Day in the Life of a Nuclear Pharmacist

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SpirivaSunrise: I am really interested in nuclear pharmacy. Could you please give me your email so I can ask you some questions about it? Thanks!~
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Very interesting indeed, and I haven't read every single post here...anyway, I always thought nuclear pharmacy lectures were extremely boring back in school.

Question, I have a BSPharm, do I need a PharmD to specialize in nuclear pharmacy?
 
My name is Dario Angeloni and
I’m an Italian Nuclear Pharmacist. Since 2008 I work for the production of 18-FDG in a Nuclear Diagnostic Center in Naples, Italy, it is SDN S.pa. This center has its own laboratory of production. I also have some important skills in marking and quality control of Radiopharmacy used in Nuclear Medicine, and cellular marking with isotopes Tc99m and Cr51.
I told you about my work experience because I’d like to move myself to UK so I have some questions about possibility for it
Are you so kind to help me? I thank you anyway
 
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How are the job prospects in nuclear pharmacy in CA? Also are you required to do a residency in order to work as a nuclear pharmacist or can you take APPE electives in nuclear pharmacy to get a position in NP?
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
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.
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Hi Spiriva,

I've read that most nuclear pharmacy companies will train, but would going to training and paying for it on my own to get certification ahead of applying for a job make me more competitive? I am a RPh who graduated in 1995 with no prior Nuclear experience. Also, I'm thinking of doing an executive MBA as well so I an have an edge in moving out of the pharmacy and into the front office at some point.

Thoughts?
 
NuclearDario said:
My name is Dario Angeloni and
I’m an Italian Nuclear Pharmacist. Since 2008 I work for the production of 18-FDG in a Nuclear Diagnostic Center in Naples, Italy, it is SDN S.pa. This center has its own laboratory of production. I also have some important skills in marking and quality control of Radiopharmacy used in Nuclear Medicine, and cellular marking with isotopes Tc99m and Cr51.
I told you about my work experience because I’d like to move myself to UK so I have some questions about possibility for it
Are you so kind to help me? I thank you anyway
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Whattya know...another Italian nuclear pharmacist! ;) Honestly, I really can't comment on nuclear pharmacy practice elsewhere as I am not familiar the field outside the US.

I too work in a facility that is co-located with a cyclotron...so we are able to provide both high and low energy products.

Interesting that you bring up Cr-51. We dispense it on occasion here in the US...but Chrom is by no means a frequently used isotope. I see a handful of studies each month at the most. Is it still used commonly in Europe?
 
iphetamine said:
Very interesting indeed, and I haven't read every single post here...anyway, I always thought nuclear pharmacy lectures were extremely boring back in school.

Question, I have a BSPharm, do I need a PharmD to specialize in nuclear pharmacy?
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Nope. In fact, I can't think of any pharmacy specialty where you need the PharmD. It's just circumstance to when you went to Rx school (and what your ambitions were if you were in the transition between the two).
 
BH07 said:
How are the job prospects in nuclear pharmacy in CA?
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Pick any state and it'll be hit or miss. All a matter of chance whether a certain city/state has openings. For example, we currently have openings in Sarasota, Charlotte, Dallas and SLC. Check back in a couple weeks and it'll be totally different. Same across the industry.

BH07 said:
Also are you required to do a residency in order to work as a nuclear pharmacist or can you take APPE electives in nuclear pharmacy to get a position in NP?
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No for both. See post # 3 :)
 
Picard said:
Hi Spiriva,

I've read that most nuclear pharmacy companies will train, but would going to training and paying for it on my own to get certification ahead of applying for a job make me more competitive? I am a RPh who graduated in 1995 with no prior Nuclear experience. Also, I'm thinking of doing an executive MBA as well so I an have an edge in moving out of the pharmacy and into the front office at some point.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Honestly, we're not at a point that I'd personally advise you to go that route.

A few months ago when I was interviewing for an open position, I did consider past nuke experience over candidates without any...though it wasn't a deal breaker. Sure it'll make you stand out from a crowd, but have you tried breaking in without it?

Regardless of what you hear, we're still going to put you through hours of on-site training. GE's going to want you to do things the "GE way", Cardinal's going to want you to do things the "Cardinal way", etc. etc. Even if I hired a NEO trained pharmacist, it would be months before I turned you loose in the pharmacy.

So long answer, short - paying for your own training sure won't hurt. It'll show you're serious and commited. But I'd try applying for a few jobs first without making that kind of insvestment.
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
Honestly, we're not at a point that I'd personally advise you to go that route.

A few months ago when I was interviewing for an open position, I did consider past nuke experience over candidates without any...though it wasn't a deal breaker. Sure it'll make you stand out from a crowd, but have you tried breaking in without it?

Regardless of what you hear, we're still going to put you through hours of on-site training. GE's going to want you to do things the "GE way", Cardinal's going to want you to do things the "Cardinal way", etc. etc. Even if I hired a NEO trained pharmacist, it would be months before I turned you loose in the pharmacy.

So long answer, short - paying for your own training sure won't hurt. It'll show you're serious and commited. But I'd try applying for a few jobs first without making that kind of insvestment.
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So why would you hire a 44 year old RPh with no experience vs a recent PharmD grad who may have done an internship at a facility? How would I set myself apart from them in your eyes?
 
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I am in between looking for jobs and I have read every post you have written on nuclear pharmacy. I love it! My experience is largely retail but I have good compounding experience.

My plan is to persist and just wait until a job opens in the area I live in (Kansas City, MO). In the meantime, I would like to start reading actual didactic material so that I can really let a prospective employer know just how much I want to do this! :soexcited:

I have also tried to call around for shadowing.

Could you kindly recommend which textbooks and journals will really help? I will try to buy them on amazon?

Thanks so much for your passion for NP and the posts. I enjoy each and every one of them!
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
Nope. In fact, I can't think of any pharmacy specialty where you need the PharmD. It's just circumstance to when you went to Rx school (and what your ambitions were if you were in the transition between the two).
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Then what must I do to become an NP?

I'm thinking of going for a post-bacc PharmD then onto nuclear or IT...
 
Didn't read every post so I apologize if this was answered already. I did not know much about nuclear pharmacy as my school did not go in depth with it, besides what I had to know for the MPJE, but from what you have written it seems like an exciting field and I would be interested in pursuing it. The only problem is I am a new graduate (recently got licensed) with 0 years of nuclear experience. How would I go about going into the field and getting a position in a nuclear pharmacy? Again, I am sorry if this was already answered.
 
Thank you very much for posting on here because i am Really interested in going into Nuclear/Oncology pharmacy. IF you can... (I know you're busy) either message me or respond on here how your path started once in pharmacy school. Tips for me to be more competative and how i can get started in Nuclear Pharmacy. I am really interested and have a Thirst for Learning this specific specialty subset.

Thank you in advance!
 
Thanks for all the info. I shadowed a day in a nuclear pharmacy I live by. The day only lasted 3 hours because it was a Sunday, but it was amazing nonetheless.
 
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thank you very much for this wealth of information! I'm interested in pursuing nuclear pharmacy after school and hope to secure as many nuclear rotations as possible when I get into school.
 
how long would a residency for nuclear pharmacy take? are you better off approaching nuclear pharmacy by doing a residency or finding a job that will train you to do the job?
 
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metallideth said:
how long would a residency for nuclear pharmacy take? are you better off approaching nuclear pharmacy by doing a residency or finding a job that will train you to do the job?
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train on the job. i believe there is only one nuclear pharmacy residency in the united states anyway. i've been contemplating it because of my nuke experience but I doubt my grades are good enough to compete with hundreds of applicants
 
type b pharmD said:
train on the job. i believe there is only one nuclear pharmacy residency in the united states anyway. i've been contemplating it because of my nuke experience but I doubt my grades are good enough to compete with hundreds of applicants
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i see. thanks.
 
Thanks for all of the info Spiriva! I've been looking into it for a long time now, did a rotation in nuclear, and as of Friday, officially signed on with a nuclear pharmacy!! Just wanted to come in and say its great that you provided all this info to people who dont know much or anything about the field. Whenever another pharmacist asks me what nuclear pharmacy is, I direct them to this thread..and it's happened quite a bit on my rotations.
 
VCU2011 said:
Thanks for all of the info Spiriva! I've been looking into it for a long time now, did a rotation in nuclear, and as of Friday, officially signed on with a nuclear pharmacy!! Just wanted to come in and say its great that you provided all this info to people who dont know much or anything about the field. Whenever another pharmacist asks me what nuclear pharmacy is, I direct them to this thread..and it's happened quite a bit on my rotations.
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Oh, nice! Congrats and welcome to the brotherhood! ;)
 
are there any nuclear pharmacists here from Purdue University Pharmacy. I have some questions regarding their nuclear pharmacy program. PM me or feel free to post below.
 
If anyone is interested in more info or a different user's perspective regarding nuclear pharmacy, we have this thread from the days when we had mentor threads: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=421819

Please feel free to continue posting any questions you have about nuclear pharmacy in this thread, I posted the above link for reference purposes only for those of you who may be interested.
 
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owlegrad said:
If anyone is interested in more info or a different user's perspective regarding nuclear pharmacy, we have this thread from the days when we had mentor threads: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=421819

Please feel free to continue posting any questions you have about nuclear pharmacy in this thread, I posted the above link for reference purposes only for those of you who may be interested.
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That dood has nothing on Spiriva. She knows karate.
 
type b pharmD said:
train on the job. i believe there is only one nuclear pharmacy residency in the united states anyway. i've been contemplating it because of my nuke experience but I doubt my grades are good enough to compete with hundreds of applicants
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I 100% agree, no need for a residency. OJT is the best way to learn, my summer internship with Cardinal has been super informative and have learned tons. It's also helps when your actually interested in what your learning, unlike 95% of pharmacy school.
 
P0 here but I am interested nuclear pharmacy and wanted to know how to contact nuclear pharmacies for summer internships. I have tried contacting through this website

http://nuclear.pharmacy.purdue.edu/nukeinus/

but many of the sites are shut down and dont have the proper contact there. Any know where there is a list of nuclear pharmacies I can contact for summer internships?
 
PharmD1988 said:
P0 here but I am interested nuclear pharmacy and wanted to know how to contact nuclear pharmacies for summer internships. I have tried contacting through this website

http://nuclear.pharmacy.purdue.edu/nukeinus/

but many of the sites are shut down and dont have the proper contact there. Any know where there is a list of nuclear pharmacies I can contact for summer internships?
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You're about 6 months too late.
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
You're about 6 months too late.
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wow never knew you had start calling them even before you're admitted to pharmacy school. as first year pharmacy student when should I contact and is there a site that lists all the nuclear pharmacies available for summer internships?
 
Spiriva, I was wondering how you went about getting your job after graduation? I'm currently a summer intern for Cardinal Health and I'm really enjoying the line of work. I'm just not sure what the next step is. I graduate in two years and would very much like to move out of the area (hopefully there'll be an opening in Tampa!) but I wouldn't even know how to get a job out of state. Do you do phone interviews, or would I have to fly down? So many questions.
 
gwarm01 said:
Spiriva, I was wondering how you went about getting your job after graduation? I'm currently a summer intern for Cardinal Health and I'm really enjoying the line of work. I'm just not sure what the next step is. I graduate in two years and would very much like to move out of the area (hopefully there'll be an opening in Tampa!) but I wouldn't even know how to get a job out of state. Do you do phone interviews, or would I have to fly down? So many questions.
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PM Sent!

Forgot to mention though - companies will generally start with having HR/recruiters do a phone interview screening. Once they do that, they'll provide the local hiring manager with a report on the potential candidates...then fly in (if necessary) the top few applicants for an on-site interview.
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
PM Sent!

Forgot to mention though - companies will generally start with having HR/recruiters do a phone interview screening. Once they do that, they'll provide the local hiring manager with a report on the potential candidates...then fly in (if necessary) the top few applicants for an on-site interview.
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Thanks for the information! Now I'll just be keeping my fingers crossed that there's an opening in Florida when I graduate.
 
Can anyone who works for Cardinal give some advice to a p1 who wants a summer internship this summer? Cardinal does a career fair at our COP in a month and I want to apply but I'm not sure if they will want me because I haven't really done anything yet... lol.

I'm starting ANP online classes now because we can do them concurrently and hoping to get a job in the lab next semester.
 
Notecard said:
Can anyone who works for Cardinal give some advice to a p1 who wants a summer internship this summer? Cardinal does a career fair at our COP in a month and I want to apply but I'm not sure if they will want me because I haven't really done anything yet... lol.

I'm starting ANP online classes now because we can do them concurrently and hoping to get a job in the lab next semester.
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What's ANP?
 
Hello all,
I am currently a pharmacy student at the University of Rhode Island. I am interested in doing a nuclear pharmacy rotation. According to an independent nuclear pharmacy owner who Ispoke to in February , there will be a shakeup of the industry when new regulations take effect on January 1, 2012; after December 12, 2011, producers of PET drugs intended for commercial use will be required to follow the manufacturing requirements specified in Part 212 of Title 21 of CFR. How will this affect nuclear pharmacists? How will requiring NDAs and ANDAs for the production of PET drugs for commercial use in human beings affect nuclear pharmacists? Thank you in advance for the help.

P.S. I have brought this up before, but I did not receive too many responses. I want to bring it up again because I am going on rotations next year. Thanks.
 
URIpharmD2013 said:
Hello all,
I am currently a pharmacy student at the University of Rhode Island. I am interested in doing a nuclear pharmacy rotation. According to an independent nuclear pharmacy owner who Ispoke to in February , there will be a shakeup of the industry when new regulations take effect on January 1, 2012; after December 12, 2011, producers of PET drugs intended for commercial use will be required to follow the manufacturing requirements specified in Part 212 of Title 21 of CFR. How will this affect nuclear pharmacists? How will requiring NDAs and ANDAs for the production of PET drugs for commercial use in human beings affect nuclear pharmacists? Thank you in advance for the help.

P.S. I have brought this up before, but I did not receive too many responses. I want to bring it up again because I am going on rotations next year. Thanks.
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The big players have been budgeting/planning and making all the necessary moves well in advance of Dec. 12th!

It's pretty black and white, either they're going to make the investment, or not! And as a nuclear pharmacist, you're either affiliated with a PET manufacturing site that is going to be in compliance...or not.
 
SpirivaSunrise said:
The big players have been budgeting/planning and making all the necessary moves well in advance of Dec. 12th!

It's pretty black and white, either they're going to make the investment, or not! And as a nuclear pharmacist, you're either affiliated with a PET manufacturing site that is going to be in compliance...or not.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response! I have not had the chance to read through the whole post so I apologize if these questions have already been answered. As a nuclear pharmacist, what is your assessment of the industry? Is there room to grow? Is there a decreasing or increasing demand for nuclear pharmacists? Will the big players let nuclear pharmacists go because of the changes? On another note, are there opportunities in nuclear pharmacy to move into management? Thanks in advance.
 
Thank you for such an informative post! I reached out and obtained a shadowing opportunity under a nuclear pharmacist at GE Healthcare. I'm really excited about it! The nuclear pharmacist also happens to be the lead for nuclear pharmacy interns at a college of pharmacy I'm currently applying to. Networking pays off!!! Thanks again!
 
URIpharmD2013 said:
Thanks for the response! I have not had the chance to read through the whole post so I apologize if these questions have already been answered. As a nuclear pharmacist, what is your assessment of the industry? Is there room to grow? Is there a decreasing or increasing demand for nuclear pharmacists? Will the big players let nuclear pharmacists go because of the changes? On another note, are there opportunities in nuclear pharmacy to move into management? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Loaded questions.

While FDA regulations has changed PET production to manufacturing (no longer practice of pharmacy), you are still distributing drug product (of a custom compound --> unit dose for patient per physician order). And in order to be a drug distributor you need to have pharmacist.

Also, historically PET production started as a pharmacist run game. The FDA didn't get involved until the early 2000's. Because of its roots you will find many pharmacists as key players in PET production (i.e. PetNET is a pharmacist run company.)

Spriva would be better able to tell you the outlook on SPECT/Iodine therapy (but my guess would be demand is holding steady and I don't think its going anywhere for a while). In terms of PET the market, demand is rising for FDG. And now with AV45 (AmyView), and other tracers coming to market I think demand will continue to increase.
 
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