Community colleges are often viewed as engines of economic opportunity and centers of workforce development. Bronx Community College NY (BCC), part of the City University of New York (CUNY), has had great success with its Nuclear Medicine Technology (NMT) program. Demand for the occupation is high, and 100% of BCC’s class of 2024 received job offers in the NMT field, most at $50 or more per hour.
Given the high demand and relatively small number of NMT programs, BCC has developed an online NMT certificate program that will launch in spring 2025. This will be the first program of its kind to be offered by a college in New York State.
“With us being one of only three programs in the state of New York, it’s allowed us to make our program bigger, stronger and get more technologists out,” says Grace Tursi-Wenzler, NMT program director at BCC since 2018.
Nuclear Medicine Technology
Nuclear medicine is a subset of radiology that has been around since the 1970s. It is a medical specialty that uses radioactive materials to diagnose and treat diseases. A variety of imaging techniques and procedures are involved. The nuclear medicine technologist administers radiation to patients, which targets either different organs or cells. Tursi-Wenzler likens it to a flashlight that allows physicians to see into that part of the body. The technologist takes and processes images that a physician then reviews.
“[In recent years] nuclear medicine has broadened and become part of cancer care,” says Tursi-Wenzler. “It’s a big part of diagnosing cancer, determining if treatment is working. There’s actually a new branch of our field called theranostics where we’re actually using different types of nuclear radioactivity to treat cancer instead of just diagnose it. So, it’s led to a boon in our field. That’s how nuclear medicine has evolved.”
Despite the demand, there was an exodus of technicians from the field after the pandemic. Combined with the growth of theranostics, it led to a shortage of nuclear medicine technologists.
BCC has had an in-person nuclear medicine program since 1981. It partners with clinical sites in the Bronx and Manhattan for the clinical portion. It is an associate degree program that takes two years to complete after acceptance, but realistically is approximately three years from start to finish given the prerequisites.
Developing the Online Program
Planning and development of the online program began in June 2023 after discussion of the need during a national nuclear medicine conference. Graduates may become licensed nuclear medicine technologists upon completion of the program and passing a national registry examination.
“Certain states and parts of certain states are feeling the shortage of technologists,” says Tursi-Wenzler. “In between the Bronx and Buffalo, there’s a huge part of the state of New York that doesn’t have any graduates being put out. … We needed to find a solution.”
Tursi-Wenzler says the development process for the certification program involved a lot of collaboration and paperwork. There have been discussions with hospitals as well as with colleges in upstate New York that have an X-ray technician program. Once the program was a definite go, BCC administration was supportive as the curriculum was developed and submitted for approvals by New York State and BCC’s nuclear medicine accreditor.
The new distance education certificate is going to be for students who already have an associate degree, most likely in radiology, such as an X-ray technician. Each cohort for the in-person program at BCC has about 17 students. With the distance education program, Tursi-Wenzler is expecting between 15 to 25 students per year. The online program will take two years to complete, and the nuclear classes will be held in the same sequence as the in-person program.
There is didactic coursework required, which will take place online. Then the students have a year of clinical internship. It will accept students from the New York Capital Region and Mohawk Valley (upstate New York).
“We’re going to have different clinical sites in that area,” says Tursi-Wenzler. “We’re going to have an affiliation agreement that students are able to rotate to those different hospitals.”
Impact
The certificate program that debuts next year will mostly be synchronous. Tursi-Wenzler said given the content, live conversation is important. The plan is to do evening classes on Zoom, accommodating students who work during the day.
“We’re working with different educational platforms and developing virtual lab space,” she says.
There is currently a shortage of licensed nuclear medicine technologists at hospitals, outpatient centers, cancer centers and cardiology centers. Long-term, BCC is looking to expand the online certificate program. For the present time, the preference is that people in the immediate New York City area pursue the in-person program, but that may change in the future, especially if someone who has completed the X-ray technician program at BCC wishes to pursue the certificate in NMT.
“We’re already looking for ideas of how we’re going to expand so more students have the online option,” says Tursi-Wenzler, noting this could include other states.
Once someone has a primary degree in radiology in one field, it is possible to get certifications in other related areas. BCC currently has a CT scan program and is considering adding an MRI certification program.
“It’s all about serving the community; that’s the key component,” says Tursi-Wenzler. “To be able to expand that to other areas where the patients are in such need of it … is our way of helping to serve the healthcare community and helping our amazing students have more opportunities. … The plan is to expand where there is the most patient need.”