Nuclear Physician Interview Preparation Guide

Demonstrates candidates' interpersonal and communication skills.

Demonstrates candidates' knowledge of radiopharmaceuticals and their side effects.

Clinical settings you may have experience with are in-patient, out-patient, ICU, ER, family practice, community clinics, other settings within hospitals. Tell the interviewer which setting you've worked in and how you've been successful in them. If this will be your first job out of school, tell the interviewer where you did your clinicals or what type of setting you've volunteered in.

Nuclear medicine physician responsibilities are to advise other physicians of the clinical indications, limitations, assessments, or risks of diagnostic and therapeutic applications of radioactive materials;
Check and approve the quality of diagnostic images before patients are discharged; compare nuclear medicine procedures with other types of procedures such as computed tomography, ultrasonography, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, and angiography; consult with patients following radiation treatments to provide information and assess outcomes or to recommend further consultation or treatments as appropriate;
Determine appropriate tests or protocols based on patients' needs or conditions; direct nuclear medicine technologists or technicians regarding desired dosages, techniques, positions, and projections; establish and enforce radiation protection standards for patients and staff; formulate plans and procedures for nuclear medicine departments; interpret imaging data and confer with other medical specialists to formulate diagnoses; interview and physically examine patients prior to testing;
Monitor cleanup of radioactive spills to ensure that proper procedures are followed and that decontamination activities are conducted; prepare comprehensive interpretive reports of findings; 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; monitor handling of radioactive materials to ensure that established procedures are followed; provide advice on the selection of nuclear medicine supplies or equipment; direct the safe management and disposal of radioactive substances; monitor quality control of radionuclide preparation, administration, or disposition ensuring that activities comply with applicable regulations and standards; teach nuclear medicine, diagnostic radiology, or other specialties at graduate educational level; administer radioisotopes to clinical patients or research subjects; perform cardiovascular nuclear medicine procedures such as exercise testing and pharmacologic stress testing; schedule examinations and staff activities; calculate, measure, or prepare radioisotope dosages;
Test dosage evaluation instruments and survey meters to ensure they are operating properly; conduct laboratory procedures, such as radioimmunoassay studies of blood or urine, using radionuclides; consult with anesthesiologists regarding recommended dosages or combinations of sedative drugs.

Because of my interest in physiology, I discovered that I truly love nuclear medicine. My first real exposure to it was when I followed one of my otolaryngology patients who had a melanoma of the helix of the ear to the NM department for a lymphoscintigraphy. When I found out that the specialty of NM uses the tracer principle to visualize physiologic processes in addition to chemistry, physics and plenty of math (that day I even used the Pythagorean Theorem), I fell in love. Yes, I’m a proud geek and was so happy to find a specialty that married many of my interests.

This is a tough question to answer. I work until all the patient work is done. We occasionally have work-related meetings after work and I take call for a week at a time roughly every third week. I also will review some things after hours on my own at home for certain situations or patients. If I were to estimate the number of hours I work doing nuclear medicine-related things, it would be around 60 to 80 hours per week.

This is a very difficult question, since in truth there’s quite a lot that can be improved. From the perspective of education, I think it would be great for medical students to have a better understanding of costs of care and the business side of medicine.

I have a wonderful husband and two beautiful dogs (a sweet three-year-old Goldendoodle and a crazy seven-month-old Sheepadoodle puppy). We all enjoy dog parks and long walks. My husband and I will be celebrating our five-year anniversary this year and are considering expanding the family with some human children within the next few years.

medical specialty that uses radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease

study that traces the passage of barium in a sequential manner as it passes through the small intestine