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NMTCB Report

The Board of Directors of the NMTCB met in late March and made decisions on a variety of pending issues.

As announced previously, the NMTCB will begin enforcing a code of ethics effective January 1, 2005. The Board decided to adopt the SNMTS Code of Ethics; therefore, all NMTCB applicants and certificants shall abide by these ethical principles. A Disciplinary Policy is being drafted and will be posted on our web site (www.nmtcb.org) and mailed to all current NMTCB certificants this summer. You can find the Code of Ethics at www.snm.org/SNMTScode or www.nmtcb.org under the ‘Resources’ tab.

Kathy Thomas, CNMT, has worked diligently to coordinate the administration of the first PET exam which will take place Saturday, September 18, 2004 at LaserGrade computer testing sites. There are a limited number of seats at each site so make your appointment early to improve your chances of being able to take the exam at the location of your choice. A detailed content outline can be found on the NMTCB web site under the Specialty Exam tab. The eligibility requirements to sit for the PET exam are as follows:

For nuclear medicine technologists, 2004 and 2005 administration:

• Registration or certification by CNMT, ARRT(N), or CAMRT; and
  
• 700 hours of clinical experience on dedicated PET or PET/CT scanner.
  

For radiographers and radiation therapists, 2005 administration:

• Registration through ARRT as RT(R) or RT(N);
  
• 700 hours of documented clinical experience performing all aspects of PET imaging including radiopharmaceutical handling, injection (if permitted by state or institutional regulations), and imaging. Imaging may be performed on a PET or PET/CT scanner. Direct supervision must be performed by a certified NMTCB, ARRT(N), or CAMRT technologist and a nuclear medicine physician or radiologist; and
  
• 45 hours of didactic education in the following subjects: 15 hours in radiopharmacy, 15 hours in radiation safety, and 15 hours in instrumentation. Only coursework from an accredited college or university, accredited nuclear medicine program, or approved continuing education credits recognized by the NMTCB, such as VOICE, will be accepted.
  

Due to conflict of interest issues, the NMTCB cannot recommend study aids or educational programs for any of our examinations. I encourage applicants to use the content outline as a guide when studying for the PET exam. The NMTCB has also asked the SNMTS to prepare a list of references to help applicants as they prepare to sit for the exam.

Contact Jennifer Gaffey at the NMTCB office, jgaffey{at}nmtcb.org or 800-659-3953, if you would like an application for the PET exam. The application deadline is June 30, 2004. The application fee for the PET exam is $200, which is $50 more than the fee for the Nuclear Cardiology Specialty exam. This is due to the increased seat time at the testing centers for the PET exam as compared with the seat time required for the Nuclear Cardiology exam.

The next administration of the Nuclear Cardiology Specialty exam will take place on August 14, 2004 at LaserGrade testing centers. The latest revision of the nuclear cardiology content outline can be found at www.nmtcb.org and will be mailed to applicants.

Finally, in regards to the NMTCB policy on continuing education (CE), the Board decided that reporting of CE credits from January 1–December 31, 2005 will be on a voluntary basis. Mandatory reporting of credits will begin on January 1, 2006.

NMTCB Policy on Continuing Education

Rationale. The NMTCB entry-level examination is a test of knowledge. The knowledge base for nuclear medicine technology continues to change. Therefore, persons certified by the NMTCB must demonstrate a continued accumulation of knowledge about the field.

Methods. NMTCB certificants will be required to demonstrate involvement in educational activities in one of the following ways:

A. Continuing education (CE) credits: a minimum of 24 hours of CE credit must be obtained over a period of 2 years.

B. Specialty examination: successful completion of a specialty examination offered by the NMTCB, American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), or American Healthcare Radiology Administrators (AHRA). Acceptable specialty examinations offered by the NMTCB include Nuclear Cardiology and Positron Emission Tomography.

Acceptable specialty examinations offered by the ARRT include Magnetic Resonance (MR), Computed Tomography (CT), and Quality Management (QM). The acceptable specialty examination offered by the AHRA is the Management exam. Successful completion of a specialty examination will be worth 24 hours of CE.

Mechanisms. Certificants are responsible for keeping records of CE hours obtained. The NMTCB shall use calendar years as the basis for counting CE hours, and shall use an odd-even system based on initial certification year for tracking certificants. The NMTCB shall require certificants to record the hours of CE obtained in the last 2 years; the renewal statement shall include a space to record CE credits. Members will have a 1-time option to change their CE cycle. Excess CE credits (more than 24 hours acquired in the 2-year cycle) may not be carried over into the next 2-year cycle.

Certificants will be randomly chosen for an audit of their CE records. These individuals will be required to provide documentation of the CE activities for the previous 2 years within 30 days of the postmark on the letter from the NMTCB. If a certificant is audited and fails to provide documentation or does not meet the CE requirements, he/she will be placed on 6 months probation, and will be required to complete the deficient CE hours for the audited cycle by the end of the probation period. If the certificant fails to meet all CE requirements by the end of the probationary period, his/her certification will be revoked. The CE credits obtained during the probation period will not be counted towards CE hours that are required for the subsequent 2-year cycle.

Falsification of CE documentation may result in the revocation of certification(s), monetary fines to cover costs of investigation, or permanent disbarment from any and all NMTCB examinations.

The following organizations meet the NMTCB’s criteria for awarding continuing education credits, therefore educational units from these groups will be accepted by the NMTCB:

1. American College of Radiology (ACR)
   
2. American Healthcare Radiology Administrators (AHRA)
   
3. American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT)
   
4. Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT)
   
5. Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (SDMS)
   
6. Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM)
   
7. Society of Nuclear Medicine Technologist Section (SNMTS)
   
8. Society for Vascular Ultrasound (SVU)
   
9. Continuing education activities approved by the following state licensing agencies will also be accepted:
   1. California
      
   2. Florida
      
   3. Illinois
      
   4. Iowa
      
   5. Kentucky
      
   6. Massachusetts
      
   7. New Mexico
      
   8. Oregon
      
   9. Texas
      
   
   

This list will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis. Check the NMTCB web site for the most recent list of approved organizations.

Official grade transcripts from an accredited postsecondary school must be submitted as proof of successful completion (grade of C or better) of college courses related to the radiologic health sciences, patient care, business/management, technology, or education. Eight CE hours will be awarded for successful completion of one college credit (for example, a 3-credit college course will be equivalent to 24 hours of CE).

Successful completion of Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification will be awarded 6 CE hours per 2-year cycle. A signed and dated copy of the ACLS certification card must be submitted for the credits to be awarded.

A more detailed version of this policy may be found on the NMTCB Web site and will be included in a mailing to all active members of the NMTCB later this summer.

If you are interested in serving as a director of the NMTCB, please see the Call for Directors notice in the Technologists News section of this issue of the JNMT, or contact the NMTCB office for an application.

Please visit our booth in the exhibit hall during the SNM annual meeting in Philadelphia. Staff will be available to answer your questions. Enjoy the summer!

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