Select the links below to view biographies

Monica Casanova Martins	Monica.Martins@wales.nhs.uk	Co-Chair	Singleton Hospital, Swansea
Mariana Pinto	Mariana.pinto@belfasttrust.hscni.net	Co-Chair	Belfast Trust
Jo Weekes			The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Fran Ferrer Avila			Guy's and St. Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
Giorgio Testanera			KCL PET Centre
Johnathon Goodacre			Royal Cornwall Hospital
Gerard McKiernan		Secretary	Belfast Trust
Hannah Chandler			London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
Robin McDade			Glasgow Royal Infirmary
Nia Hopson			Swansea Bay University Health Board
Charles Sheldrick			Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital
Georgina Pitts			University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Christopher Orongan			Barts Health NHS Trust

 

About

The BNMS Radiographers, Technologists & Nurses committee meets several times a year to work on the objectives below. 

Objectives

• To unite Radiographers, Technologists and Nurses working in Nuclear Medicine into one professional association
• To encourage professional development and education of these 3 groups by:
  • Co-operating with existing organisations providing education and training
  • Supporting and endorsing existing organisations providing education and training
• To represent the group within the British Nuclear Medicine Society, including participation in organisation of sessions at the Spring and Autumn BNMS meetings

The BNMS Radiographers, Technologists and Nurses' Committee:-

• Represents Radiographers, Technologists and Nurses on the BNMS Council
• Organises sessions at the BNMS Meetings
• Provides advice and opinion on issues affecting all 3 groups

All Radiographers, Technologists and Nurses who are associate or full members of BNMS can be members of the BNMS RTN Committee.

Interested in Joining?

We are continually looking for people willing to contribute and become actively involved in the RTN Committee. Do you feel you could:-
- Attend three meetings a year
- Contribute your knowledge and experience

If you’re interested in volunteering, please email your expression of interest or any queries to rtng@bnms.org.uk and complete a brief bio, available below
Include volunteer terms of agreement 
Template bio form

RTN members’ benefits:
• Network
• Support
• Discount to BNMS events
• Ros Breen fund
• Volunteering at BNMS committees
• Many more

Want to know more about Ros Breen Fund?

     

View the Terms of Reference for the Ros Breen fund here

https://www.bnms.org.uk/page/TheRosBreenFund

BNMS RTN Committee Terms of Reference 2023 

The BNMS Radiographers, Technologists and Nurses (RTN) committee has created a forum for knowledge exchange, shared learning and collaboration between all RTN professionals in the Nuclear Medicine and PET specialities.

The aim is to share good practice, help the community develop and be a resource to all that develop practice with focus on patient wellbeing and scientific excellence.

The distribution list is open to anyone who wants to participate, with content and discussions being restricted only to the list subscribers; the aim is to create a community that can support with expertise and constructive discussion of all subjects of interest to the Nuclear Medicine and PET RTN community.

RTN community has its own distribution list: jiscmail.ac.uk/BNMS-RTN

Clinical staff within nuclear medicine work as part of a multi disciplinary team with many taking on advanced practice. This can include:

• Administering radionuclide therapy
• Reporting
• PET
• Hybrid Imaging
• Running cardiac stress testing 
• Authorising additional CT acquisitions
• Administering contrast agents

The role is varied and all sites have very specific demands and unique workloads.          

 

There are multiple training routes into nuclear medicine, please see the following websites for more information:
IPEM
RCT
SOR
RCN          

Nuclear medicine technologists are able to bring together knowledge and skills from the academic fields of physics and Biology. These are combined with the practical skills required to work with both precision equipment and people who are often frightened and anxious. Patients have their own individual worries and physical problems. Dealing with these in a professional but caring way that will maximise the value of the procedure and minimise the effect on the patient is probably the most important and most difficult skill a technologist must master.

This makes for a very interesting and varied workload, which brings new challenges every day. It is a career that provides an important and worthwhile service and yet still demands a high level of skill and technology. It also means being part of a multidisciplinary team sharing knowledge with others.

Training Courses Information 

Summarily, Clinical Technologists perform the following duties autonomously:

1. Administration of radioactive medicines (intravenously, orally, ventilation, and via subcutaneous and eye drop routes).
2. Production of radioactive medicines under strict Good Manufacturing Practices, subject to rigorous quality control and double checked by another qualified specialist.
3. Administration of Prescription Only Medicines e.g., regadenoson, adenosine and dobutamine, for cardiac stressing procedures, diuretics for renal investigations, morphine for the exams of the liver, laxatives for gastrointestinal procedures or IV contrast.
4. Patient preparation and consent for complex procedures that require high patient compliance. This includes patients with advanced disease, varied symptoms and levels of cognition. It involves explaining radiation advice for the safety of themselves and the public.
5. Perform a range of diagnostic investigations (imaging and laboratory based) with high accuracy and technique, which require the know-how of technological equipment and computer processing techniques, leading to the acquisition of diagnostic information. Namely, Clinical Technologists perform highly specialized diagnostic procedures using advanced hybrid scanners such as PET-CT, PET-MRI, SPECT-CT, which integrate functional imaging with anatomical detail. The increasing diagnostic capacity of the CT component of these scanners has elevated the complexity and clinical utility of hybrid imaging. It allows improved anatomical localisation, expanded clinical indications and facilitates quantitative analysis, all of which reflect the enhanced clinical utility of the increasingly more complex and capable hybrid scanners. This comes with added risks such as incorrect CT protocols or parameters, suboptimal use of hybrid imaging potential and radiation protection concerns. The absence of mandatory regulation poses significant risks such as fragmentation of roles, loss of multidisciplinary expertise and, as a result, creates workforce vulnerability. Statutory regulation would, in this case, improve patient safety, allow the standardization of training and expertise, enhance diagnostic capacity, facilitate recognition of professional expertise, and strengthen NM as a specialty.
6. Conduct equipment quality control checks every day to maintain quality assurance of the results and ensure the safety of the procedures.
7. Delivering radiation treatments, monitoring patients’ post-therapy, managing side effects, and providing discharge advice. Clinical Technologists are central to delivering targeted therapies, particularly in oncology and other chronic conditions. They prepare patients for therapy, including personalized risk assessments, administer high doses of radiation therapies and manage associated side effects, provide holistic care for radioactive patients during and after therapy, conduct post-therapy scans to evaluate treatment efficacy and disease progression. As the field of Nuclear Medicine expands with innovative, targeted drug therapies, it requires a regulated, skilled workforce to deliver these breakthroughs. Regulation will attract and retain skilled professionals, ensuring a consistent standard of care delivery and workforce sustainability.
8. Perform and analyse the results of a series of invasive and non-invasive procedures, including cardiac stressing protocols, and treatments (in outpatient and in-patient settings). The demand for nuclear medicine imaging has risen significantly with the advancement of hybrid imaging technologies like PET-CT and SPECT-CT. Radiologists face increasing workloads and cannot meet the growing need for timely image reporting in many areas around the country. Statutory regulation would ensure safety and accountability of Clinical Technologists roles’ expansion, such as assisting in initial image interpretation, triage, or reporting, relieving pressure on radiologists. Similar to radiographers, with the necessary training and legal recognition provided through statutory regulation, technologists can support radiologists in managing reporting bottlenecks with less complex NM procedures, ensuring timely patient diagnoses and treatment.
9. Abide by Radiation Protection rules when radioactive incidents happen, to safeguard staff, the public and the environment.
10. Contribute significantly to research, advancing the field of Nuclear Medicine by upholding ethical standards and reproducibility in studies, ensuring data quality in clinical trials and validity in research outcomes and overcoming barriers to greater participation in research, such as limited recognition and professional autonomy. Without professional regulation, Clinical Technologists face reduced credibility in research contributions due to lack of professional standards and missed opportunities for impactful clinical trials due to workforce limitations.

Introduction

Registered nurses working in Nuclear Medicine have at least 2 years post registration experience and many are highly skilled practitioners in the field.

Education

Nuclear Medicine Nurses educate patients and their carers in order that they can make informed choices about their investigations and treatment. They educate nursing and medical staff (both on the wards and those visiting nuclear medicine) about basic nuclear medicine principles and procedures and support training with supervised practice. They inform other nuclear medicine staff about nursing care such as assessment of patient’s condition, pain control and comfort. They train staff to recognise emergency situations such as hypoglycaemia, anaphylaxis and problems associated with the critically ill.

Clinical Effectiveness

Nurses working in Nuclear Medicine are often involved in or instigate audit and research in order to assess quality of care provided and where possible improve the way in which procedures are performed. Also, Nuclear Medicine nurses can be involved in Phase 1 and Phase2 clinical trials.

Co-ordinate

Nurses may co-ordinate some sessions or clinics to ensure smooth running and continuity of care.

Liaison

The multidisciplinary team, comprising doctors, physicists, pharmacists, radiographers, technologists, nurses and administrative staff, contribute to the work in nuclear medicine. For the department to run smoothly, the various staff groups need to understand each other's role and communicate effectively. The nurse can have a vital role in ensuring effective liaison between staff. Since many in-patients attend Nuclear Medicine, the nurse can be a key point of contact for communication between the wards/units and the department, not only in ensuring the best possible continuity of care for the patients, but also in updating and developing the knowledge of ward nurses and doctors.

Procedures

The nurse has an important role in the procedures which are undertaken in Nuclear Medicine. Sometimes the nurses may co-ordinate and undertake procedures, whilst at other times their role is to assist other members of the multidisciplinary team.

Stock Control

Often the nurses have a responsibility for the routine checking of essential equipment such as resuscitation equipment. In addition they may take responsibility for the ordering and purchasing of consumables and medication. Some procedures require patients to consume a fatty diet during their investigation and this may be ordered by the nurse.

What sort of Skills are required?

As Nuclear Medicine departments provide a wide variety of investigations to patients from such a large background, the nurse needs to be aware that the role can be diverse and change quite quickly. Adaptability is thus a key requirement. In addition, a good general knowledge of Nuclear Medicine will be required.

The following specific skills are required;

• Adaptable to changing situations
• Be flexible to meet the needs of patients and procedures
• Good communication skills are essential
• Provide support and education to patients, carers and staff
• Critically evaluate changing situations and potential hazards to patients and staff
• Ability to learn in a changing and growing speciality
• Many departments have services for adults and pediatrics, therefore an understanding of the needs of pediatrics is important to meet their special needs
• Assessment of visiting and new staff in Nuclear Medicine, regarding techniques such as cannulation
• Having a good sense of humour is an asset!

What sort of training and qualifications are required?

Much of the training for Nuclear Medicine nursing is performed locally, though it is essential that skills and knowledge are updated regularly. For example, attending study days such as:

• The Law and the Nurse
• Culture and Religions
• Venepuncture and cannulation
• Radiation Protection Legislation covering staff (IRR17) and patients (IR(ME)R24). Ask your local RPA.

The role of the nurse varies somewhat between departments, so qualifications will depend upon what each specific department expects and desires.

The Register of Clinical Technologists (RCT) was previously known as the Voluntary Register of Clinical Technologists (VRCT) and has now been accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. For a link to the Organisation profile click here

The RCT is a register for healthcare scientists specialising in the practical application of physics, engineering and technology to clinical practice.
http://therct.org.uk/

Courses for Radiographers and Technologists are listed in the Training and Education/ Courses Section of the website.
Go to 'Courses'