* Nuclear Pharmacist / AU experience required
* Licensed Pharmacist
* Eligible for state license
* Good work history
* Day / Night shifts
* On Call
Date Posted
:
July 20,2010
Description
:
A nuclear pharmacist is responsible for the compliance with all the laws and regulations concerned with radiopharmaceuticals and radiopharmaceutical services.
He/ She is also responsible for procurement of radiopharmaceuticals and related products; compounding the drugs using the necessary ingredients and equipments; quality assurance of the radiopharmaceutical product using related equipments and devices; dispensing the drugs, either in the form of filling bulk orders or unit doses for the patients; distribution of the radiolabeled drugs, including packaging, labeling, and transportation; enforcing and following radiation protection practices, and appropriate handling of radioactive substances.
He/ She is expected to provide patient-care related information and consultation to patients and other nuclear medicine professionals, and participate in care related planning to ensure optimal patient outcomes.
The nuclear pharmacist may also be required to participate in research and development activities, like testing new radiopharmaceuticals, new compounding procedures, and quality control aspects.
Atmosphere and Environment in a Nuclear Pharmacy:
The nuclear pharmacy provides a less stressful atmosphere compared to a hospital or retail pharmacy due to minimal interaction with the patients, and the absence of direct handling of insurance related issues and cash management.
The work of a nuclear pharmacist is not limited to compounding and day-long dispensing, but generally involves deskwork related to regulatory and administrative aspects, professional consultation, etc., making it versatile and less exhausting.
A nuclear pharmacist is frequently in contact with other professionals from whom the order or prescription (prescriptions may also be received over phone, fax or electronically) is received, and dispenses the drugs to professionals who are either from the hospital’s nuclear medicine department or authorized radioactive material handlers who deliver the same to the end users.
The typical working of nuclear pharmacy involves the receipt of orders or prescription for radiopharmaceuticals, following which the nuclear pharmacist reviews and compounds the drugs, and runs quality control tests. In a commercial nuclear pharmacy, many doses of the same drug may be required. Custom compounding requests for specific patients may also be encountered once in a while. Given the short half-life of many of the radiopharmaceuticals, timing of the compounding is critical. Planning the whole process is a very important aspect of functioning in a nuclear pharmacy. Once the compounding is done, patient-specific unit doses are drawn from the compounded kit, the drugs and containers labeled, and dispensed to appropriate agents. For other modes of administration, like oral or inhalation, doses are prepared in the required form, labeled, and dispensed similarly.
Emphasis on radiation safety, quality assurance and aseptic techniques are paramount in a nuclear pharmacy to avoid potential radiation hazards for the staff, patients and environment, and contamination hazards to patients receiving the drugs.
Drugs in the Nuclear Pharmacy
Nuclear pharmacy deals with radioactive drugs (radiopharmaceuticals). Radiopharmaceuticals are produced by tagging biologically active substances with suitable radionuclides.
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