If you live in the Lubbock, Texas area, you will complete your hands-on clinical experience in Lubbock. The clinical portion of the program will be 2 to 3 days per week at a Lubbock hospital.

The classroom portion will require the student to come to the Amarillo West Campus once a week.

Purpose/Mission Statement

The Amarillo College Nuclear Medicine Technology Program is committed to providing medical employers with entry-level nuclear medicine professionals through a comprehensive program that enables proof of competency via didactic and clinical curriculum, which complies with all requirements of the standards and guidelines of the Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology accrediting organization and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, therefore, enhancing the quality of patient care.

Goal Statements

Guide students to pass a nationally recognized professional certification or registry through the NMTCB or the ARRT.

Guide students to pass national certification/registry exams on the first try.

Dear Friend

Thank you for your recent inquiry into the Nuclear Medicine Technology Program here at Amarillo College. Our program started in 1994 and is fully accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology (JRCNMT). Approximately 14 students graduate annually.

The Nuclear Medicine Technology Program combines classroom curriculum with clinical experience at major medical facilities, which have state-of-the-art nuclear medicine departments. Our students have the opportunity to spend time at each affiliate so that clinical skills are learned. Clinical rotations are assigned throughout the program, and the hours assigned vary in number, usually 16-30 clock hours per week.

Nuclear Medicine offers exciting possibilities for those who truly desire a career associated with medical science and a unique position on the medical team. Annual base salaries range from $87,500-$92,500 and do not reflect shift differentials, callback pay, or benefits such as vacation, sick leave, insurance, retirement, etc. Many medical facilities offer sign-on bonuses, as well.

New classes begin once each year with the start of the Fall Semester, and there is limited enrollment determined by the JRCNMT. Students are accepted according to the criteria specified on this website. Nontraditional students may be allowed into the program upon meeting with the program director and agreeing upon a curriculum. 

As Director of the Nuclear Medicine Technology Program, I am eager to accept your online application, and I will get in touch with you personally to discuss your application shortly.
Should you have questions, please feel free to call me at (806) 354-6071.

Sincerely,
Tamra Rocsko M.Ed., ARRT (N), CNMT
Program Director, Nuclear Medicine Technology

Basic Tuition and Fees

View basic tuition and fees

Textbook Costs

As with most college courses, textbooks are required and may be purchased through the college bookstore. NMTT textbooks and books for other required medical-related courses are available at the bookstore located on the Washington Street campus. Textbook costs often change so that a specific cost schedule is not available online. Contact the bookstore (806-371-5304) for detailed cost information for specific NMTT courses.

Other Expenses

Nuclear Medicine majors will also need to purchase uniforms (scrubs), including shoes, a lab coat, and 2-4 allied health patches ($4.25 each), to wear while on-duty during NMTT practicum courses. The cost of the uniform will vary from store to store. Students will be required to purchase a syringe shield and the cost varies from $100-$135. 

A number of allied health program scholarships are available each year. Also, applicants needing financial assistance are strongly encouraged to visit the Amarillo College Financial Aid Office to obtain information concerning possible ways to pay for a college education at AC.

More about Nuclear Medicine

A new graduate's average starting pay across the United States is $42-48 per hour (this is a national average).

Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty which uses safe, painless, and cost-effective techniques both to image the body and treat disease. Nuclear medicine imaging is unique in that it documents organ function and structure, in contrast to diagnostic radiology which is based upon anatomy. It is a way to gather medical information that may otherwise be unavailable, require surgery, or necessitate more expensive diagnostic tests. As an integral part of patient care, nuclear medicine is used in the diagnosis, management, treatment and prevention of serious diseases. Nuclear medicine imaging procedures often identify abnormalities very early in the progression of a disease - long before some medical problems are apparent with other diagnostic tests. This early detection allows a disease to be treated early in its course when there may be a more successful prognosis. Nuclear medicine uses very small amounts of radioactive materials, or radiopharmaceuticals, to diagnose and treat disease.

Radiopharmaceuticals are substances that are attracted to specific organs, bones, or tissues. When radiopharmaceuticals are introduced into the body, they produce emissions. A special type of camera, a gamma or PET camera, is used to transform these emissions into images and data which provide information about the area of the body being imaged. Although Nuclear Medicine is commonly used for diagnostic purposes, it also provides valuable therapeutic applications, such as treatment of hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer, blood imbalances and pain relief from certain types of bone cancers.

Nuclear medicine has a complex and multifaceted heritage. Its origins stem from many scientific discoveries, most notably the discovery of x-rays in 1895 and the discovery of "artificial radioactivity" in 1934. The first clinical use of "artificial radioactivity" was carried out in 1937 for the treatment of a patient with leukemia at the University of California at Berkeley. A landmark event for nuclear medicine occurred in 1946 when a thyroid cancer patient's treatment with radioactive iodine caused the complete disappearance of the spread of the patient's cancer. This has been considered by some as the true beginning of nuclear medicine.

Widespread clinical use of nuclear medicine, however, did not start until the early 1950s. The value of radioactive iodine became apparent as its use increased to measure the function of the thyroid and to diagnose thyroid disease. Simultaneously, more and more physicians began to use "nuclear medicine" for the treatment of patients with hyperthyroidism. The concept of nuclear medicine was a dramatic breakthrough for diagnostic medicine. Moreover, the ability to treat a disease with radiopharmaceuticals and to record and take a "picture" of the form and structure of an organ was invaluable. In the mid-sixties and the years that followed, the growth of nuclear medicine as a specialty discipline was phenomenal. The advances in nuclear medicine technology and instrument manufacturers were critical to this development. The 1970s brought the visualization of most other organs of the body with nuclear medicine, including liver and spleen scanning, brain tumor localization, and studies of the gastrointestinal track. The 1980s provided the use of radiopharmaceuticals for such critical diagnoses as heart disease and the development of cutting-edge nuclear medicine cameras and computers.

Today, there are nearly 100 different nuclear medicine imaging procedures which uniquely provide information about virtually every major organ system within the body. Nuclear medicine is an integral part of patient care, and an important diagnostic and therapeutic specialty in the armamentarium of the medical industry.

The Nuclear Medicine Technology Program at Amarillo College is fully accredited with the JRCNMT.