What Do Nuclear Medicine Physicians Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Nuclear Medicine Physicians diagnose and treat diseases using radioactive materials and techniques. May monitor radionuclide preparation, administration, and disposition. They also prepare comprehensive interpretive reports of findings.

Other tasks include:

• Check and approve the quality of diagnostic images before patients are discharged.
• Establish and enforce radiation protection standards for patients and staff.
• Interpret imaging data and confer with other medical specialists to formulate diagnoses.
• Prescribe radionuclides and dosages to be administered to individual patients.
• Review procedure requests and patients’ medical histories to determine applicability of procedures and radioisotopes to be used.
• Direct nuclear medicine technologists or technicians regarding desired dosages, techniques, positions, and projections.

We asked Nuclear Medicine Physicians how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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74% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 82% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Nuclear Medicine Physicians prepare comprehensive interpretive reports of findings. They check and approve the quality of diagnostic images before patients are discharged.

A typical day for a Nuclear Medicine Physician will also include:

• Interpret imaging data and confer with other medical specialists to formulate diagnoses.
• Monitor handling of radioactive materials to ensure that established procedures are followed.
• Determine appropriate tests or protocols, based on patients’ needs or conditions.
• Perform cardiovascular nuclear medicine procedures, such as exercise testing and pharmacologic stress testing.
• Establish and enforce radiation protection standards for patients and staff.

We asked some Nuclear Medicine Physicians a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	87% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	64% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	91% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	50% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	9% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	68% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Nuclear Medicine Physicians also consult with patients following radiation treatments to provide information and assess outcomes or to recommend further consultation or treatments, as appropriate. They may also advise other physicians of the clinical indications, limitations, assessments, or risks of diagnostic and therapeutic applications of radioactive materials.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Nuclear Medicine Physicians Administer radioisotopes to clinical patients or research subjects. They might also Consult with anesthesiologists regarding recommended dosages or combinations of sedative drugs.

In addition, they Formulate plans and procedures for nuclear medicine departments.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Interview and physically examine patients prior to testing.

To some Nuclear Medicine Physicians, it is also their responsibility to Monitor quality control of radionuclide preparation, administration, or disposition, ensuring that activities comply with applicable regulations and standards.

Working life

More than 40 hours per week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Nuclear Medicine Physician, you can expect to work more than 40 hours per week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally..

They also like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/healthcare/physicians-and-surgeons.htm

http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home.html

http://www.ama-assn.org/

http://www.abms.org/