Hi,
Im a student with an oral skills assessment soon. Ive had placements clinically where for patients with breast or prostate cancer they would only do delayed static of the spine, and some where they would do a whole body delayed static?
Is one of these better over the other? And if so, why?
Thanks for your helpppp!
Hi! Incoming nuclear med resident here
I was wondering if anyone had any good nuclear med Anki decks for half lives etc so I can get a bit of a jump start on studying over the summer. Any resource suggestions outside of requisites and essentials (already have those) would also be appreciated!
Thanks!
Hello,
I’m a student and my teacher has said there is a reduced dose for pregnant women doing a lung V/Q scan. She said we use around 15-20MBq of technegas and 150-200MBq of MAA for patients who aren’t pregnant. But how much of this is reduced for a pregnant patient?
thanks for you help in advance!
For people who have worked as a PET tech, what is it like? Do you get scared by the dosage amount of radiation and when preventing it what do they teach you guys? I want to become a PET scan tech, but I'm a little worried about the long term affects regarding radiation. I am aware that will proper care and protection it is generally safe, but how do you guys reassure yourselves?
Hi! I’m looking for any post-bachelor degree nuclear med certificate programs. Can be anywhere in the U.S. My undergrad GPA is less than desirable (2.7) so I want to apply to as many programs as possible.
I currently have an EE degree with a few bio courses and cancer research device projects/wet lab. I’m wanting to pivot more towards healthcare if anyone has advice, I’d be happy to listen!
Maybe I am overthinking it, but I don't see a place on the NMTCB website where I can submit CEs. Does anyone know how to submit CEs to the NMTCB?
Hello! I am planning on taking my ARRT in a month and am just now getting to studying due to my class load. What resources are best to use? I do not even know where to start. Any must have books you recommend?
Clinicals start next week and I feel like I am missing some things that I will need. I currently have:
Small notebook (for notes)
Pens
Green Procedures book
But I feel like that list is wayyyyyyyyyy too short 🥴🥹. Any suggestions of what you found essential while in clinicals?
I was just accepted into a NMT program, starting in July. I wanted to ask other nuc med techs what they took to clinical and are necessities for clinical days (and maybe even class days). I wanted to be as prepared as possible!
hey guys! i'm 24 and living in a major city working as a MLT, and i'm intrigued at why nuc med has to offer! my current employer will pay for me to get my certificate since i already have a bachelors, and it's a 12-month long post-degree certificate in nuclear med. it's dirt cheap for me to go back anyhow (2k a semester at my local cc). just curious if anyone has any advice! is there a certain speciality i should focus on (MRI, CT, PET?), or is just the general nuc med certificate enough to suffice? what are career outlooks? is it still possible to do clinicals/school full-time and also work full-time? the program is 15 credits first semester, 16 the next, then clinicals and 2 capstone courses over the summer. am i setting myself up for failure? also to note, there are 3 prerequisite courses id need to do this summer before applying for the program (anatomy1&2 and med terminology)
So I was talking with Claude about Nuclear medicine and it said the career is promising for sure but it seems like there’s only so many open positions/ spots available given it’s such a niche career. Literally only like 20,000 active techs I believe in the USA right now, so finding full time employment seems hard? I was wondering has anyone got the NucMed degree but then worked in something like CT scanning? PET scanning? Since maybe you weren’t able to find employment for NucMed specifically? I know with the NucMed degree you can get other certifications without having to go back to school? Is this a good idea or has anyone done this or should the NucMed be sufficient for meaningful employment?
Here’s my situation:
I’m willing to commit fully to school (even quit my job if needed)
My goal is job stability + getting hired as soon as possible after graduating
From what I understand so far:
Gurnick is JRCNMT-accredited, so it qualifies for both ARRT + CNMT
NPC is ARRT only, and CNMT would require going the alternative route later
Gurnick seems more intense and expensive, while NPC is more flexible
My questions:
For those working in SoCal — does having CNMT vs just ARRT actually make a big difference when getting hired?
Has anyone here graduated from NPC and successfully transitioned into a hospital role later? How long did it take?
Is Gurnick worth the extra cost and intensity in the long run?
Do employers (like Kaiser, Hoag, UCI, etc.) really care which school you went to, or just certifications + experience?
I’m trying to make the smartest long-term decision, not just the easiest short-term one.
Would appreciate any real-world advice 🙏
How long did you wait after graduation to take the boards. I see some people say they waited months and some people only days in between.
As the title states- looking for success stories or just general info on tagged RBC scans for upper bleeds.
Recently did a scan looking for upper GI bleed. I was very (possibly naively) hopeful to locate it because of apparently persistent and significant blood loss. But we didn’t see the bleed per confirmation by radiologist.
Obviously, the care team tried all other methods of locating it first without success before I scanned the patient. The spleen and liver uptake are just so intense despite doing everything possible to minimize damage to the RBCs and avoid excess spleen uptake. Could the bleed have been essentially hiding within the intense uptake of the liver/spleen in that upper GI zone? That’s what I wonder and worry and feel like this was potentially such a long shot.
Just curious if anyone here has experience with the upper bleeds and any insights/tips/reports of success because this was the 1st time in 9 yrs I have done a GI bleed for suspected upper bleed rather than a lower. Thanks so much.
I (26F) am currently planning a career pivot from being a middle school music teacher into a field of radiology. I have always been interested in science and the medical field, so I have done a lot of research over the past few months. I know any program is going to be very hard work and difficult to get into, so I plan on applying to multiple.
In my research I stumbled upon Nuclear Medicine Technologist and have been fascinated about the technology and what the job entails. There aren’t any programs near me, so I would have to move across the country to take classes which I am open to. Before I focus on nuclear medicine technologist programs, I have some questions since I’m transitioning from a completely unrelated field with no prior healthcare experience.
Is it best to enter a radiology program and then do more schooling for nuclear medicine? Or would it be fine to just get certified in nuclear medicine? Do hospitals prefer you to be cross-trained instead of only nuclear medicine? Is the specialty too niche to have many employment options?
Passed the NMTCB this week after graduation and I am thrilled to report I have zero regrets choosing Nuclear Medicine! Finding a job was very easy and the program is so do-able.
If anyone is on the fence or wants information drop a comment
Hello i am currently thinking of doing/going for nuclear med tech my question is about our personal hwalth here as many people around me are saying about the radiation risks so please anyone who works in this field clarify this for me? as i am really interested in this field.
Hello everyone. I was recently rejected twice from my radiologic imaging program I was trying to get into and I have been looking into the NMT program at BCC as an alternative. I am still missing a few prerequisites for the program but I just completed A&P 1 and 2 and got an A- and A. I took English and Math from my previous college. I already have a bachelor's degree and I read that students who were first enrolled at BCC have priority over transfer students.
I just wanted to get insight about the program, like how competitive it is, how challenging it is, how many seats there are, and what is the GPA that is accepted?
I've been screwed over because at the start of this year I lost my job that was getting me through school and helping me make monthly loan payments for my bachelor's. And now I'm left with nothing. And when I turn 26 later this year, I'll be without health insurance because I'll be kicked out of my parent's plan through their job. As of right now I am currently unemployed and struggling to find work. And if I go through with this program, how can I work and attend school? I was thinking about getting a job at the college itself but what if I can't get one?
There is just so much at stake. My time and money is involved and it feels like it's being wasted. I would appreciate everyone's input as I don't want history to repeat itself.
I completed my nuclear medicine program a few years ago. My actual program was overall not very great. I finished the program and took my board exam shortly after. First attempt, I scored a 70 and the second attempt I got a 74. To say the least, I was absolutely defeated. I decided to take some time away from nuclear medicine and trained and got certified in other modalities but my last chance to take this test is this year. I have been consistently studying Nuc med again using things such as online nuclear medicine tutoring and “the green book” of nuclear medicine review as my main study sources. Is there any advice other fellow ARRT test takers can offer in terms of studying the material and actually getting it down in order to pass the ARRT nuclear medicine test. This is my last shot and I found out after I completed my program, it is not certified by the NMTCB, in order to take that test so that unfortunately is not an option. if I don’t pass this third attempt, I would’ve wasted two years in that program for nothing.