Answer to Question #4498 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Are there any educational qualifications and training necessary to work as a nuclear medicine technologist in different countries? Does the regulatory body issue a license with the mandate of having a nuclear medicine technologist?

I can answer with regard to what is or is not required in the United States. In general, our regulators do not state specific requirements for a nuclear medicine technologist nor do they issue an institutional license stating that the organization must have a nuclear medicine technologist if it is practicing nuclear medicine.

Most often, it is up to each organization what education and experience it requires for a nuclear medicine technologist. Where I work, a nuclear medicine technologist must have a four-year degree. That four-year degree should include one year of clinical experience plus classes on radiation protection, radiation physics, radiation biology, quality control, biology, biochemistry, etc. On top of that, the technologist must take and pass the national board certification exam.

At other organizations, however, the person doing the nuclear medicine study might be a nurse with some specialized on-the-job training. Where I used to work many years ago, I was an x-ray technologist and I would do some of the nuclear medicine studies. That just shows that the necessary qualifications can vary significantly depending on the types and numbers of nuclear medicine studies being performed.

I suspect there may also be significant variation in requirements from country to country. If you are interested in a job at a particular organization or organizations, it would be easiest just to ask them what their requirements are for a nuclear medicine technologist.

Kelly Classic
Certified Medical Health Physicist