Nuclear Medicine Technologist
By KEN MOSIER
For What2Be
Who am I?
Name: Chris Capparelli
Title: Nuclear Medicine Technologist, Chief of Nuclear Medicine
Affiliation: Upper Valley Medical Center
Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Findlay.
Quote: “It’s a very rewarding field and you get to help a lot of people and the technology is wonderful,” he said.
What’s2Like:
►Challenging work
►Cutting-edge technology
►Helping people
►No two days are alike
What’s Not 2 Like:
►Being on-call at times.
►Shift or weekend work a possibility in larger hospitals
►Can be emotionally draining when dealing with, for example, a child with cancer.
►Job competition is currently stiff.
For some the words ‘nuclear’ or ‘radioactivity’ conjure up images of total destruction via super bombs, et cetera. Therefore, being told to appear at the nuclear medicine department brings on a case of apprehension in some patients.
“Yes, you get that a lot. It’s the fear of the unknown,” said Chris Capparelli, Chief of Nuclear Medicine at the Upper Valley Medical Center in Miami County. “People who don’t know what’s going to happen when they walk in the door so a lot of them are very, very nervous.
“But once you explain the procedure and tell them it’s not going to be harmful to them, their apprehension usually goes away very quickly,” he explained.
Radioactivity is a part of nuclear medicine but amounts involved are minute.
“Nuclear medicine is a branch of radiology,” Capparelli explained. “We do a lot of functions studies. We use a very small amount of radiation — which is not harmful to the patient. Either (we) inject it or they swallow a pill or they breathe it in. We have specialty cameras that can pick up that radiation that we give them and we can help the doctors diagnose certain diseases.”
The type of material for the patient varies according to what is to be studied. “There are two parts to each drug used,” the Vandalia-Butler HS graduate explained. “There is the non-radioactive part and the radioactive part. What the radiation is mixed with depends on where it is to go in the body. You may mix it with one part that goes to the heart while you might mix the same (radioactive material) with something that goes to the gall bladder on another patient. It all depends on what you mix it with.
“We can do function tests on the heart, liver, spleen, gall bladder and thyroid. There are tests that we can do to find internal bleeding. We can find blood clots in the lungs or tell you how fast or slowly you digest your foods and things like that,” he continued.
Since exposure to radiation is cumulative, workers in a nuclear medicine department must wear dosimeters to measure the amount of radiation they have received. “Not only the body but the hands as well,” Capparelli said showing the ring-type dosimeter they wear in addition to the one on their belts. When preparing materials, nuclear medicine technologists use a lead-lined shield over the materials.
The day starts early. “The first thing we do in the morning, we have to do a lot of testing on our equipment so we spend about a half-hour a day doing quality control on the equipment to make sure it is working properly before we use it on a patient,” he said.
“Then you tend to see your first patient right around 6:45 or 7 a.m. Those are typically heart patients so you tend to get those done early. We start our IVs and then go from there.” He noted that nuclear med techs do start their own IVs.
“Typically we are busy all morning and then it starts to slack off a little in the afternoon.” He estimated that the department sees 15 to 20 patients a day at Upper Valley. Tests last from one hour to three or four hours each.
Capparelli has a bachelor’s degree in nuclear medicine from the University of Findlay. He said it is possible to work in nuclear medicine with a one-year certificate or with an associate degree. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Handbook (www.bls.gov) notes that those who receive certificates, etc., usually already have a certificate or degree as a radiologic technician.
Competition for jobs is currently stiff. “When I was in school, my class (2001) graduated seven people. Now (schools graduate) 40 to 60 every eight months,” he explained. “As of a year or two ago, the demand has decreased dramatically. I think less people are retiring now because of economic issues so there are not as many people leaving as are coming in. Generally it peaks every five years — (demand) goes up and down.”
He said that Findlay’s four-year program consists of three years of prerequisites and then four months of classes devoted solely to nuclear medicine. The aspiring technologist then spends eight months getting clinical experience in the field.
“It’s a very rewarding field and you get to help a lot of people,” he said. “The technology is wonderful — you get to use a lot of computers and the software is always updating. So, if you are into computers and medicine, this is definitely a career you should probably look into. It is very fascinating,” he said.
Capparelli suggests taking as many science and math courses as possible and do a job shadow. For Upper Valley, he suggested contacting the Volunteer Office to set up shadowing.
