There are more than 130 schools and hospitals in the United States that have programs in nuclear medicine, which is a specialty brand of medicine in which radioactive isotopes are used to treat disease. This specialty provides doctors with the ability to treat certain diseases with drugs that act locally on specific organs or specific problems and not on the entire body.
Accreditation
American colleges and universities that teach nuclear medicine are recognized by the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board and are accredited through a joint review of the school's credentials by the Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology. Additionally, these schools are accredited through one of the six regional collegiate accrediting bodies.
High Concentrations
Two of the largest concentrations of nuclear medicine universities are in California and Florida. In California, schools include Loma Linda University, University of California-San Diego, Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences, South Coast Nuclear Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science, VA Palo Alto Health Care System and Harbor UCLA Medical Center. In Florida, schools include Keiser University in Melbourne, Lakeland and Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Indian River State College, St. Vincent's Medical Center, Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences, University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Med Center, Santa Fe Community College, Miami Dade College, Hillsborough Community College, Broward Community College and Institute of Allied Medical Professions.
State Universities
Many nuclear medicine programs are housed at a state university system's flagship institution, which are usually connected to university hospitals. These programs include the Universities of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and The Ohio State University.
Private Colleges
Several private universities offer nuclear medicine programs, including the University of Miami, Vanderbilt University, Wheeling Jesuit University, the Naval School of Health Sciences and University of the Incarnate Word.
Hospitals
Some nuclear medicine programs are associated with stand-alone hospitals, including Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Beth Israel in Boston, Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Methodist Health Care in Memphis, Tenn., and Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
Canada
There are a half-dozen universities in Canada that teach nuclear medicine, including Ahuntsic College in Montreal, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation in New Brunswick, the QEII/Dalhousie School of Health Sciences in Nova Scotia and the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences in Toronto.
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