The physicist is a key member of the nuclear medicine team and has specific responsibilities for the scientific and technical aspects of the service. If you enjoy physics and the biological sciences, then you’ll love nuclear medicine.

The professional role of a nuclear medicine physicist will fall within some or all of eight main areas.
Equipment management includes specification and acceptance testing of new equipment, as well as regular quality control of existing equipment.

Data acquisition and processing covers the design and implementation of methods for acquiring images with gamma cameras, SPECT/CT and PET/CT scanners and for computer processing of these data. It may also require the development of specific software for this purpose.

Research and development of new techniques is often carried out as part of a multi-disciplinary team and medical physicists also have a role in the teaching and training of many other staff groups.

Quality assurance is concerned with the production of well documented systems for managing and organising processes and audit is an important part of this.

Physicists are key in ensuring adherence to Radiation Safety legislation by acting as legally required “Medical Physics Experts” and sometimes “Radiation Protection Advisors” to ensure the safety of patients, staff and the public.

Physicists are closely involved in radionuclide therapy. This can include some or all of the following: calculation of the amount of radioactivity needed; preparation for the treatment; administration of the treatment to patients; assessment of the radiation dose to the target and critical organs.

Finally, physicists may play a role in the radiopharmacy or the administration of radioisotopes for treatment of certain diseases. In many of the above areas, contact with patients is an important part of the job.

What skills and qualifications are required?
The physicist's role in nuclear medicine is thus a challenging one. It requires a sound scientific background, a capability for innovation, attention to detail, the ability to communicate complex scientific principles, be an innovative problem solver and above all, the ability to work within a multidisciplinary team that includes doctors, technologists, radiographers, pharmacists and nurses. The physicist must be prepared to work with patients and computer skills are essential, as the work will often involve advanced medical image processing.

A nuclear medicine physicist will usually have had a general training as a medical physicist before deciding to specialise in nuclear medicine.

How do I get into the profession?
To work as a Nuclear Medicine Physicist, you will need to be registered as a Clinical Scientist by the Healthcare Professions Council. Registration of workers in healthcare demonstrates to patients that a high level of training and competence has been achieved. To obtain registration, you will need to demonstrate a strong knowledge in general areas of Medical Physics and a high level in the theory and practise of Nuclear Medicine Physics. This is most commonly achieved by following a three-year training program regulated by the National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS). The training scheme is called the Scientific Training Program (STP) and is run for many scientific disciplines within the NHS. Training is competency based, initially in areas across Medical Physics and then specialising, in this case in Nuclear Medicine and other diagnostic imaging. A masters program is also followed during the training period to provide the theoretical knowledge required. Competition for entry to this funded scheme is high. Entrants will already have achieved a good honours degree in a physical science and demonstrate excellent aptitude and scientific skills at interview. These training posts are advertised by NHS jobs, usually around January – February each year for commencement in September. You are paid a salary and all main training expenses and university fees.

Some hospital departments may occasionally advertise posts which can lead to registration as Clinical Scientist via equivalence to the STP training or via an alternative training scheme operated by the Institute of Physic and Engineering Medicine (IPEM). Again, these will usually be advertised by NHS jobs.

How does a physicist's career proceed?
Completion of training and achieving registration as a Clinical Scientist allows the Physicist to operate independently and be responsible for their own safe working practise. Most Physicists work in an NHS hospital alongside other professionals. Upon obtaining registration physicists are appointed on a band on the NHS pay scales (usually at Band 7). There is good opportunity to progress through up through pay scales when taking on additional responsibility and roles such as MPE, RPA, taking responsibility for managing aspects of the service and/or people. The NSHCS operate a Higher Specialist Scientific Training scheme (HSST) which is a taught doctorate, which gives an opportunity to focus on development of scientific and management skills. Some Physicists may opt to follow a more academic PhD, which might focus on a particular area of Nuclear Medicine R&D.

Resources
Academy of Healthcare Scientists https://www.ahcs.ac.uk/

Healthcare Professions Council https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/

British Nuclear Medicine Society https://www.bnms.org.uk/

Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine https://www.ipem.ac.uk/

National School of Healthcare Science nshcs@hee.nhs.uk

For further information visit www.bnms.org.uk or Email: office@bnms.org.uk