Nuclear Pharmacy involves the preparation of radioactive materials that will be used to diagnose and treat specific diseases. It was the first pharmacy

Pharmacy

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

 specialty established in 1978 by the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties. Nuclear pharmacy seeks to improve and promote health through the safe and effective use of radioactive drugs for not only diagnosis but also therapy.

History

The concept of nuclear pharmacy was first described in 1960 by Captain William H. Briner while at the National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...

 (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland

Bethesda, Maryland

Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...

. Along with Mr. Briner, John E. Christian, who was a professor in the School of Pharmacy at Purdue University

Purdue University

Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

, had written articles and contributed in other ways to set the stage of nuclear pharmacy. William Briner started the NIH Radiopharmacy in 1958. John Christian and William Briner were both active on key national committees responsible for the development, regulation and utilization of radiopharmaceuticals.A Technitium-99m (a radionuclide) generator was commercially availability which was followed by the availability of a no. of Tc-99m based radiopharmaceuticals.

• Institutional Nuclear Pharmacy is most likely operated through large medical centers
  Clinic
  A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...
  
   or hospital
  Hospital
  A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
  
  s.
• Commercial Centralized Nuclear Pharmacies provide their services to subscriber hospitals. They prepare and dispense radiopharmaceuticals as unit dose
  Dose (biochemistry)
  A dose is a quantity of something that may impact an organism biologically; the greater the quantity, the larger the dose. In nutrition, the term is usually applied to how much of a specific nutrient is in a person's diet or in a particular food, meal, or dietary supplement...
  
  s that are then delivered to the subscriber hospital by nuclear pharmacy personnel.

Required training

There are certain precautions that must be taken into account when handling radiopharmaceutical materials on a daily basis. Nuclear pharmacists receive extensive training on the various radiopharmaceuticals that they use. They are trained in radiation safety and other aspects specific to the compounding and preparation of radioactive materials. Many things are required to become pharmacists, but to become a nuclear pharmacist one must go through the following training:

1. 200 hours of classroom training in basic radioisotope handling techniques specifically applicable to the use of unsealed sources is required. The training should consist of lectures and laboratory sessions in the following areas:

• Radiation physics and instrumentation
• Radiation protection
• Mathematics of radioactivity
• Radiation biology
• Radiopharmaceutical chemistry

2. 500 hours in handling unsealed radioactive material under a qualified instructor is also required. This experience should cover the type and quantities of by-product material requested in the application and includes the following:

• Ordering, receiving, surveying, and unpackaging radioactive materials safely.
• Calibration of dose calibrators, scintillation detectors, and survey meters
• Calculation, preparation, and calibration of patient doses including the proper use of syringe shield.

Duties

Primary tasks listed in the American Pharmacists Association

American Pharmacists Association

The American Pharmacists Association , founded in 1852, is the first-established professional society of pharmacists within the United States....

’s Nuclear Pharmacy Practice Guidelines include:

• Order, receipt, storage and inventory control of radioactive drugs (radiopharmaceuticals), other drugs used in nuclear medicine, and related supplies
• Preparation of radiopharmaceuticals by combining radioisotopes with reagent kits, and compounding radiopharmaceuticals that are not commercially available
• Functional checks of instruments, equipment and devices and determination of radiopharmaceutical quality and purity
• Filling of prescription orders
• Packaging, labeling and transport of radiopharmaceuticals
• Proper handling of hazardous chemicals and biological specimens
• Communicating radiopharmaceutical-related information to others
• Assuring that patients receive proper preparation before radiopharmaceutical administration and trouble-shooting unanticipated outcomes
• Laboratory testing of new radiopharmaceuticals, new compounding procedures, quality control methods and participation in clinical trials

Work conditions

Nuclear pharmacists work in a more relaxed environment compared to other areas of pharmacy, such as hospital pharmacy

Hospital pharmacy

A hospital pharmacy is concerned with pharmacy service to all types of hospital and differs considerably from a community pharmacy.Some pharmacists in hospital pharmacies may have more complex clinical medication management issues whereas pharmacists in community pharmacies often have more complex...

 or retail pharmacy. There is usually no interaction with customers because many work in a highly regulated environment where consumers are not allowed.

Although the potential for radiation

Radiation

In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...

 exposure exists in this field, it is kept to a minimum by the use of syringe

Syringe

A syringe is a simple pump consisting of a plunger that fits tightly in a tube. The plunger can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube , allowing the syringe to take in and expel a liquid or gas through an orifice at the open end of the tube...

s, glove

Glove

A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves". Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each...

s, and other devices specifically designed for radioactive materials. A nuclear pharmacist would use leaded glass

Leaded glass

Leaded glass may refer to:*Lead glass, potassium silicate glass which has been impregnated with a small amount of lead oxide in its fabrication...

 shielding, leaded glass syringe shields, and lead containers while working with radioactive material. Hence, proper equipment and procedures reduce the risk of harm to personnel working in a nuclear pharmacy. Tungsten

Tungsten

Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...

shielding is also used. While more expensive, it provides better shielding, does not break or deform like lead when dropped. It is also not toxic as lead.

External links

• Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology - Nuclear Pharmacy, Part I: Emergence of the Specialty of Nuclear Pharmacy
• Purdue University - Division of Nuclear Pharmacy
• http://www.pharmacy.ohio-state.edu/services/academics -Continuing Education-Nuclear Pharmacy Certificate Program