Career: Nuclear Medicine Technologists
CDC/Dr. Thomas Hooten
Radiation is a fascinating form of energy. Despite its dangers, it is a powerful part of today’s medical efforts. It can reveal tiny parts of the body, such as blood vessels in the kidney or liver, without surgery.
Nuclear medicine technologists (NMTs) use drugs that give off radiation and complex equipment to make images of internal organs. Doctors then look at the images to find out what’s wrong with their patients. The work of NMTs is precise and exacting because lives depend on it.
Nuclear medicine technologists give patients radiopharmaceuticals and then make images of the drugs as they collect in the inner organs. Physicians use these images to diagnose illness.
Did You Know?
- Shielded needles and gloves, along with safety procedures, protect technologists and patients from radiation exposure.
Are You Ready To...?
- Work in a new and exciting field that’s still somewhat experimental
- Measure, track, and record radioactivity data
- Use scanners and Geiger counters to measure blood volume, red blood cell survival, and radiation exposure
- Lift patients
- Spend much of the day on your feet
It Helps to Be...
A good communicator and team player who is at home with numbers and problem solving. It also helps to be accurate, physically strong, and compassionate.
Make High School Count
- Take precollege math classes, including precalculus, calculus, and statistics.
- Pay attention in physics and chemistry. NMTs use the principles you’ll learn.
- Do your best in biology. It’s good preparation for the anatomy and physiology courses you’ll take in college.
- Volunteer in a hospital to get the lay of the land.
Did You Know?
- Nursing-school grads can move into this field with just one more year of training.
Outlook
Government economists expect jobs for NMTs to increase faster than the average for all occupations through 2014.
Since older people are the main recipients of diagnostic imaging services, the need for these services will increase as the population ages. NMTs who are cross-trained in other imaging methods, such as radiologic technology or diagnostic ultrasound, will be in the greatest demand.
Compensation
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that nuclear medicine technologists earned an average of $65,380 in 2007.
