Day in the Life of a Nuclear Pharmacist

[Maxpwer222]

I just finish one class called Instrumental Analysis. I was just wondering if they use any of these machines that I have learned: IR, NMR, and Mass Spectrometer.

Those are mainly used to identify a compound. The only time I have used them was while I was conducting research.

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[SpirivaSunrise]

I realized a while ago that I had failed to discuss the fragility of the medical isotope supply chain in this thread, and unfortunately, it's a recurring problem that has really hit the industry hard. We are once again facing a worldwide shortage, and the alarming part is that it is occurring more and more frequently...with no easy solution in sight.

As mentioned earlier, the majority of radiopharmaceuticals are compounded with Tc-99m. Sodium pertechnetate is obtained from the parent compound Mo-99, and there are only 5 reactors in the world that produce Mo-99, none of which are on US territory:

• National Research Universal (NRU) reactor at Chalk River, Ontario: is a 50+ year-old facility built in 1957; the isotopes produced here are distributed by MDS Nordion, and it is the primary Mo-99 supplier to Lantheus for their generator production. The aging reactor was shut down a couple weeks ago due to radioactive heavy-water leak, and a best case scenario has it offline for 3 months for repairs...but this is beginning to look more and more unrealistic, and it could be down for 8 months or more. This reactor usually produces about half of world's medical isotopes.
  
  
• HFR Reactor in Petten, Netherlands: was built in 1961; it is the primary Mo-99 supplier to Covidien for their generators. This reactor supplies about a third of the world's supply and was shut down last week for schedule preventative maintenance. It is also apparently scheduled to be down July 18 through August 18.
  
  
• BR2 Reactor in Belgium: built in 1961; provides a back-up supply to Covidien. It is also currently offline for maintenance, and isn't scheduled to be up and running again until early July.
  
  
• OSIRIS Reactor in France: built in 1966
  
  
• SAFARI Reactor in South Africa: built in 1965. These two are relatively small reactors and are only capable of fulfilling a small fraction of the world’s demand.

​

In terms of Mo-99 production - at the reactors, highly enriched uranium (U-235) targets are irradiated, producing Mo-99. The raw Mo-99 is shipped to manufacturers – two in the US - Covidien (in St. Louis) or Lantheus (in Boston), who use it to make the Mo-99/Tc-99m generators. Quality control is performed on the generators, and they are then shipped out to nuclear pharmacies. The generators are then eluted to produce a Tc-99m solution which is used to compound radiopharmaceuticals. The Mo-99 in the generator decays over time, producing less and less activity each day, and expire after 2 weeks. At my pharmacy alone, we can receive up to 5 new generators a night, so as you can imagine, we are really feeling the pinch now.

MDS Nordion and AECL planned for years to open new reactors in Canada, specifically meant to only produce medical isotopes. The facilities were actually built at Chalk River, and should have been completed by 2000, but never became fully functional. Millions of dollars were poured into the project, but it was scrapped in May of 2008 by the Canadian government and AECL.

About 23 million diagnostic radiopharmaceutical doses were administered to patients last year in the US alone; 19 million of which were Tc-99m based doses. So as you can see, a great majority of these studies are impacted by a shortage. The only option during these shortages is for the medical community to cancel studies, use more expensive and less efficient imaging techniques; and in reality, there are oftentimes no alternative for the patients. These studies do affect patient outcomes tremendously, but I really don't think we've done enough to show the medical community, government, etc. that resources are needed to deal with supply issues.

 

[WhiteSnows]

I realized a while ago that I had failed to discuss the fragility of the medical isotope supply chain in this thread, and unfortunately, it's a recurring problem that has really hit the industry hard. We are once again facing a worldwide shortage, and the alarming part is that it is occurring more and more frequently...with no easy solution in sight.

As mentioned earlier, the majority of radiopharmaceuticals are compounded with Tc-99m. Sodium pertechnetate is obtained from the parent compound Mo-99, and there are only 5 reactors in the world that produce Mo-99, none of which are on US territory:

• National Research Universal (NRU) reactor at Chalk River, Ontario: is a 50+ year-old facility built in 1957; the isotopes produced here are distributed by MDS Nordion, and it is the primary Mo-99 supplier to Lantheus for their generator production. The aging reactor was shut down a couple weeks ago due to radioactive heavy-water leak, and a best case scenario has it offline for 3 months for repairs...but this is beginning to look more and more unrealistic, and it could be down for 8 months or more. This reactor usually produces about half of world's medical isotopes.
  
  
• HFR Reactor in Petten, Netherlands: was built in 1961; it is the primary Mo-99 supplier to Covidien for their generators. This reactor supplies about a third of the world's supply and was shut down last week for schedule preventative maintenance. It is also apparently scheduled to be down July 18 through August 18.
  
  
• BR2 Reactor in Belgium: built in 1961; provides a back-up supply to Covidien. It is also currently offline for maintenance, and isn't scheduled to be up and running again until early July.
  
  
• OSIRIS Reactor in France: built in 1966
  
  
• SAFARI Reactor in South Africa: built in 1965. These two are relatively small reactors and are only capable of fulfilling a small fraction of the world’s demand.

​

In terms of Mo-99 production - at the reactors, highly enriched uranium (U-235) targets are irradiated, producing Mo-99. The raw Mo-99 is shipped to manufacturers – two in the US - Covidien (in St. Louis) or Lantheus (in Boston), who use it to make the Mo-99/Tc-99m generators. Quality control is performed on the generators, and they are then shipped out to nuclear pharmacies. The generators are then eluted to produce a Tc-99m solution which is used to compound radiopharmaceuticals. The Mo-99 in the generator decays over time, producing less and less activity each day, and expire after 2 weeks. At my pharmacy alone, we can receive up to 5 new generators a night, so as you can imagine, we are really feeling the pinch now.

MDS Nordion and AECL planned for years to open new reactors in Canada, specifically meant to only produce medical isotopes. The facilities were actually built at Chalk River, and should have been completed by 2000, but never became fully functional. Millions of dollars were poured into the project, but it was scrapped in May of 2008 by the Canadian government and AECL.

About 23 million diagnostic radiopharmaceutical doses were administered to patients last year in the US alone; 19 million of which were Tc-99m based doses. So as you can see, a great majority of these studies are impacted by a shortage. The only option during these shortages is for the medical community to cancel studies, use more expensive and less efficient imaging techniques; and in reality, there are oftentimes no alternative for the patients. These studies do affect patient outcomes tremendously, but I really don't think we've done enough to show the medical community, government, etc. that resources are needed to deal with supply issues.

Will this reduce Nuclear pharmacist jobs?

 

[Eleen]

Great explanations, as always

Will this reduce Nuclear pharmacist jobs?

As long as the shortage is transient, I doubt that many positions will be cut. However, it sure seems like we've been in a "temporary" shortage for quite some time.

Long story short...as long as the Ontario reactor is down, we'll be feeling the hurt.

 

[mipharmd]

I just wanted to say thank you! I read your post a few weeks before I started my Nuclear Pharmacy rotation and it really helped. I knew what to expect and since I knew some of the terminology and what goes on, i was able to catch on faster! i loved my nuclear pharmacy rotation, and was excited cuz I even got to draw doses. I worked 2 midnight weeks and it was the best time.. (liked it alot better than the day- days were boring).. I showed my preceptor the thread and she was so greatful that someone took the time to explain what they actually do.

Do you guyz use alot of generic cardiolite?? I know it came out but the pharmacy i worked at rarely used it.. they used brand cardiolite.

 

[frustuck]

hi Spirivasunrise,

I would really appreciate any help in the following:
I'm vr. interseted in NP and want to write a review paper about the impact of NP in patient care. I didn't see any litreatures or studies showing such role. I hope you can help.

Thanks,
Go Gator!

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

hi Spirivasunrise,

I would really appreciate any help in the following:
I'm vr. interseted in NP and want to write a review paper about the impact of NP in patient care. I didn't see any litreatures or studies showing such role. I hope you can help.

Thanks,
Go Gator!

Oooh, there's tons out there! How broad/specific do you want to get? Given your other message, it seems like you want this information quickly, and unfortunately I'm swamped at the moment with projects and performance appraisals...but I can definitely point you in the right direction!

Sign up for an account at AuntMinnie. It's free, and this is an excellent resource for industry news, updates, etc. And they post tons of abstracts from studies that show the valuable impact of nuclear medicine (from how it positively affects course of therapy, economic value, and most importantly patient outcomes). I saw one just the other day on how imaging has helped to extend US life expectancy numbers...

Be sure to also scan through journals like JNM's free archives online.

 

[frustuck]

Oooh, there's tons out there! How broad/specific do you want to get? Given your other message, it seems like you want this information quickly, and unfortunately I'm swamped at the moment with projects and performance appraisals...but I can definitely point you in the right direction!

Sign up for an account at AuntMinnie. It's free, and this is an excellent resource for industry news, updates, etc. And they post tons of abstracts from studies that show the valuable impact of nuclear medicine (from how it positively affects course of therapy, economic value, and most importantly patient outcomes). I saw one just the other day on how imaging has helped to extend US life expectancy numbers...

Be sure to also scan through journals like JNM's free archives online.

thanks,
however I still need ur help. I didn't see NP there. What is the actual role for NP in nuclear medicine? where's NP in practice and how NP impacts patient outcomes? i.e exact NP role in pharmaceutical care process.

 

[nukepharm]

I quit Walgreens after less than one year out of school and went with an independent nuclear pharmacy chain. They matched my salary (which was at the upper end of retail pay) plus I get a 15% bonus with perks. Walgreens gave me a $100 bonus for 8 months of opening and building up a new pharmacy. Gee!

At my nuclear pharmacy I get paid for eight hours and usually leave about an hour early. I never talk to insurance companies. I don't have to deal with fake prescriptions or controlled substances or monitoring the same pillheads evey month. I don't have to worry about being held up at gun point. I can eat my meals at my leisure because I have scheduled downtime. No drive-thru bell!

Even with the generator shortage (the worst it has ever been according to my colleagues), this job is still less stressful and more rewarding than retail.

So what are you waiting for?


Caveats: If you like the patient care aspect, this isn't for you. You probably won't ever talk to a patient.

The corporate behemoths like GE and covidien pay less plus you have to deal with being a number and being used/abused in a fashion similar to any retail chain

 

[PharmDave]

Thanks, GatorGirl! But don't forget the South Carolina College of Pharmacy's "Nuclear Track". That will get folks where they want to go, too!
Great write-up!

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

Thanks, GatorGirl! But don't forget the South Carolina College of Pharmacy's "Nuclear Track". That will get folks where they want to go, too!
Great write-up!

Yeah, there's no way for me to keep track of all the nuke pharm programs...but as you all post them, I'll be sure to add them to the listing!


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[Keyoda]

Hi Spriva,

A while back you said you would be meeting with a Zevalin Rep and I was wondering what that was like. I'm curious to learn about the interactions between manufacturers and nuclear pharmacists.

Thanks again!

 

[crazybob]

I had my interview with Cardinal Health today about a summer internship. They seemed to ask me a lot about if I like working in a traditional lab setting and how interested I am in nuclear pharmacy. I was kinda nervous, but I said what I could and asked a lot of questions about being a manager or a supervisor later on, so I'm hoping that will say something about how I want to stay in the nuclear field for a while. They looked at my resume and asked a lot of questions from that at first and the rest was based on what I was willing to say and ask them. Do you think I might be likely to get this internship position as a P1?

 

[Pharmernator]

Ok, so I'm new to forums. I thought I posted something weeks ago but it's nowhere to be found... Here I go again...

This forum has been amazingly educational. I'm a P4 on a nuclear rotation. My rotation sucks. I mean it. It's terrible. Really bad.

Someone might be tempted to say: "well maybe nuclear is just not for you pharmernator". WRONG! I'm very interested in nuclear! I enjoyed reading about nuclear during the first week of my rotation. I enjoyed observing everyone as they worked in the pharmacy. I'm reading a textbook about nuclear medicine just for fun...but my rotation sucks!

All I do is stick labels on lead PIGs and do quality control. I feel like I'm a factory worker. Company policies forbid interns/externs from doing any real pharmacy or tech work. I'm sure they could still find a way to make it more interesting.

I tell my friends that if they think they might be interested in nuclear, they should stay the hell away from my rotation because it will slowly destroy their enthusiasm.

I learn a lot more about nuclear from Spiriva (great job!) than I do in my rotation.

I seriously believe that nuclear pharmacy would be better off without my rotation site. People warned me about it, and I just dismissed them with: "nuclear was simply not for them". I was wrong my site sucks.

I really hope that other sites/companies do a better job with students. To decrease suspicion (and increase suspicion), I will give out hints... my rotation is NOT Cardinal, however it IS a big company...and it sucks.
I'm done venting.

 

[104921]

Thank you for posting this, even though I am late in reading it. I knew I wanted to do nuclear before I even got into pharmacy school, and I haven't changed my mind. I'm glad my school (UNC) has a 1 year elective dedicated to it, plus a rotation I can take; I am worried though that each passing year it won't be offered the next, because so few people take it. I checked enrollment for the year before and out of about 120 people 5 took it. Last year it was a single ONE. I guess that reduces my competition?

I think they only thing I'm worried about is actually finding a nuclear pharmacy that would hire me, since like you said, they are not on every corner.

 

[Rebel78]

I did a nuclear pharmacy rotation while I was in school. Glad I did it, me a good friend were considering it. He ended up working for Cardinal. I went retail, now I'm staff at a hospital.

Only advice I can give is to try it for a couple of months before you take a position. Getting up for a shift at 2am is tough. It's very interesting in the beginning, but I found it to be very monotonous after a month or so. Dealing with so few drugs and the same people all the time is tough.

I can see the appeal of it, just wasn't for me.

 

[crazybob]

I did a nuclear pharmacy rotation while I was in school. Glad I did it, me a good friend were considering it. He ended up working for Cardinal. I went retail, now I'm staff at a hospital.

Only advice I can give is to try it for a couple of months before you take a position. Getting up for a shift at 2am is tough. It's very interesting in the beginning, but I found it to be very monotonous after a month or so. Dealing with so few drugs and the same people all the time is tough.

I can see the appeal of it, just wasn't for me.

do you know if your friend likes working for Cardinal Health?

that's where I might be doing my summer internship. also, since they have nuclear pharmacies all over the country, i could work at a different location after a while so it won't be working with the same people forever. is that not very common?

 

[kylerhodes]

I am little bit confuse with that thing...
I'm still thinking about whether or not I want to be a director of pharmacy for a hospital or a pharmacy manager for any kind of pharmacy at some point.

 

[type b pharmD]

Just got offered a nuke internship ! I will report back in the coming months about my experiences! Sounds like I'm going to be doing tech work during the morning hours and taking phone calls and orders during the afternoons !

 

[taterbean]

Does anyone have a link to a comprehensive list of nuclear certification programs (to pay privately?) I cant seem to find more than like 4 (OSU, purdue, ark, unm...that may be all of them..any in the northwest?). Is there one that is "better" as far as the ability to make some contacts within the field and setting yourself up to get employed after the cert. program is over? Thanks!

 

[type b pharmD]

Spiriva, can you post any interesting weblinks regarding PET scanning and enriching material at a nuclear pharmacy if you get the chance? My pharmacy is going to set up their own cyclotron soon and i'm curious as to how it is going to work. My soon-to-be boss believes it is the "wave of the future" so to speak with nuclear pharm.. What are your thoughts?

 

[aussiepharmer]

I quit Walgreens after less than one year out of school and went with an independent nuclear pharmacy chain. They matched my salary (which was at the upper end of retail pay) plus I get a 15% bonus with perks. Walgreens gave me a $100 bonus for 8 months of opening and building up a new pharmacy. Gee!

At my nuclear pharmacy I get paid for eight hours and usually leave about an hour early. I never talk to insurance companies. I don't have to deal with fake prescriptions or controlled substances or monitoring the same pillheads evey month. I don't have to worry about being held up at gun point. I can eat my meals at my leisure because I have scheduled downtime. No drive-thru bell!

Even with the generator shortage (the worst it has ever been according to my colleagues), this job is still less stressful and more rewarding than retail.

So what are you waiting for?


Caveats: If you like the patient care aspect, this isn't for you. You probably won't ever talk to a patient.

The corporate behemoths like GE and covidien pay less plus you have to deal with being a number and being used/abused in a fashion similar to any retail chain

Does anyone know whether Canada also has nuclear pharmacy jobs? This is one of the scopes that is non-existent in OZ.

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

Spiriva, can you post any interesting weblinks regarding PET scanning and enriching material at a nuclear pharmacy if you get the chance? My pharmacy is going to set up their own cyclotron soon and i'm curious as to how it is going to work. My soon-to-be boss believes it is the "wave of the future" so to speak with nuclear pharm.. What are your thoughts?

Sure! He/she is absolutely correct about the outlook on molecular imaging. I’m not sure whether I know of any comprehensive online resources that discuss the PET manufacturing process at a cyclotron…but I can try to give you the basics.

I believe I mentioned this before, but radioisotopes are produced by either an accelerator method (i.e. a cyclotron) or by a nuclear reactor. Common radionuclides produced by a reactor include Mo-99, I-131, Xe-133, Cr-51, etc. However the majority of PET radiotracers (i.e. F-18, C-11, O-15, N-13) are produced using a cyclotron.

Inside the cyclotron, charged particles (protons) are spun and accelerated, then directed towards a target material. When the beam of protons hits the target material (in the case of F-18 production, the target material is O-18 water), it produces an unstable radioisotope. The radioisotope is then attached to another molecule in a chemistry box to produce a radiopharmaceutical (i.e. combining F-18 + glucose to make F-18 FDG). Quality control is then performed by the team to ensure purity, sterility, correct pH, etc.

F-18 FDG is the main PET product now, but there are several F-18 based IND’s in the pipeline for brain, cardiac, and cancer imaging. My pharmacy is involved with quite a few clinical trials at the moment, with a couple more slated to begin in early 2010. It’s really exciting stuff! However, due to sensitivity with some of the proprietary/non-proprietary products…I can’t really go into detail. You can thumb through trials on SNM and the NCI’s website to find examples of many of the IND’s currently being researched.

Glad to hear your pharmacy is bringing on an on-site cyclotron as well! It really does make sense in many markets for various reasons. F-18 has a very short half-life of 110 minutes...to be able to just wheel it on a cart into the pharmacy and draw it up into unit doses...it's really nice!

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

Just got offered a nuke internship ! I will report back in the coming months about my experiences! Sounds like I'm going to be doing tech work during the morning hours and taking phone calls and orders during the afternoons !

Very excited for you by the way. If you do happen to decide nuclear is for you...you're going to be positioning yourself very well to make some nice career moves early on.

I am currently interviewing pharmacists for an open position, and previous experience is valued very highly!! I have some really strong grads applying with intern experience...so much so that I'm not even looking at other applicants without any prior experience. Makes it really nice to know they'd be able to hit the ground running real soon.

 

[crazybob]

Very excited for you by the way. If you do happen to decide nuclear is for you...you're going to be positioning yourself very well to make some nice career moves early on.

I am currently interviewing pharmacists for an open position, and previous experience is valued very highly!! I have some really strong grads applying with intern experience...so much so that I'm not even looking at other applicants without any prior experience. Makes it really nice to know they'd be able to hit the ground running real soon.

Speaking of experience, would it be better to try to do an internship with more than one company before graduating or would I learn more from going back to the same company if I do another summer internship in a nuclear pharmacy?

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

Speaking of experience, would it be better to try to do an internship with more than one company before graduating or would I learn more from going back to the same company if I do another summer internship in a nuclear pharmacy?

Depends on how the first one goes. I wouldn't jump from pharmacy to pharmacy just for the heck of it...that screams more that you can't hold a job and are unreliable. However, if your first experience is disappointing and you aren't getting anything out of it...then it's worth trying somewhere else to see if it's a better fit.

 

[type b pharmD]

Hey spiriva, how are you preparing for the "great moly shortage of 2010" ? Between end of feb and mid march when both chalk river and hfr are down?

I know we've already warned our customers that there may be days when we cannot even give them ANY doses. ! Crazy! Are you guys going to take such strict measures? It appears we are already cutting doses by about 10-15%
(edit: although this may have been due a pilot dumping our generators)

 

[Nukemboy37]

It is my understanding that there is a shortage of Molybdinunm and it is effecting NP around the country... I live in Las Vegas and know about most of the NP on t he West Coast and it is my understanding that alot are going out of business and selling out... There is actually less of a need for NP right now... What do you think about this Spiriva? Have you seen similar? Do you seem to be affected?

 

[type b pharmD]

It is my understanding that there is a shortage of Molybdinunm and it is effecting NP around the country... I live in Las Vegas and know about most of the NP on t he West Coast and it is my understanding that alot are going out of business and selling out... There is actually less of a need for NP right now... What do you think about this Spiriva? Have you seen similar? Do you seem to be affected?

There is a HUGE shortage of moly. However late this spring the global production capacity is going to go way up when both main reactors (hfr in the netherlands and chalk river in canada) come back online, the extreme shortage seen the last few years is going to be pretty much over. I wouldnt be surprised if a lot of independent operators are getting bought out in this type of supply climate. Big chains can afford to buy up remaining supply at higher prices than independents could pay (not sure if this happens or not), and also the cash reserves that a chain is sitting on can help it weather any days or weeks when it cant keep its sales up. Ie if we have a day with zero production, im sure our parent company can take the loss, whereas with a smaller operator, if they cant get moly, they arent gonna be able to feed their family or employees. It'll probably even back out when the supply situation gets better, i would think.

But the use of moly and tech products is gonna eventually decrease, my pharmacists say, cause of declining reimbursements on cardiac scans. But you can bet nuke physicians will just be hopping on the next bandwagon for high reimbursement though. For example: new types of functional imaging through PET drugs. The chains are making some pretty big bets (financially) that this is gonna be where the future of nuke med is, so i'm inclined to believe them.

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

Hey spiriva, how are you preparing for the "great moly shortage of 2010" ? Between end of feb and mid march when both chalk river and hfr are down?

I know we've already warned our customers that there may be days when we cannot even give them ANY doses. ! Crazy! Are you guys going to take such strict measures? It appears we are already cutting doses by about 10-15%
(edit: although this may have been due a pilot dumping our generators)

Communication is key. I've been sending out a weekly memo to the hospitals/clinics ever since Chalk River went down detailing restrictions and giving them projections for the tight weeks to come. I also put together a spreadsheet that allows me to calculate what we can get away with restriction-wise (i.e. needing to limit Tc doses to 8/24 mCi, 9/27 mCi, 10/30 mCi, etc.) based on the generator profile.

In all honesty, the Moly shortage has taught our pharmacies how to operate far more efficiently and leaner. On most days, we're dispensing even more doses than we were at this same point last year - at fractions of the generator activity (cost). So things are never going to go back to the way they were "pre-shortage"...it makes no business sense.

Anyways...I also wanted to let you know I haven't been ignoring your PM's! Just been busy as ever. Hope the job is going well...send me your # again and we'll finally set up the call.

 

[type b pharmD]

Communication is key. I've been sending out a weekly memo to the hospitals/clinics ever since Chalk River went down detailing restrictions and giving them projections for the tight weeks to come. I also put together a spreadsheet that allows me to calculate what we can get away with restriction-wise (i.e. needing to limit Tc doses to 8/24 mCi, 9/27 mCi, 10/30 mCi, etc.) based on the generator profile.

In all honesty, the Moly shortage has taught our pharmacies how to operate far more efficiently and leaner. On most days, we're dispensing even more doses than we were at this same point last year - at fractions of the generator activity (cost). So things are never going to go back to the way they were "pre-shortage"...it makes no business sense.

Anyways...I also wanted to let you know I haven't been ignoring your PM's! Just been busy as ever. Hope the job is going well...send me your # again and we'll finally set up the call.

Good to hear you're back!! I'll PM you sometime soon, perhaps later during spring break or afterwards - still looking forward to talking!

In some ways our pharmacy IS going back to the "old days" specifically because of the shortage! Hah, upon arrival the other afternoon I found somewhere around 40 thallium doses waiting for me to draw, to substitute for Tec of course. Drawing tl sucks cause the way they enter the inventory into the computer requires using multiple vials to fill a single dose, most times. With doses at 3-4mls, I find myself going through about twelve vials each afternoon run, and it's such a huge hassle to draw from multiple vials and update the computer about partial vial use, all while trying to prevent anything from getting hot due to the long half life. Oh well i'd gladly sit and draw doses all afternoon as compared to filling pyxis machines or auditing eMARs. Still havin fun, even though i swear our customers seem to save ordering all of their TL doses for my afternoons , hah. Luckily, I think we're going to start entering our Tl vials under a single barcode per lot (right now each and every vial gets its own unique barcode) so we dont have to do all that computer nonsense each time we draw. But hey, one thing Tl is good for is improving technique - after several weeks of tl runs, I can now draw comfortably fast without even getting the paper or syringe shield hot! And to think a month ago I wasnt able to draw without having to quarantine all my items afterwards

Spiriva, im not sure if you're working with it now, but the new computer system our lab is testing out will blow your mind , if it ever arrives to your lab. One of the coolest programs I have ever seen or used in my life.

Btw, I just switched to an earlier shift (around opening time), so I have finally been able to routinely be part of a run and actually get into the drawing groove (now that we have four drawing hoods there is enough room for everyone), what a great feeling!! Do you let your techs and interns wear earbuds and ipods during run 1 ? I havent brought any of my own in yet but that seems like a standard practice among run 1 techs. (music in at least one ear that is)

 

[jinga]

This is a great thread - very informative! I have a couple of questions. I find nuclear pharmacy very appealing. The drugs are fascinating and so are their applications.

1. Do you feel my (intern) hospital experience is relevant to nuclear pharmacy?

2. In your experience, do most nuclear pharmacies require pharmacists to work the "graveyard shift?" I do it on occasion as an intern, and I'm not a huge fan; however I think I could suck it up!

Thanks for creating this thread!

 

[type b pharmD]

This is a great thread - very informative! I have a couple of questions. I find nuclear pharmacy very appealing. The drugs are fascinating and so are their applications.

1. Do you feel my (intern) hospital experience is relevant to nuclear pharmacy?

2. In your experience, do most nuclear pharmacies require pharmacists to work the "graveyard shift?" I do it on occasion as an intern, and I'm not a huge fan; however I think I could suck it up!

Thanks for creating this thread!

1. Sterile compounding experience will help you to an extent, you will be comfortable working in hoods and clean rooms. This is pretty much the only thing that will transfer over. I had hundreds of hours of sterile compounding experience when I started my nuke job, and i found that working with a heavy leaded syringe shield was basically like starting from square one, skills wise. In a hospital, spraying **** all over the hood is commonplace if you work at a fast pace. In nuclear, you cant spill a single micro droplet, or your hood , your sleeves, and possibly your hand, will become a "hot zone" and will be dangerous to work in. It's kind of a bad feeling after you finish a run and you realize your gloves have been hot the whole time because of an invisible droplet that must have spilled on them and you didnt notice, and your hands or arms have been getting irradiated.

2. Except for management, pretty much all nuclear pharmacists rotate through the night shift. This means 1-2 weeks per month, you will be working 12am-8am, or 1am-9am, or equivalent. No avoiding it - this is when 90% of the production gets done. Personally I'm going to get around the switching sleep cycle thing by just working nights every week.

Go out there and get some nuke shadowing experience and a nuke internship if you can. It is VERY rewarding. Working is the high point of my week, even when my alarm clock goes off at 1:15am and I have a full day of class afterwards.


PS: Spirivia - my first landauer report came back!! Only 8 for body badge and negligible for both finger rings! I'm so happy i havent been irradiated yet!!

 

[WhiteSnows]

1. Sterile compounding experience will help you to an extent, you will be comfortable working in hoods and clean rooms. This is pretty much the only thing that will transfer over. I had hundreds of hours of sterile compounding experience when I started my nuke job, and i found that working with a heavy leaded syringe shield was basically like starting from square one, skills wise. In a hospital, spraying **** all over the hood is commonplace if you work at a fast pace. In nuclear, you cant spill a single micro droplet, or your hood , your sleeves, and possibly your hand, will become a "hot zone" and will be dangerous to work in. It's kind of a bad feeling after you finish a run and you realize your gloves have been hot the whole time because of an invisible droplet that must have spilled on them and you didnt notice, and your hands or arms have been getting irradiated.

2. Except for management, pretty much all nuclear pharmacists rotate through the night shift. This means 1-2 weeks per month, you will be working 12am-8am, or 1am-9am, or equivalent. No avoiding it - this is when 90% of the production gets done. Personally I'm going to get around the switching sleep cycle thing by just working nights every week.

Go out there and get some nuke shadowing experience and a nuke internship if you can. It is VERY rewarding. Working is the high point of my week, even when my alarm clock goes off at 1:15am and I have a full day of class afterwards.


PS: Spirivia - my first landauer report came back!! Only 8 for body badge and negligible for both finger rings! I'm so happy i havent been irradiated yet!!

Can you please tell us about the safety of nuclear pharmacy. I heard that it is very dangerous, and you may develop cancer.

 

[type b pharmD]

Can you please tell us about the safety of nuclear pharmacy. I heard that it is very dangerous, and you may develop cancer.

Well you'd have to **** something up pretty seriously in order to get cancer. Although i would NOT be surprised if nuclear workers had a higher incidence of skin cancer on arms and fingers. The majority of the time you are working in an extremely low radiation environment. Safety is a big issue, even more so than in construction (wherei used to work), as in, there are a lot of protocols to follow and things that need to be done to ensure safety, but you are monitored for your overall exposure, and the us government actually keeps a tally of your lifetime exposure so that you can track it from job to job. Some people think chronic low levels of radiation stimulate DNA repair mechanisms, so , in some ways, if they are right, nuke pharm could be a boon. However, there is no getting around getting more radiated than the general public. Your hands are going to be exposed to a large number of milirems compared to pretty much any other job. On the other hand, you still dont get as much radiation as airline workers or uranium miners, although they have been shown to have a higher level of cancer, i think. My view is, you only live once, chances are you're going to get cancer someday anyway, and if you increase your risk by several percent, no big deal. It's worth the benefits of working nuclear.

Although rotating shifts are probably worse for your health than the radiation itself, really.

 

[dreezy10]

Hi SpirivaSunrise,
Thanks for this post, it was very helpful, I have a quick question for you, or any current pharmacist with nuclear experience.

Do you have any advice for a student entering pharmacy school and interested in pursuing nuclear pharmacy?

I will be attending a program without a nuclear pharmacy program, and I know it requires extra cetirfications after I recieve the PharmD. But is there anything you recommend that I try to do while in school? I would greatly appreciate any advice you have for a soon to be pharm student interested in pursuing a career in Nuclear Pharm! Thanks again!

p.s: did you attend a program with nuclear pharmacy like purdue?, and did you do a residency or get certified and work after you completed school? Sorry for all the questions.

 

[By3Times1Minus1]

thanks for the excellent write-up, spiriva. it was definitely very enlightening, and NP sounds pretty interesting to me. is there a special certification techs/interns have to do to be able to work in nuclear? i'll be starting pharmacy school in the fall and would like to get some experience in it before my P4 year to see if it's something i would want to pursue and try to get a rotation in.

 

[type b pharmD]

To those looking for advice:

get an intern job or a tech job.. be prepared to work at 2am or so on weekdays.

final option is to just do a rotation.

Spiriva if i recall correctly did a nuke elective and a rotation and then went to training school paid for by her company.

My school does not have a program. I am going to make up for it by reading a bunch of nuke books, attend local meetings, and letting my years of intern experience speak for me when i interview.

 

[dreezy10]

Hey Type b pharmd, Thanks for the advice!

I will work my butt off to get some experience! I will try to follow your tips, and maybe I can developed that "never stressed" attitude as well!

I would greatly appreciate any other tips or advice from those of you with nuke experience!

Thanks again type b pharmd

 

[BanBidil]

Hi all,
I doing a rotation with Cardinal, in a major city. It is the most awesome rotation yet. I heard that Covidien is building their own reactor, somewhere in the US, any thoughts on this? Things are chill right now due to the Moly shortage, I will post some more later this week!

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

Hi all,
I doing a rotation with Cardinal, in a major city. It is the most awesome rotation yet. I heard that Covidien is building their own reactor, somewhere in the US, any thoughts on this? Things are chill right now due to the Moly shortage, I will post some more later this week!

Awesome awesome awesome.

My work days have been insanely busy lately due to the shortage, but I have lots more I'd like to contribute to this thread when I get a chance.

Regarding the stateside reactor...I'll believe it when I see it. Not saying it won't happen...but rumors have been swirling for a long time. So, again...I'll believe it when I see it.

Definitely give us another update on your rotation at some point!

 

[smile05]

Very excited for you by the way. If you do happen to decide nuclear is for you...you're going to be positioning yourself very well to make some nice career moves early on.

I am currently interviewing pharmacists for an open position, and previous experience is valued very highly!! I have some really strong grads applying with intern experience...so much so that I'm not even looking at other applicants without any prior experience. Makes it really nice to know they'd be able to hit the ground running real soon.

Hi Spiriva,
Thank you so much for this insight. Do you know of any companies willing to train a pharmacist and are actively hiring? I have no nuclear pharmacy training but would like to get into it. I know it is easier as a student because you can get an internship. But for registered pharmacists, it looks like even those who are willing to train as are getting so many resumes with some experience such that we do not have a chance. Is this true?

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

Hi Spiriva,
Thank you so much for this insight. Do you know of any companies willing to train a pharmacist and are actively hiring? I have no nuclear pharmacy training but would like to get into it. I know it is easier as a student because you can get an internship. But for registered pharmacists, it looks like even those who are willing to train as are getting so many resumes with some experience such that we do not have a chance. Is this true?

Absolutely. All of the major players are hiring throughout the country...the only catch is they may not be hiring in your specific area. This is just the reality of our times; however it isn't that uncommon in nuclear to begin with. Are you willing to relocate?

Companies will definitely train a pharmacist to become an ANP - and have the programs set in place to provide this training. Grad interns with nuke experience are at an advantage, but by no means does not having any rule you out of the game. Regardless of whether you have work experience in a radiopharmacy prior to becoming an RPh...(and assuming you're not attending a school that has the AU program built into the curriculum) you're still going to have to undergo the didactic training to become an AU.

So...how far have you gotten in the job search? Have you called the local radiopharmacies to see if they're hiring? That would be the first step I'd take! I get these calls all the time. I'm not looking for an RPh at the moment, but our competitor down the street is. It's just going to be luck of the draw.

If the answer is no, and you are willing to relocate...I have some more tips. Just let me know.

 

[smile05]

Absolutely. All of the major players are hiring throughout the country...the only catch is they may not be hiring in your specific area. This is just the reality of our times; however it isn't that uncommon in nuclear to begin with. Are you willing to relocate?

Companies will definitely train a pharmacist to become an ANP - and have the programs set in place to provide this training. Grad interns with nuke experience are at an advantage, but by no means does not having any rule you out of the game. Regardless of whether you have work experience in a radiopharmacy prior to becoming an RPh...(and assuming you're not attending a school that has the AU program built into the curriculum) you're still going to have to undergo the didactic training to become an AU.

So...how far have you gotten in the job search? Have you called the local radiopharmacies to see if they're hiring? That would be the first step I'd take! I get these calls all the time. I'm not looking for an RPh at the moment, but our competitor down the street is. It's just going to be luck of the draw.

If the answer is no, and you are willing to relocate...I have some more tips. Just let me know.

Hi Spiriva,
It has been a month since I started my search. Two places said they found someone with more experience in nuclear pharmacy (which makes sense since I have no nuclear pharmacy experience) and I have not heard back from anyone else. There are no local radiopharmacies where I live but I am looking to relocate so I have applied to positions in different US states including the major companies. I have no nuclear pharmacy training but I am ready to do all the necessary training. I am not sure if relocation is acting as a disadvantage for me as well. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

Hi Spiriva,
It has been a month since I started my search. Two places said they found someone with more experience in nuclear pharmacy (which makes sense since I have no nuclear pharmacy experience) and I have not heard back from anyone else. There are no local radiopharmacies where I live but I am looking to relocate so I have applied to positions in different US states including the major companies. I have no nuclear pharmacy training but I am ready to do all the necessary training. I am not sure if relocation is acting as a disadvantage for me as well. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

PM me...I'll get you some contact info.

 

[MedicalAlliance]

Great.. Very clear and thorough post SpirivaSunrise.. Thank you so much for taking your time and effort in making this post. You're great! Thumbs-up!

 

[smile05]

PM me...I'll get you some contact info.

Thanks Spiriva. I sent you a PM. Please PM me when you get a chance.

 

[type b pharmD]

an end is in sight to the shortage at long last ??!?!

I hear HFR is nearing 95% completion




Cant wait to stop messing with these miniscule dose volumes.

 

[SomeGuy]

Any idea on how things work in Canada?
Do the big companies run the nuclear operations, or is it hospital based?
How does a pharmacist get into doing such work?

 

[BH07]

Hey everybody,


Through pharmacists I have shadowed, many of them said nuclear pharmacy is a career to try or give it a try. I just have some questions:

1.) What are the work hours like (holidays, weekends, overtime allowed?)

2.) Is there chance for movement in a company. I would like be the VP or pres of some pharm company

3.) Is LA or the Southern CA area a popular area/job sufficient area for nuclear pharmacists

4.) What is the range of the salary like (VP or Presidents of the company included if possible)

5.) What are the jobs prospects, even in this economy or at least by 2015?