Each NMPIT will be expected to interact on a daily basis with correlative images such as ultrasound, CT, MRI, and plain x-ray. This is enhanced by the geographic integration of nuclear medicine into the radiology area and by PACS. Clinical rotations include general nuclear medicine (VUH and VAMC), PET, and nuclear cardiology; pediatric cases from the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital are integrated into the daily work flow at VUH. Vanderbilt University Hospital, Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, and the VAMC as well as the Vanderbilt University Imaging Institute are all on a unified campus. In the first year, each NMPIT will spend 1-2 weeks in the preparation and dispensing of radiopharmaceuticals in the radiopharmacy area under the direction of the radiopharmacists. One or two rotations through CT will be arranged for those NMPITs who have not completed a radiology residency, radiation oncology residency or who do not plan to proceed to a radiology or radiation oncology residency.

During the second year of the program, each NMPIT will continue to have clinical responsibilities but will also be expected to undertake a significant clinical or laboratory project. This research activity will begin in the last half of the first year, but is expected to intensify during the second year. Additional time will also be spent in the in vitro laboratories, participating in the performance and supervision of in vitro assays and cell-labeling techniques.


The program is designed to be flexible in that each NMPIT will have the opportunity to cultivate specific interests. For example, the radiology-based NMPIT is expected to have a greater interest in the correlative nature of this specialty whereas an internal medicine-based NMPIT may have more interest in the impact of nuclear medicine on patient management.

The rate and degree of shift from pure clinical work to research is determined both by the staff evaluation of the resident's competence in the clinical sphere and by the trainee's own degree of interest in undertaking clinical or basic investigative projects.

A PET center has been operational at Vanderbilt since 1990 and is integrated into Nuclear Medicine and PACS. The current combined PET-CT instrument demands correlation of the PET image data with CT images for each patient. PACS enhances correlation with other modalities such as MR. Each NMPIT spends 2-4 months in PET each year.

With respect to cardiac imaging, the NMPIT actively participates in the selection of the appropriate radiopharmaceutical, type of study and the actual stressing of the patient as well as in the interpretation of results. The NMPITs are ACLS-trained and involved in the management of cardiac emergencies including EKG interpretation and cardiopulmonary life support. Cath correlation is performed monthly and each NMPIT is exposed to cardiac CTA and MR. Instruction in interpretation of cardiac CTA is available.