Nuclear Medicine Technician

A nuclear medicine technician or technologist (the terms are used interchangeably) is a medical professional whose primary responsibility is the study of how radioactive material reacts to tissue in the patient’s body.  Typically, after explaining the procedure to the patient, the nuclear medicine technician will administer radiopharmaceuticals, then using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study the effects.  Changes in the absorption of the radionuclide in the patient are recorded on film for the physician to review.

A nuclear medicine technician will typically work for a hospital or very large clinic.  Job structure can be either full time or part time.  Shift or on-call work is the rule.  The nuclear medicine technician must be able to stand for long periods and physically fit enough to position patients correctly.

There is expected to be a growing demand for nuclear medicine technicians because of the aging of the population, which usually means a higher usage, and need for sophisticated diagnostic equipment, but a shortage of technicians is not forecast. 

Formal education is common on three levels.  Personnel such as x-ray technicians seeking to upgrade their qualifications would use a one-year certificate program.  A two-year program leading to an associate degree would be found at a community or junior college.  A four-year program would provide a Bachelor of Science degree.

A typical base salary of  nuclear medicine technician in the United States is just over $60,000.  There is opportunity for advancement into supervisory and administrative positions.

Currently in the United States there are about 18,000 nuclear medicine technician jobs and about 100 training, certification and degree programs.  Further information about nuclear medicine technology can be found at the following websites:

Society of Nuclear Medicine Technologists, 1850 Samuel Morse Dr., Reston, VA 20190-5316. Internet: http://www.snm.org

American Society of Radiologic Technologists, 15000 Central Ave. S.E., Albuquerque, NM 87123-3917. Internet: http://www.asrt.org

Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology, 1716 Black Point Rd., P.O. Box 1149, Polson, MT 59860-1149. Internet: http://www.jrcnmt.org

American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, 1255 Northland Dr., St. Paul, MN 55120-1155. Internet: http://www.arrt.org

Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board, 2970 Clairmont Rd., Suite 935, Atlanta, GA 30329-4421. Internet: http://www.nmtcb.org