If you're a program director who has just now registered your program for NRC80 Labs, here's a guide on how to get started:
1. Watch the NRC80 labs introductory webinar (30 min)
Before you go further, you should have these people in your program watch this webinar:
Program director
Program coordinator
NRC80 authorized user attending
Residents and fellows completing the labs
Nuclear technologists
2. Let your residents know why they are completing the NRC80 labs.
Take 15 minutes of your next noon conference related to nuclear medicine to introduce the NRC80 labs to your residents. Start with the 3 reasons why they are completing the NRC80 labs:
Satisfy regulatory requirements and survive audits. The ABR, ACGME, and NRC now require documented classroom and hands-on curriculum in radiation safety, radiopharmacy, radiobiology, and I-131 treatment. The NRC80 labs provide hands-on learning to satisfy these requirements, and allows residents to create the explicit documentation that will be requested during audits.
Become authorized user (AU) eligible. AU eligibility means they can claim to future employers that they will be able to oversee the administration of radoopharmaceuticals for diagnosis and treatment, regardless of their subspecialty interests, which is an asset to future employers.
Perform on the Core Exam. The latest administrations of the Core Exam highlight that rote memorization is too fragile for test taking. The NRC80 labs will help residents build the hands-on experience they need to perform on exam day as an expert in the foundations of nuclear imaging.
3. Instruct your residents on when they should be completing their labs
Each NRC80 lab has components that are completed at home and at the hospital:
Hospital component - 3-5 hours per lab. This should not bind your technologist time or hot lab operations.
Home component - 10-12 hours per lab. This includes preparation before the lab, and analysis after the lab.
Give your residents clear instructions on when they are supposed to work on the hospital component of their labs. We have seen various approaches to scheduling the hospital component. Here are two suggestions:
Group completion at designated time. Groups of 2-4 residents complete a lab in a designated afternoon with minimal technologist supervision.
Individual completion on a light clinical day. The resident on nuclear medicine rotation completes their lab on an afternoon where clinical work is light.
Group completion is easier for residents and instructors, because there is more support for residents who need guidance, and several residents are able to complete their hospital component at once.
Tip
Use your NRC80 Labs login to review the worksheet for each lab yourself so that you know what your residents are working on.
4. Create a materials box for each lab
Each lab should have a materials box that contains the special elements that residents need to complete their lab. Use the lists below to assemble your boxes. For brevity, we've excluded universally available items like G-M counters and Tc99m saline.
Lab 1 |
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Lab 2 |
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Lab 3 |
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Lab 4 |
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5. Monitor progress on your NRC80 Dropbox folder
Labs are only complete when residents submit their documentation using this upload form. Either the program director or program coordinator can monitor which residents have completed their forms by checking your institution's Dropbox folder.
If you forget where this folder is located, just email [email protected] and we'll get you connected.
For each lab, your residents will need to submit one (1) PDF that contains
Signed copy of their lab worksheet, including signature from your NRC authorized user attending, and their own signature.
The online certificate for their lab. See this Helpdesk article on how to get your NRC80 lab certificates.
Questions? Email [email protected].