Description
Compound, calibrate, and dispense radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic imaging and targeted radionuclide therapy. Advise clinicians on tracer selection, dosing, timing, and precautions; perform quality control; and ensure radiation safety and regulatory compliance in procurement, preparation, labeling, dispensing, and waste management.
- • Verify nuclear medicine orders for indication, patient data, activity, route, and timing.
- • Provide guidance on radiopharmaceutical selection, contraindications, radiation dose, and handling/storage.
- • Monitor utilization and patient/worker radiation exposure to optimize protocols and minimize dose.
- • Procure isotopes, generators, kits, and shielding; manage inventory by activity, expiry, and decay.
- • Maintain required records for receipt, compounding, dispensing, waste, and patient dose logs of radioactive materials.
- • Counsel patients receiving diagnostic or therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals on preparation and radiation precautions.
- • Advise clinicians on kit brands, tracer alternatives, adjunct medications, and imaging/therapy protocols.
- • Collaborate with nuclear medicine physicians, technologists, physicists, and the RSO to plan and evaluate regimens.
- • Aseptically compound, calibrate, and dispense unit doses of radiopharmaceuticals; oversee hot lab activities.
- • Coordinate care or referrals for special populations (pregnancy, breastfeeding) and radiation safety concerns.
- • Prepare sterile radiopharmaceutical injections/infusions per USP <825>/<797> and facility policies.
- • Develop and enforce SOPs for compounding, packaging and shipping (DOT/IATA), shielding, labeling with radiation symbols, contamination control, and waste disposal.
- • Lead radiopharmacy operations; supervise staff; ensure licensure, accreditation, and audit readiness.
- • Support hospital, PET center, or commercial radiopharmacy services; provide consultation on imaging and radionuclide therapy.
- • Perform and document QC: radiochemical purity, radionuclidic identity, pH, sterility, endotoxin, and activity assays.
- • Educate and precept students, residents, and technologists in radiopharmacy practice and radiation safety.
- • Produce educational materials and dosing/safety guidelines for providers and patients.
- • Deliver radiation safety training and ALARA practices for staff and patients after therapy.
- • Manage coding, prior authorization, and reimbursement for radiopharmaceuticals and radiotheranostics.
- • Maintain and troubleshoot dose calibrators, survey meters, IT systems, and electronic dose tracking/QC records.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Sources & Standards:
This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
