If you have ever thought about becoming a nuclear medicine technologist, then this article is for you. You'll learn everything you ever wanted to know about becoming a nuclear medicine technologist, where nuclear medicine technologist work, how much they get paid, what kind of additional in-service training they need, how you can become a nuclear medicine technologist, some of the danger involved in the job, when you can expect to retire and how you can make a difference in the lives of the people you serve.
Nuclear medicine technologists work with patient that need medical imaging for health problem. As a nuclear medicine technologist, you will work with imaging equipment, provide radiopharmaceuticals.
A nuclear medicine technologist collaborates with patients who require medical treatment through imaging procedures or radiation therapy for diseases like cancer. You will also administer the appropriate dosage of radiopharmaceuticals to the patient. Additionally, you will scan and analyze the areas specified by the healthcare provider. Daily, you will ensure that the imaging equipment is safe and functioning properly.
Your patient schedules an appointment to consult you. When they arrive, you explain how the appointment will go and answer any of their questions. Then, you will use imaging equipment to scan images the body of the patient, give a dose of radiation to the patient to treat his disease. You also make sure that the equipment is safe to use and maintain it. If the patient is scared or anxious before his examination, you will calm and reassure him.
A nuclear medicine technologist can work in a variety of places like hospital, universities, medical clinics, imaging clinics, diagnostics labs and research centers. They usually work in an average of forty hours a week that can include the evening or even on the weekends. It can also include on-call work.
The typical path to become a nuclear medicine technologist is to start with the minimum requirement coursework to become a nuclear medicine technologist. Such as advance courses in high school like math, chemistry, anatomy, and physics. Then, in college, you will have to complete a supervised training program after completing your bachelor's degree in health science radiation, nuclear medicine or radiation therapy. Depending on the province that you're from in Canada, you will need to be licensed before you start practicing your job. You can also certificate program that specializes in nuclear medicine technology. The difference between these two options is that they can lead to some different on-the-job responsibilities.
The average salary of a nuclear medicine technologist is 44 dollars an hour which makes 75 822 dollars per year.
Additional training that nuclear medicine technologists can pursue involves completing a certification program beyond their degree or diploma. Some areas of specialization are positron emission tomography (PET) technologists, who specialize in using a machine designed to take three-dimensional images of specific body parts, and computed tomography (CT) technologists, who focus on obtaining two- and three-dimensional views of specific organs.
The dangers of being a nuclear medicine technologist are that they can be exposed to radiation and body fluid.
The chances that nuclear medicine technologist are being replace by robots is low because the job involves a patient interaction that robot can't replace. Also, if the equipment stop functioning because of a problem, human judgment and expertise are needed to repair the problem.
In average, a nuclear medicine technologist retires at 60 years old. You will have gain valuable experiences like patient interaction and safety protocols by learning the danger of radiation and how to protect yourself and others from it. They have a major impact on the patients that they saved and helped during their career. You may have the regret that you could be in a higher rank at your company, but you passed the opportunity during your career.
Right now, I am doing my health science program and when I get my degree, I would go to university in a radiation program. My goal is to be a nuclear medicine technologist for the CHUM hospital in montreal. I think that in 5 years I would have finished all of my studies and start my job.
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