[cdn-nucl-l] Nuclear medicine techs find they're in demand

["Adam McLean" <adam.mclean@utoronto.ca>]

Posted in the Dallas News on December 23, 2001 and at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/business/stories/STORY.eaed82a607.b0.af.0.a4.84be2
.html

Adam

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Nuclear medicine techs find they're in demand
Shortage stems from dearth of training programs, administrator says

12/23/2001

By NANCY SCHAADT / Special contributor to The Dallas Morning News

Eighteen years ago, nuclear medical technologist Sharon Perry cast a
five-state net to find a job in her field.

"Now we have recruiters calling the workplace and sending letters to see if
you are willing to leave," said Ms. Perry, nuclear medical tech team leader
at Methodist Medical Center in Dallas.

The demand for nuclear medical techs is expected to increase as baby boomers
age, but a lack of programs in North Texas makes it a tight field. Ms. Perry
said her department was short-staffed for 21/2 years as the hospital
searched for technologists.

Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook notes
that employment in nuclear medical technology will grow as fast as the
average for all other occupations, those who work in the field and train new
technologists see an expansion.

"It's a high-growth field right now for a number of reasons," said Martha W.
Pickett, chairman of the department of nuclear medicine technology at the
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the nearest training program.
"The population is aging, which increases the need for diagnostic testing,
and PET [positron emission tomography] imaging is becoming more available,"
she explained.

Nuclear med techs perform a variety of diagnostic tests and scans that have
a strong computer-related component. The field studies physiology – or the
functioning of organs and physical systems such as respiration – rather than
anatomy.

PET imaging is probably the engine that will spur the growth of nuclear
medicine. It looks at cellular function at a molecular level and allows
diagnosticians to determine abnormalities long before there is an
anatomically identifiable anomaly.

"PET allows us to look at tumors that have metastasized because you can tell
which cells are active or not," Ms. Pickett explained.

The law of supply and demand makes nuclear medical technology a lucrative
field in North Texas.

Ms. Pickett said that Dallas-Fort Worth is one of the best-paying markets.
Starting salaries in the area for those with a newly minted bachelor's
degree range from $22 to $23 per hour.

"With experience," she added, "nuclear med technologists can make in the
high $20s to $30 per hour."

Eight out of 10 nuclear med tech positions work in a hospital setting.

The work is "clean" (it doesn't require the handling of bodily fluids), Ms.
Pickett added. "We get a lot of biology majors, X-ray technologists and
people who would like to have a job in health care but are squeamish," she
said.

And Ms. Pickett said the work hours are better than those of X-ray
technicians or nurses. "Nuclear medicine departments aren't typically open
24/7," she noted.

Because of the name "nuclear medicine" the field is perceived to be
dangerous. Although the materials are radioactive, when materials are
handled safely, the risk is considered small. Methodist's Ms. Perry says
it's safer than most medical fields.

The economy is encouraging more people to check into the field.

The need for nuclear med techs mirrors the nurse shortage, Ms. Pickett said.
"We've been told that when the economy is good, health care jobs suffer.
When the economy is flat, people will look at health care as more attractive
or stable because there will always be jobs in health care."

The problem is the dearth of academic programs.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (www.uams.edu/chrp/nuc_med
.htm) attracts students in North Texas with a long-distance learning program
and relationships with local hospitals such as Methodist Medical Center.

"The need for nuclear medicine technologist programs has cycled up, but the
number of new programs is not ramping up as fast as demand," Ms. Pickett
said.