A Career In Nuclear Medicine Technology

A Nuclear Medicine Technologist, whose career requires the specialist to stand for long periods, is routinely transferring patients from wheelchairs and stretchers to scanning tables, giving injections and taking vital signs with or without accommodation. A Nuclear Medicine Technologist finds employment in hospitals and diagnostic clinics. Career ladders are open for advancement into research, sales, education and management. With further training, a Nuclear Medicine Technologist could perform computed tomography (PET) imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diagnostic medical sonography, or radiation therapy. According to the Gulf Coast Consortium the average salary for a nuclear medicine technologist in 2009 was $64,740 annually ($31.13/hr)

About The Program

Program Description: The Nuclear Medicine Technology Program combines academic study with clinical laboratory experience at affiliated hospitals. Graduates of the program may find employment in the areas of nuclear medicine, nuclear cardiology, and positron emission tomography, and fusion imaging. A Nuclear Medicine Technologist, skilled in the diagnostic and therapeutic use of radiopharmaceuticals, is a health care professional who either gives these materials to a patient orally or who injects these materials into a patient's bloodstream so the materials will concentrate in a specific organ or system of the individual. The technologist measures the structure and function of an organ in the body through photography with scintillation cameras and computers. A Nuclear Medicine Technologist, whose career requires the specialist to stand for long periods, is routinely transferring patients from wheelchairs and stretchers to scanning tables, giving injections and taking vital signs with or without accommodation. A Nuclear Medicine Technologist finds employment in hospitals and diagnostic clinics. Career ladders are open for advancement into research, quality control, education, sales and management. With further training, a Nuclear Medicine Technologist could perform computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, diagnostic medical sonography, or radiation therapy. According to the Gulf Coast Consortium the average salary for a nuclear medicine technologist in 2009 was $64,740 annually (31.13/hour). Program Summary A two-year Nuclear Medicine Technology Program student routinely learns the skills needed professionally between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. in both classrooms and in on-site lab settings. The individual also gains hands-

on knowledge of a Nuclear Medicine Technologist's role through clinical rotations experienced at Texas Medical Center institutions and various hospitals and clinics throughout the area. When traveling to any clinical education site, the student is responsible for transportation and auto insurance, if applicable. Affiliates of the program are Excel Diagnostic Imaging Clinic; Harris County Hospital District - Ben Taub Hospital; Memorial Hermann Hospital System - Hermann Hospital, Memorial City Hospital and Northwest Hospital; The Methodist Hospital; Texas Children's Hospital; St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital; Cardinal Health of Houston; Tenet Park Plaza Hospital; The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; and Veterans Affairs Medical Center. An applicant is encouraged to successfully complete as many of the academic courses in the nuclear medicine technology program curriculum as possible prior to the June 1st application deadline. The courses are Introduction to Health Professions 1201, Biology 2401 and 2402, Chemistry 1405, English 1301, Psychology 2301, College Algebra 1314, Physics for Allied Health SCIT-1420, and a 3-semester hour approved humanities/fine arts elective. The number of courses completed, along with high grades achieved in these courses, improves an applicant's chance of being selected for admission into the Nuclear Medicine Technology Program.

The application acceptance deadline for the program is June 1st of the year the candidate is trying to enter. The following courses must be completed by the summer preceding the start of the fall semester (last Monday in August), when the first nuclear medicine technology (NMTT) courses are taken by the students accepted into the NMTT program:

Anatomy & Physiology I and II Introductory Chemistry I College Algebra Physics for Allied Health (College Physics will not substitute for this course)

A graduate of the Program, who earns an Associate in Applied Science Degree, is eligible* to take the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification (NMTCB) examination and/or the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) exam. The combined first-time pass rate on both exams for the 2002 through the spring of 2012 graduates of the program was over 99%. Both the NMTCB and the ARRT for test taking eligibility require an applicant to meet specific ethical standards. The ARRT states that a candidate that is concerned about whether his or her conviction record will affect eligibility to take the ARRT exam can have a preapplication review done before or during their education. The pre-application review form is downloadable from the Ethics section of the ARRT website at www.arrt.org or a copy may be requested by phoning ARRT at (651) 687-0048 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (651) 687-0048 FREE end_of_the_skype_highlighting,

ext. 580. The NMTCB may be contacted at www.nmtcb.org website or by calling 404-315-1739 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 404-315-1739 FREE end_of_the_skype_highlighting. A pre-application

review may also be done through the NMTCB

To practice in Texas, a Nuclear Medicine Technologist must be certified by the Texas Department of State Health Services. A graduate of the program is eligible to receive a 1-year temporary certificate from the state. Contacts: For questions about the Nuclear Medicine Technology Program, interested individuals who live in Houston or the surrounding areas, can speak with program personnel at the regularly scheduled Essential Requirement (ER) Sessions. The sessions are held the firth and the third thursday of the month at 5.30 pm (1st thursday) at 12:00pm (3rd thursday). You must register for a session in order to be permitted to attend. To register, go to coleman.hccs.edu and the go to the bottom of the Coleman College web page click "Looking for more information on Health Science Programs." ER Sessions are held at the Coleman College of Health Sciences. at 1900 Pressler Street, Houston, Texas 77030. Parking is available across the street from the campus at a cost of $6 to $12, or the Texas Medical Center Transit Station of Metro is at the end of the block from the campus. For individuals residing outside of Houston and the surrounding areas, please e-mail glenn.smith@hccs.edu for information. Accreditation Agency The Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology has granted full accreditation status to this program thru November of 2011. (Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology, 2000 West Danforth Road, Ste. 130, #203, Edmond, OK 73003, 405-2850546 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 405-285-0546 FREE end_of_the_skype_highlighting).