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I'm a board certified nuclear medicine physician with 10+ years of experience, (including PET-CT). I chose to leave the field and work in another branch of medicine, mainly due to the large number of shady operators and downright crooks in the field. Some examples:
My first job out of residency training was with an elderly Nuclear doc who was a throwback to the Jim Crow South. When I arrived for my interview, I exchanged pleasantries with one of his technologists, who happened to be of East Indian ethnicity. The doc's first words to me, "You'll never get very far here being nice to a [N word]!" This guy used extortion, character assasination, and just about anything else you could think of to run roughshod over his competition. However, he was just about the only person in the country who was offering jobs to nukes without radiology training, so I signed on with him until I could find something else.
The next person who offered me a job was a "venture capitalist" who sold PET scanners to Oncology groups, and hired docs trained to read the scans. His MO was to hire a Nuke, have the Nuke PRETEND TO BE A CANCER PATIENT, and make an appointment with the oncologist! When the Nuke got through the exam room door, he was supposed to start his sales pitch! Needless to say, I wasn't interested in perpetrating fraud, so I declined.
My most recent job offer was from a doc in the Houston area, who offered me a contract that both my attorney and CPA told me was patently illegal. This guy was trying to set up a relationship where I would be an independent contractor in theory, but his employee in practice. The IRS frowns on such duplicity.
My point: There are jobs available for non-radiologist nukes, but there isn't a CRITICAL MASS of jobs available. You may land a job as a nuke, but if you end up working for or with a crook or a slimebag, there will be very few, if any, opportunities to find something better. You have to ask yourself, is working in your chosen field important enough to sacrifice your self respect?
I'm now practicing general medicine, and a large number of my patients are incarcerated felons or drug addicts. I treat mass murderers, serial rapists, and mothers who would sell their children for a hit of crystal meth. All things considered, I'm associating with a much better class of people than I ever met as a nuclear medicine doc!
My first job out of residency training was with an elderly Nuclear doc who was a throwback to the Jim Crow South. When I arrived for my interview, I exchanged pleasantries with one of his technologists, who happened to be of East Indian ethnicity. The doc's first words to me, "You'll never get very far here being nice to a [N word]!" This guy used extortion, character assasination, and just about anything else you could think of to run roughshod over his competition. However, he was just about the only person in the country who was offering jobs to nukes without radiology training, so I signed on with him until I could find something else.
The next person who offered me a job was a "venture capitalist" who sold PET scanners to Oncology groups, and hired docs trained to read the scans. His MO was to hire a Nuke, have the Nuke PRETEND TO BE A CANCER PATIENT, and make an appointment with the oncologist! When the Nuke got through the exam room door, he was supposed to start his sales pitch! Needless to say, I wasn't interested in perpetrating fraud, so I declined.
My most recent job offer was from a doc in the Houston area, who offered me a contract that both my attorney and CPA told me was patently illegal. This guy was trying to set up a relationship where I would be an independent contractor in theory, but his employee in practice. The IRS frowns on such duplicity.
My point: There are jobs available for non-radiologist nukes, but there isn't a CRITICAL MASS of jobs available. You may land a job as a nuke, but if you end up working for or with a crook or a slimebag, there will be very few, if any, opportunities to find something better. You have to ask yourself, is working in your chosen field important enough to sacrifice your self respect?
I'm now practicing general medicine, and a large number of my patients are incarcerated felons or drug addicts. I treat mass murderers, serial rapists, and mothers who would sell their children for a hit of crystal meth. All things considered, I'm associating with a much better class of people than I ever met as a nuclear medicine doc!