The Nuclear Medicine Technologist in Europe - current status and future perspective.

The Nuclear Medicine Technologist (NMT) is a health care professional who is able to undertake the whole range of nuclear medicine procedures. He/She is a part of a team of health care specialists which may include doctors, physicists, radiochemists, radiopharmacists, other clinical scientists, technologists, nurses and others who support and care for the patient during diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, under the direction of a Nuclear Medicine Physician. The responsibilities of the nuclear medicine technologist are: — to maintain the highest possible standard of results in procedures carried out, which may include imaging, non imaging, labelling and therapeutic procedures; — to maintain the highest standards of patient care; — to deliver the lowest radiation dose to patients, staff and public that is compatible with valid results. The tasks that are carried out by the technologist are clearly under the direction and in support of a medical practitioner. It is in the interest of high quality healthcare that the NMT should be well trained and able to take responsibility for the provision of a high quality service to their head of the department. A well-designed set of competencies can assist in this by defining the tasks, standards and methods that are expected of well-trained NMT, working under the ultimate authority of a Nuclear Medicine Physician.