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Nuclear Medicine Technology

Nuclear medicine technologists are professionals in a medical specialty that uses radioactive tracers for diagnostic, therapeutic, and research purposes. Technologists generally are employed in hospitals and clinics. They work hand-in-hand with nuclear medicine physicians, health physicists, radiopharmacists, and radiochemists as an integral part of a highly trained specialty team.

In addition to using sophisticated detectors and computers to trace the movement and localization of radioactive tracers in the human body, nuclear medicine technologists have responsibilities that include radiation safety; quality control testing; radiopharmaceutical preparation and administration; and general patient care.

The Nuclear Medicine Technology Program is fully accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medical Technology (JRCNMT). Nuclear medicine technology is one of two undergraduate majors in the field of medical imaging offered by the Carver College of Medicine. Students interested in radiologic technology, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, cardiovascular interventional, diagnostic medicine sonography, or radiation therapy may complete the major in radiation sciences; see Radiation Sciences in the Catalog.

The Carver College of Medicine is located on the University of Iowa health sciences campus, which includes University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, one of the nation's largest university-owned teaching hospitals. For information about the college's academic programs and resources, see Carver College of Medicine in the Catalog.

Undergraduate Program

• Major in nuclear medicine technology (Bachelor of Science)

Undergraduate study in nuclear medicine technology is guided by the academic rules and procedures outlined under "Undergraduate Programs" in the Carver College of Medicine section of the Catalog.

Requirements for the major in nuclear medicine technology have changed. First-year students who enter the University in or after fall 2012 and transfer students who enter the University in or after fall 2012 with less than 30 s.h. of undergraduate credit must complete the requirements stated below. Students who entered the University before fall 2012 and transfer students who enter the University in fall 2012 with at least 30 s.h. of undergraduate credit may complete the requirements stated in the Nuclear Medicine Technology section of the 2011-12 General Catalog.

Bachelor of Science

The Bachelor of Science with a major in nuclear medicine technology requires a minimum of 120 s.h. of credit. Work for the degree includes a set of courses that are prerequisite to entering the major, 60 s.h. of course work in the major, and elective course work sufficient to complete the 120 s.h. required for graduation.

Students who plan to complete all requirements for the degree at The University of Iowa enter the University as students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) with a nuclear medicine technology interest. As CLAS students, they complete the course work that is prerequisite to entering the major.

Admission to the major is competitive; the program accepts a maximum of 10 students per year. Students must apply to the major by January 15 of the year in which they wish to enter it. Personal interviews with qualified applicants are scheduled in February, and the class is selected by March 15. The program begins the following fall semester and lasts two years.

Students who are admitted to the major become Carver College of Medicine students. Upon completing the program successfully, they are granted a Bachelor of Science degree and a certificate of training. Graduates are eligible for national certification as nuclear medicine technologists.

The program strongly advises students entering the University to pursue a course of study that is applicable to another major, most commonly biology, chemistry, biochemistry, or microbiology, so that if they are not admitted to the Nuclear Medicine Technology Program, they still may complete a major and receive a bachelor's degree.

The Bachelor of Science with a major in nuclear medicine technology requires the following work.

PREREQUISITES TO THE NUCLEAR MEDICINE TECHNOLOGY MAJOR

Students must complete the following prerequisite courses and must have earned 60 s.h. of college credit with a cumulative g.p.a. of at least 2.50 before they may enter the nuclear medicine technology major. In addition to providing a foundation for the major, the prerequisite courses are good preparation for other majors.

Rhetoric:

Culture, society, and the arts—3 s.h. in each of two of these (total of 6 s.h.):

See General Education Program (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) in the Catalog for approved courses in the culture, society, and the arts areas.

Mathematics—one of these:

Introductory chemistry with laboratory:

Introductory physics—one of these:

Psychology:

Medical terminology:

Anatomy and physiology—students must complete one of the three options below.

Option 1 (one course, 4 s.h.):

Option 2 (two courses, 6-7 s.h.)—one of these:

And one of these:

Option 3 (three courses, 7 s.h.)—both of these:

And one of these:

RECOMMENDED PRE-MAJOR COURSES

The Nuclear Medicine Technology Program strongly recommends that students who intend to apply to the major take the following course work in addition to the required prerequisite courses listed above.

One of these:

One of these:

One of these:

Prospective students are encouraged to consult the Nuclear Medicine Technology Program office to plan an appropriate pre-major program of study.

COURSE WORK IN THE MAJOR

Students admitted to the nuclear medicine technology major spend two years in a clinical curriculum that is organized in accordance with the JRCNMT Essentials of an Accredited Educational Program in Nuclear Medicine Technology. They complete course work in the following areas: radiopharmacy, radiation safety and radiobiology, patient care, nuclear medicine and positron emission tomography (PET) procedures, radiation physics and instrumentation, administration and management, medical and professional ethics, and principles of computed tomography (CT). Practical clinical rotations focus on nuclear medicine, PET and CT imaging, nuclear medicine therapy, clinical radiopharmacy, nuclear medicine computer applications, and quantification of radioactivity in vivo and in vitro.

Courses