Nuclear medicine technology is a hot field with stiff competition for internships, a strong employment outlook and starting salaries around $50,000. Most nuclear medicine technologists work in hospitals, with the rest in stand-alone clinics or mobile units.
These technologists must be focused and detail-oriented. They administer radioactive drugs that highlight bodily functions and then use specialized imaging equipment to display those functions to a radiologist. They must also have a calm and reassuring demeanor because many of their patients are afraid, not only of the diagnosis, but also of the radioactive drugs.
Easing patients' fears
"You need to explain to people what you're doing, why you're doing it and really let them know that it's diagnostic and safe," says Gregg Sirek, supervisor of the nuclear medicine department at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.
Abbott rotates its staff of eight nuclear medicine technologists through general, cardiac and PET/CT sections. The general section covers oncology, including the gastrointestinal and renal systems, while the PET/CT section fuses nuclear medicine with CT scanning for very specialized cancer imaging. "It's all 3-D and you can really pinpoint the best treatment for a patient," Sirek says of the PET/CT scanning system.
Midwestern education
The Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences (www.mayo.edu/mshs), St. Cloud State University (ww.stcloudstate.edu) and St. Mary's University in Winona (www.smumn.edu) offer bachelor's degrees in nuclear medicine technology, but Mayo is the only location in Minnesota to offer the clinical experience necessary for certification.
Other clinical sites in the Upper Midwest are:
