Degree requirements/options for NM Tech

alicia1206 · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Posts: 3 Location: Knoxville, TN

The school I am attending offers both a certificate program as well as a Bachelor degree in Nuclear Medicine.. With the certificate, I would have a Bachelor of Health Science degree with the certificate in Nuclear Medicine. My current plan is to have the additional 18 months in clinicals, and I will have an AS in Radiography and a BS in NM. Will there be any advantage to doing things the way it is planned now (as far as $, job opportunity, etc), or will the certificate be just as well? I will save myself 18 months in clinicals not to mention the money spent on tuition. Any help/advice is appreciated! Thanks!

alicia1206 · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Posts: 3 Location: Knoxville, TN

Thanks again for any advice that anyone may have... Smile

hjhogle · Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 10:44 am Post subject:

If you're that anxious for a response, this may not be the best place to ask.

You'll need to wait a bit, give folks time to see your post

Suzanne · Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 2

I think that's a great idea.

You save money, plus you are cross-trained in radiography and nuc med.

lilstevie · Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 5 Location: Greenville, MI

Alicia,

Go for the radiology training also, nucmed is becoming a "hybrid" modality with CT. Your additional training will be a great asset once you're working in the field.
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Hommy · Joined: 18 Mar 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Olympia,WA

You need to think about this right now. It's hard to find a nuclear medicine job at the moment. It's an oversaturated market! With radiology you will have a better chance of getting a job as a student or right out of school. If you get into radiology be warned and this is for everybody!!! If you are not going to be committed to getting trained in all of the modalities to include MRI, CT, R, and NM then don't complain when you cannot find a job! It's a very dynamic field which makes signifigant advancements.

Carey Stevens · Joined: 24 Sep 2009 Posts: 2 Location: Seattle, WA

I agree with the previous poster. Anything you can do to make yourself more marketable in this market is a GOOD thing. Focusing just on Nuc Med severely limits you. It is a tough job market. I find myself becoming very frustrated when I see well known employment experts toting the healthcare industry as an answer to every job hunter's prayers. The truth is that for many healthcare positions, the market has been flooded by community colleges who crank out twice as many students in half the time. The cost of running a Nuc Med department is preventing new departments from being created and the turn-over rate in established clinics/hospitals is almost non-existent. The positions simply are not there and companies can afford to be much more selective in the candidates they choose to interview.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist jobs are very hard to attain in this market, but there are many other healthcare positions that are feeling the same crunch. Ultimately, if you love what you do, you have to keep sending out those resumes and knocking on doors until one of them opens. When you are ready to enter the job market, I really believe it is more important than ever to hire a professional resume service to write your resume. Many companies are weeding out candidates by using word searches and a human being may never even see your resume if you are weeded out by a computer program. Obviously, I am biased since I am a professional writer. However, I can tell you that I have seen many cases where very qualified candidates do not even get passed the first round of computer aided cuts. Good Luck!
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