Careers in Chemistry
Nuclear Pharmacists
A Nuclear Pharmacist usually compounds and dispenses radioactive drugs. Nuclear Pharmacists perform a combination of clinical and distributive radiopharmacy services including: Providing radiopharmaceutical care to each patient, compounding and dispensing radiopharmaceuticals, addressing drug therapy issues. A Nuclear Pharmacists duties may also include supervising the production of radiopharmaceuticals, performing quality control tests, ability to learn and demonstrate competence in utilizing lab equipment, safely handling hazardous radioactive drugs. A nuclear pharmacist may also be responsible for assuring that the patients have proper knowledge of the drug they are taking. A nuclear pharmacist also needs to demonstrate the knowledge of the radioactive compounds that constitute the drugs. Nuclear Pharmacists can work not only in Nuclear Pharmacies but also in hospitals, industries, research institutes etc. Nuclear Pharmacists are required to have extensive training regarding the various radioactive pharmaceuticals that they use. They must be trained in radiation safety and should also be able to communicate the hazards of certain drugs to the patients.
References:
http://nuclearpharmacy.uams.edu/nuclear_pharmacists/jobpostings.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_pharmacy
http://interactive.snm.org/index.cfm?PageID=1347
page prepared by: Chirag Patel