If you are interested in nuclear medicine and want to work in this field of study, then this article is for you.
It is very challenging because every day is different, and you have to be capable of adapting to new situations.
They prepare and administer radiopharmaceuticals, which are radioactive isotopes attached to pharmaceutical medicines that, once they are injected into the body, they go to specific organs. After the radiopharmaceuticals are fixed on the organs, the technologists are able to take images using gamma cameras. With these images, they are able to analyze and process them to give them to the doctors.
In the morning, the nuclear medicine technologists make the radiopharmaceuticals, and they do quality controls on the products and the machines. During the day, they will explain procedures to patients and administer the radiopharmaceutical to them. When the technologists perform the exam, they use a gamma camera. When the exam is done, the technologists analyze the studies and transfer them to the doctors. At the end of their shift, the nuclear medicine technologists plan together the studies for the next day.
Nuclear Medicine Technologists typically work in hospitals, but they can also work in private institutes.
You need to do a program called "Nuclear Medicine Technology" which you can attend at Ahuntsic College. This program takes a total of 3 years to complete, and one of them is a one-year internship.
Nuclear medicine technologists make around $55 000 a year, but it can get higher as you get more experience.
During your studies, you have to do an internship, but after the internship, there is no additional training. However, at the end of your studies, you have to take an exam and success it to be able to get your license.
The biggest risk is that they get irradiated by the radiopharmaceuticals that they make and inject into patients. However, they have many tools to protect them from radiation, such as lead sheaths and lead aprons. Another danger would be getting physically injured while transferring a patient from his or her bed to the gamma camera.
I'd say that the chances of a nuclear medicine technologist being replaced by robots soon are pretty low because even though they use computers, cameras, and machines, they are still taking care of the patients, they have to administer substances and carefully position the patients when it is time for their exams.
Between the age of 55 and 65. At this time, technologists usually feel like they did their part in their field of work. Nuclear medicine should also be considered physical work because they have to transfer patients, and they have to lift heavy things such as lead (they use it to protect themselves from radiation).
As you can see, being a Nuclear Medicine Technologist requires a DEC in Nuclear Medicine Technology and an internship. If you love science and social interaction, this might be the perfect profession for you.
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