Nuclear Medicine Technologist Prepare, administer, and measure radioactive isotopes in therapeutic, diagnostic, and tracer studies using a variety of radioisotope equipment. Prepare stock solutions of radioactive materials and calculate doses to be administered by radiologists. Subject patients to radiation. Execute blood volume, red cell survival, and fat absorption studies following standard laboratory techniques.
Nuclear Medicine Technologist is Also Know as
In different settings, Nuclear Medicine Technologist is titled as
- Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist (CNMT)
- Nuclear Cardiology Technologist
- Nuclear Medicine PET-CT Technologist (Nuclear Medicine Positron Emission Tomography - Computed Tomography Technologist)
- Nuclear Medicine Technologist (NMT)
- Radiation Safety Officer
- Registered Nuclear Medicine Technologist
- Staff Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Education and Training of Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Nuclear Medicine Technologist is categorized in Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
Experience Required for Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Education Required for Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Degrees Related to Nuclear Medicine Technologist
- Bachelor in Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist
- Associate Degree Courses in Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist
- Masters Degree Courses in Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist
Training Required for Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Related Ocuupations
Some Ocuupations related to Nuclear Medicine Technologist in different industries are
- Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
- Radiologists
- Radiation Therapists
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists
- Medical Dosimetrists
- Neurodiagnostic Technologists
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
- Histotechnologists
- Nuclear Monitoring Technicians
- Cytogenetic Technologists
- Cardiologists
- Emergency Medicine Physicians
- Histology Technicians
- Surgical Technologists
- Ophthalmic Medical Technologists
- Anesthesiologist Assistants
- Medical Equipment Preparers
What Do Nuclear Medicine Technologist do?
- Calculate, measure, and record radiation dosage or radiopharmaceuticals received, used, and disposed, using computer and following physician's prescription.
- Detect and map radiopharmaceuticals in patients' bodies, using a camera to produce photographic or computer images.
- Explain test procedures and safety precautions to patients and provide them with assistance during test procedures.
- Produce a computer-generated or film image for interpretation by a physician.
- Process cardiac function studies, using computer.
- Dispose of radioactive materials and store radiopharmaceuticals, following radiation safety procedures.
- Record and process results of procedures.
- Prepare stock radiopharmaceuticals, adhering to safety standards that minimize radiation exposure to workers and patients.
- Maintain and calibrate radioisotope and laboratory equipment.
- Gather information on patients' illnesses and medical history to guide the choice of diagnostic procedures for therapy.
- Measure glandular activity, blood volume, red cell survival, or radioactivity of patient, using scanners, Geiger counters, scintillometers, or other laboratory equipment.
- Train or supervise student or subordinate nuclear medicine technologists.
- Position radiation fields, radiation beams, and patient to allow for most effective treatment of patient's disease, using computer.
- Add radioactive substances to biological specimens, such as blood, urine, or feces, to determine therapeutic drug or hormone levels.
- Develop treatment procedures for nuclear medicine treatment programs.
- Administer radiopharmaceuticals or radiation intravenously to detect or treat diseases, using radioisotope equipment, under direction of a physician.
- Perform quality control checks on laboratory equipment or cameras.
Qualities of Good Nuclear Medicine Technologist
- Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
- Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
- Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
- Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
- Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
- Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
- Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
- Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
- Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
- Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
- Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
- Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
- Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
- Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
- Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
- Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
- Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
- Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
- Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
- Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
- Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
- Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
- Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
- Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
- Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Tools Used by Nuclear Medicine Technologist
- Automated blood pressure cuffs
- Automated external defibrillators AED
- Automated multisample liquid scintillation counters
- Automatic film developing equipment
- Beta vial shields
- Blood drawing syringes
- Computed tomography CT scanners
- Desktop computers
- Digital ratemeters
- Dose calibrators
- Dual channel spectrometer systems
- Dual headed gamma cameras
- Electrocardiography EKG units
- Evacuated blood collection tubes
- Finger film badges
- Gamma scintillation counters
- Geiger-Mueller meters
- Infusion pumps
- Intramuscular hypodermic needles
- Intravenous IV sets
- Ion chamber survey meters
- Laptop computers
- Large-field gamma cameras
- Linear accelerator collimator equipment
- Medical gamma cameras
- Medical image laser printers
- Medical picture archiving computer systems PACS
- Medical positron emission tomography PET scanners
- Medical single photo emission computed tomography SPECT equipment
- Metal laboratory tongs
- Microhematocrit centrifuges
- Mobile gamma cameras
- Oxygen delivery regulators
- Patient positioning blocks
- Peripheral intravenous catheters
- Personal computers
- Positron emission tomography PET calibration phantoms
- Pulse oximeters
- Radiation measurement phantoms
- Radiation monitoring film badges
- Radiation protection eyewear
- Radiation shielding gloves
- Radiation shielding lead aprons
- Radiation shielding lead vests
- Radiation survey meters
- Radiation uptake detectors
- Rotating gamma cameras
- Safety goggles
- Scintillation crystal detectors
- Single positron emission computed tomography SPECT calibration phantoms
- Specimen collection containers
- Spectrometers
- Strip chart recorders
- Subcutaneous hypodermic needles
- Surgical masks
- Syringe shields
- Thermoluminescent dosimeters
- Triple-head gamma cameras
- Ultrasound bone density scanners
- Well counters
- Wipe test counters
Technology Skills required for Nuclear Medicine Technologist
- Electronic medical record EMR software
- Gamma camera software
- MEDITECH software
- Medovation RadRunner
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
- Radiopharmacy inventory databases