruction to be tailored to each artist's experience, strengths, and areas for growth.
During fellowship training, artists develop practical experience in:
Medical consultations
Skin assessment
Scar evaluation
Surgical anatomy
Treatment planning
Tattoo application techniques
Clinical workflow
Professional communication
Ethical decision-making
Case review and discussion
Fellows will have the opportunity to train with Nicole Rizzuto as their attending Tattoo Artist in their studio in Bellmore, New York. Minimum in-person training is TWO WEEKS (Sundays and Mondays off) or maximum TWO MONTHS with additional weeks that can be added to your training for further support. (One Artist/Fellow per training)
Phase III – On-Site Studio Fellowship
Education continues beyond the fellowship studio.
To help bridge the transition into independent practice, fellows may participate in On-Site Studio Fellowship Training.
During this phase, The Tattoo Instructor (Nicole Rizzuto) will travel to your studio and work alongside you in your own professional environment, providing guidance while you treat your own clients for ONE WEEK (5 days) with additional days to be added upon request.
This individualized training allows us to refine:
Client consultations
Studio workflow
Treatment planning
Technique adjustments
Skin assessment
Difficult case management
Clinical decision-making
Professional confidence
The goal is to support artists as they integrate medical tattooing into their own practices while receiving continued mentorship during real client appointments.
Continuing Education
Medical tattooing continues to evolve as reconstructive surgery, oncology treatments, wound care, and tattoo techniques advance.
For this reason, education should not end after fellowship training.
The Medical Tattooing Fellowship will continue to expand its educational offerings through:
Live educational webinars
Case study discussions
Surgical updates
Research reviews
Guest physician presentations
Advanced tattoo techniques
Specialty workshops
New online courses
Our objective is to create a professional learning community that encourages lifelong education and continued growth throughout your career.
A Program Designed to Grow With the Profession
The Medical Tattooing Fellowship Program™ is continually evolving.
As the field of medical tattooing advances, new educational resources, fellowship opportunities, specialty courses, and mentorship programs will be added to support artists at every stage of their professional development.
We are committed to building an educational program that grows alongside the profession and reflects the highest standards of medical tattoo education.
Stay Connected
Additional courses, fellowship opportunities, educational webinars, and advanced training modules are currently in development.
Join our newsletter to receive updates on:
Upcoming course releases
Fellowship enrollment dates
Live webinars
Continuing education opportunities
Guest instructors
New educational resources
Program announcements
Be among the first to learn about new opportunities as The Medical Tattooing Fellowship continues to grow.
Our Mission
The Medical Tattooing Fellowship Program™ exists to advance medical tattooing through structured education, supervised training, ethical practice, and lifelong learning. By combining the academic foundation of medical specialty training with the mentorship tradition of tattooing, we aim to prepare artists to serve clients with the knowledge, skill, and professional judgment that this specialty deserves.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Licensed, experienced tattoo artists may enroll in one or all of the online prerequisite courses without committing to the full Fellowship.
To advance into the in-person Fellowship, studio-based training, and continued Fellowship opportunities, all required prerequisites must be successfully completed. These courses establish a shared foundation in medical tattooing, anatomy, scar and surgically altered tissue, aseptic technique, safety, and advanced tattoo design before progressing to hands-on training.
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There is no single set timeframe for completing the Medical Tattooing Fellowship Program™. This program was intentionally designed to move away from the idea that a complex tattoo specialty can be learned in a three-day or weekend course.
Artists should plan to work through the Fellowship pathway over approximately one year, depending on course schedules, readiness, and training availability.
Live online prerequisite courses are offered every few months, while in-person Fellowship and studio-based training opportunities are offered at select times throughout the year. The goal is progressive education, practice, observation, hands-on experience, and mentorship—not rushing through a predetermined number of days.
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Yes. The Fellowship is designed for experienced, licensed tattoo artists. It is not a substitute for a traditional tattoo apprenticeship or foundational tattoo education.
Medical tattooing introduces additional challenges, including scar tissue, surgically altered anatomy, changes in vascularity and tissue quality, radiation-affected skin, unpredictable pigment retention, and clients with complex surgical histories. Artists should already have strong fundamentals in tattoo machine operation, needle selection, depth, saturation, color theory, wound healing, cross-contamination prevention, and working safely on healthy skin before progressing to compromised tissue.
If you have never tattooed professionally, the recommended first step is a traditional tattoo apprenticeship where you can develop foundational tattooing skills under experienced supervision. Medical tattooing should be an advanced specialty built upon those fundamentals—not where tattooing fundamentals are first learned.
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Yes. Hands-on training is an important part of the full Fellowship pathway.
After completing the required prerequisites, eligible artists can progress into in-person Fellowship training, including observation, case assessment, treatment planning, tattoo design, technique development, and supervised hands-on experience.
The program also offers studio-based training, allowing education to continue within the artist's own professional environment. Hands-on opportunities are structured around appropriate cases, client safety, artist readiness, and the educational needs of the Fellow rather than simply completing a required number of procedures.
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The full Fellowship combines live online education, in-person Fellowship training, studio-based training, and continued mentorship and education.
The online prerequisites establish the educational foundation before an artist progresses into hands-on work. In-person training then allows those concepts to be applied to real cases under supervision.
This blended structure is intentional: medical tattooing requires both theoretical knowledge and practical experience.
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Medical tattooing involves more than learning a tattoo pattern or pigment formula. Artists may be working with scar tissue, reconstructed anatomy, radiation changes, altered vascularity, tissue irregularities, previous tattoo work, and complex surgical outcomes.
These variables cannot be reproduced through a single standardized model or mastered simply by completing a few days of instruction.
The Medical Tattooing Fellowship Program™ was developed around a progressive training model that provides more time for education, observation, practice, hands-on experience, case discussion, and professional development.
The objective is not to complete training as quickly as possible. It is to give experienced tattoo artists the time and education necessary to develop this specialty responsibly.
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No. The Medical Tattooing Fellowship Program™ does not represent completion of the program as a government-issued or nationally recognized “medical tattoo certification.”
The tattoo industry has no single governing body that universally regulates or recognizes a credential of Certified Medical Tattoo Artist. Private training companies can issue certificates for their own courses, but that does not automatically make the recipient nationally licensed, board certified, or independently credentialed in the specialty.
The Fellowship is intentionally transparent about this distinction.
Artists receive records of completion and participation documenting the education and training they have completed throughout the program. These records demonstrate training completed through the Fellowship without creating the false impression that a private course certificate represents a government-recognized professional credential.
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Yes. Experienced, licensed tattoo artists may take individual online courses for continuing education without committing to the entire Fellowship.
Artists who later decide to continue into the full program can apply completed prerequisite courses toward the Fellowship pathway, subject to current program requirements.
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No. Artists entering the in-person Fellowship pathway must complete all required prerequisites, regardless of previous medical tattoo experience.
Experienced artists come from very different training backgrounds. Requiring the same foundational education helps establish a consistent baseline in safety, aseptic practices, anatomy, scar and surgical tissue, terminology, assessment, and technical expectations before advanced training begins.
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No. Nipple and areola tattooing is an important component of medical tattooing, but the Fellowship provides a broader foundation for understanding medical and restorative tattooing as a specialty.
Training addresses subjects including scar and surgically altered tissue, breast reconstruction, anatomy, wound healing, aseptic technique, contraindications, client assessment, tattoo design, and the technical considerations involved when working with compromised skin.
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No. The Fellowship is an advanced specialty training pathway for established tattoo artists.
A tattoo apprenticeship teaches the foundations of becoming a tattoo artist. The Fellowship builds upon those existing skills and focuses on the additional education necessary to responsibly transition into medical and restorative tattooing.
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Artists can begin by enrolling in the available online prerequisite courses or learning more about the complete Fellowship pathway.
Those interested in pursuing the full program can also schedule an admissions call to discuss professional experience, prerequisites, program expectations, and future in-person training opportunities.
Medical Tattoo Fellowship Admissions Call
Schedule a 30-minute virtual consultation with the Medical Tattoo Fellowship Program™ instructor to learn more about the program, review your experience, and determine whether the fellowship is the right fit for your professional goals.
This call is designed to provide clarity on training structure, requirements, and progression through each phase of the Medical Tattoo Fellowship Program™, as well as answer questions about application and enrollment.
Participants will have the opportunity to discuss their background in tattooing and receive direct guidance on next steps.