Master of Nuclear Medicine

The MNM aims to prepare graduates who hold an undergraduate degree, for professional practice as a nuclear medicine technologist. As this program leads to eligibility to practise, students in the course will be assisted in achieving prescribed professional competencies through practical and theoretical skill acquisition and by undertaking clinical fieldwork placements. Students undertake clinical placements in centres which are part of both the public and private sector.

During these placements they have the opportunity to develop an understanding of the career path they have chosen and its place in the modern medical environment. The pace of work in the MNM is reflective of postgraduate expectations, as are the level and complexity of the issues dealt with in the degree, including research project design.

A nuclear medicine technologist works in the field of medicine that uses radionuclides in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. A nuclear medicine technologist's responsibilities include the preparation and administration of radiopharmaceuticals to patients and the acquisition and computer analysis of diagnostic functional images using sophisticated instrumentation.

Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals are prepared for administration and are used in the treatment of specific diseases. New developments in both instrumentation, for example, Positron Emission Tomography (PET), and radiopharmaceuticals produced from a cyclotron make this a rapidly evolving and exciting technology.

Nuclear medicine technologists have responsibility for critically analysing images and data to determine whether they are of a high diagnostic standard; for performing quality control procedures in all aspects of their work and for ensuring that they provide a high level of patient care.

Honours

(Not available to students commencing after 2010. This information is for continuing students only.)

The honours dissertation will follow the University policy regarding length of written output, that it should not exceed 20,000 words: www.usyd.edu.au/ab/policies/Guidelines_Terms.pdf. Honours grades will be determined by the performance of students in the honours dissertation as well as related units of study and follow University guidelines on assessment of coursework masters honours:
www.fhs.usyd.edu.au/learn_teach/mhonsmrkngmatrx.doc.

Course outline

The course will be offered full time at a postgraduate level leading to the award of the degree, Master of Nuclear Medicine. The degree will be offered at the pass or honours level.

The general structure of the course is two years, full time with four semesters of four six-credit-point units including theoretical and clinical units of study, as based on a 16 week teaching calendar. Clinical placements will occur both during semester times and outside normal semester times as detailed in the clinical placement calendars.

The course outlines for the Master of Nuclear Medicine pass and honours are presented in Tables 13.2 and 13.2.1. See Chapter 20 for unit descriptions and a list of faculty and research electives.

Table 13.2: Master of Nuclear Medicine (Pass)

Table 13.2.1: Master of Nuclear Medicine (Honours)

Course rules