Create Your Path in Advanced Medical Imaging
Find your specialty at Ozarks Tech! The Nuclear Medicine certificate is your fast path into a medical imaging career. This certificate is for students who already have an associate or bachelor’s degree.
Nuclear medicine technologists prepare and administer radioactive tracers (radiopharmaceuticals) to patients. These tracers help create diagnostic images of the body. Doctors use these images to diagnose and treat certain diseases.
In your courses, you will build the skills you need to start your career after graduation. You will learn:
- Imaging skills in nuclear medicine and (PET) imaging
- Radiation safety rules and how to handle radiopharmaceuticals
- How to care for patients to ensure their safety and comfort
- How to maintain and check equipment to ensure functionality and accuracy
After you complete your certificate, you can sit for the national certification exam provided by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT).
Program Information
The Nuclear Medicine program is a selective admission program, and admission is determined by a points-based system.
Application Deadline: July 1 – Classes begin August 2026
Application Requirements and Information
General Admissions to Ozarks Tech
Admission to Ozarks Technical Community College is open to all individuals who can benefit from its educational programs. A focus of the college mission is on the academic, career and personal goals of the student. OTC may admit you as a First-Time student just completing their high school, GED or HiSET requirements or as a Transfer student coming from another institution finishing up a certificate or degree. For more information, visit OTC Admissions.
Wondering how you’re going to pay for college? At OTC, we believe that cost shouldn’t be a barrier to earning a degree. Our staff will work with you to make a financial plan. To browse the resources available to you, see paying for college.
At Ozarks Tech, we want your transfer process to be easy. We accomplish this goal through articulation agreements. These agreements are an official partnership to match coursework between schools. This gives you a more seamless transition from Ozarks Tech to a four-year institution.
We have established an agreement for this program. This will simplify the transfer of your credits to partner schools. To understand how this degree will transfer, review the current articulation agreements. Be sure to consult with your transfer school to ensure you’re on the right path toward completing your four-year degree.
Michelle Masingill, M.Ed., BSRT(R), RDMS, RVT
Program Director
417-447-7624
Kaycie Haynes, MBA, CNMT, R.T.(R), B.S.
Specialty Imaging Clinical Coordinator
417-447-7623
Degree Requirement
Applicants must hold at least an associate’s degree in any area of study.
GPA Requirement
An overall GPA of 2.75 or higher is required.
Shadowing Requirement
Applicants must complete 8 hours of job shadowing in a hospital or outpatient nuclear medicine setting. A signed job shadowing form must be submitted with the application.
Coursework
The following prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of C or higher:
- BSC 165 Human Anatomy
- BSC 205 Human Physiology
- MTH 128 Contemporary Math (or higher)
- PHY 105 Introduction to Physics
- HSC 120 Medical Terminology
- ENG 101 Composition I, or ENG 100 Composition I with Support, or COM 100 Introduction to Communication
Special Notes
- If you already hold a degree in radiography or another imaging field (such as sonography), you may have already met these prerequisites.
- If you do not hold an imaging degree, you must complete the above courses before applying. Science courses must have been completed within the last 5 years.
Nuclear Medicine Certificate Program Information
All courses are online through the Canvas LMS
All clinicals are in-person at assigned site locations based on the clinical schedule provided by the clinical coordinator
Students can set-up their own clinical agreement with their current place of employment, however the agreement paperwork must be submitted for final approval before assignments can be made there
Some exams and experiences may require the student to be rotated to other locations not associated with their primary location as the students must have the experience on exams to meet the requirements from the ARRT
Must meet a certain minimum number of exams successfully verified by an ARRT or NMTCB credentialed nuclear medicine technologist.
Under current ARRT clinical requirements students must demonstrate competence in 25 different nuclear medicine procedures.
Depending on the semester, the students will perform 20-30 hours of clinicals per week
Students may be paid for their clinical time, that is dependent on the clinical site and arrangements between the clinical site and the student, the program is not involved in that discussion
What is the normal schedule for the Nuclear Medicine program?
Class work is completed online over 16-week blocks (2) and an 8-week block, with 4 didactic classes per 16-week semester and 1 didactic class in the 8-week semester while the student performs clinicals.
The clinical component requires weekly clinical hours and competencies required to complete.
20-30 hours per week of clinical is required.
Where do I perform clinical rotations?
Students can elect where they would like to perform their clinical rotations as long as Ozarks Tech can sign an affiliation agreement with the clinical site
Students may have to be rotated to other clinical locations to meet the ARRT clinical requirements to be eligible to sit for the registry
If students would like the program to find their locations, the program currently has affiliation agreements with hospitals and imaging centers across the southwest Missouri region
Course Information
Nuclear Medicine Technology Certificate
Certificate: 41 Hours
Location: Alliance for Healthcare Education
Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty that uses radioactive tracers (radiopharmaceuticals) to assess bodily functions and to diagnose and treat disease. The nuclear medicine technologist prepares and administers radiopharmaceuticals to patients, positions them for images and operates the cameras and computers to produce the images and analyze the data for diagnostic interpretation.
The nuclear medicine program is a selective admission program. A separate application process is required for acceptance into this program. The Nuclear Medicine Technology (NMT) certificate program is intended for students who possess an associate or bachelor’s degree in any field. Students with degrees outside of healthcare-related disciplines may need to complete additional science courses to apply. Upon acceptance, the students may take the “program-specific courses.” Graduates receive a Certificate of Achievement designed to prepare them for the national certification exam of the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists in Nuclear Medicine.
A grade of “C” or better is required for nuclear medicine program required courses.
Ozarks Technical Community College Nuclear Medicine program is recognized by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), 1255 Northland Drive, St. Paul, MN 55120, 651-686-0048. Program Number 8302.
OTC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org), an accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Our current accreditation status with the HLC is displayed on the page linked below. Our next comprehensive evaluation will be in 2030-2031. View more on OTC Accreditation.