# Nuclear Medicine Technologists

> Prepare, administer, and measure radioactive isotopes in therapeutic, diagnostic, and tracer studies using a variety of radioisotope equipment. Prepare stock solutions of radioactive materials and calculate doses to be administered by radiologists. Subject patients to radiation. Execute blood volume, red cell survival, and fat absorption studies following standard laboratory techniques.

- **SOC code:** 29-2033.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2033-00
- **Also known as:** Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist (CNMT), Nuclear Cardiology Technologist, Nuclear Medicine Technologist (NMT), Staff Nuclear Medicine Technologist, Nuclear Medicine PET-CT Technologist (Nuclear Medicine Positron Emission Tomography - Computed Tomography Technologist), Radiation Safety Officer, Registered Nuclear Medicine Technologist, Isotope Technician
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Administer radiopharmaceuticals or radiation intravenously to detect or treat diseases, using radioisotope equipment, under direction of a physician.
- Detect and map radiopharmaceuticals in patients' bodies, using a camera to produce photographic or computer images.
- Process cardiac function studies, using computer.
- Calculate, measure, and record radiation dosage or radiopharmaceuticals received, used, and disposed, using computer and following physician's prescription.
- Produce a computer-generated or film image for interpretation by a physician.
- Record and process results of procedures.
- Explain test procedures and safety precautions to patients and provide them with assistance during test procedures.
- Prepare stock radiopharmaceuticals, adhering to safety standards that minimize radiation exposure to workers and patients.
- Perform quality control checks on laboratory equipment or cameras.
- Dispose of radioactive materials and store radiopharmaceuticals, following radiation safety procedures.
- Gather information on patients' illnesses and medical history to guide the choice of diagnostic procedures for therapy.
- Maintain and calibrate radioisotope and laboratory equipment.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Schedule patients for nuclear medicine exams and procedures.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- Biology _(knowledge)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Physics _(knowledge)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Medicine and Dentistry _(knowledge)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Biology _(Specialized Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Physics _(Specialized Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Chemistry _(Specialized Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- MEDITECH software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Electronic medical record EMR software
- Gamma camera software
- Medovation RadRunner
- Radiopharmacy inventory databases

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 38th percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 50th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 44th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 25th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 30th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 3.0% growth (About average); 0.9k annual openings; 20k → 20.6k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $97,020; 16,960 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** — automation, 70% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.5 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** learning.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Explain test procedures and safety precautions to patients and provide them with assistance during test procedures. _(0.6% of measured AI use; learning)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me explain test procedures and safety precautions to patients and provide them with assistance during test procedures.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2033-00_
