The Division of Nuclear Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina offers an ACGME accredited residency in nuclear medicine which when successfully completed provides eligibility for the American Board of Nuclear Medicine.  A year long fellowship for Board eligible Radiologists and Cardiologists also satisfies the American Board of Nuclear Medicine requirements.  According to each applicant’s prior training their Nuclear Medicine training program may be one or three years in length.  Our Nuclear Medicine division funds two full-time positions.

This program focuses on all aspects of nuclear medicine including general nuclear medicine, cardiovascular nuclear medicine, PET, in-vitro studies and therapeutic nuclear medicine.

As the only tertiary care, academic center along the NC, SC, and GA coast, our patient referral base is large.  Most clinical services are provided in the Medical University Hospital (600-bed) including those for inpatients as well as outpatients.  Cardiovascular and PET/CT imaging services are offered in our outpatient facilities adjacent to the University hospital.  Our new Ashley River Tower, a cardiovascular and digestive disease hospital (128 beds), has the first floor dedicated to outpatient visits, including a large chest pain clinic, which will also provide Nuclear Medicine services to inpatients.  Patients are also referred to the Medical University from Charleston Memorial Hospital, a 172-bed facility, the Charles Johnson Veterans Administration Medical Center, and from communities throughout the state of South Carolina, since our Nuclear Medicine practice is only one in the state to offer certain scans, therapies, and clinical research projects.

Approximately 11,000 studies are performed annually and nearly a third of these are nuclear cardiac studies.  In the past two years, the number of procedures performed has increased about 10% each year.  In the University hospital, our Nuclear Medicine division is equipped with state-of-the-art gamma cameras including two dual detector Philips Skylight gamma cameras, one dual detector, attenuation correcting.  Philips Vertex gamma cameras, a dual detector, GE Millenium CT/SPECT hybrid camera (“Hawkeye”), one single detector SPECT Argus camera and one bone densitometer.  Our Rutledge Tower outpatient facility has one, dual detector, attenuation correcting Vertex gamma camera, our 16 slice PET/CT scanner and a bone densitometer.  The new Ashley River Tower hospital offers three new multislice Siemens SPECT/CT scanners.  In addition, our Radiology department Agfa PACS (Picture Archive and Communication System, in parallel with our Nuclear Medicine PACS (Hermes) link all the gamma cameras, multiple display stations, and post-processing workstations to all other imaging modalities in radiology and cardiology, facilitating easy access to interpretive correlations.

Our on-site nuclear medicine pharmacy is staffed by two nuclear pharmacists, and it provides radiopharmaceuticals for our multiple Nuclear Medicine facilities.  Residents and Fellows rotate through the nuclear pharmacy to gain better expertise in radiopharmaceutical development, formulation, and dispensing.

Residents and Fellows are exposed to the full spectrum of tracer imaging, incorporating very diverse and interesting Nuclear Medicine studies, as well as those routinely performed in most departments.  Daily monoclonal antibody imaging and frequent therapy are provided.  Four to six PET/CT studies are completed daily, with the majority for oncologic evaluation, but frequent neurologic and cardiac scans are also produced.  Our Nuclear Cardiology section is very active and all cardiac patients are stressed either pharmacologically or by exercise in Nuclear Medicine.  The Division also participates in Isotope therapy, providing 1-131 therapy for patients with hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer, strontium or samarium for severe bone pain, and 131-iodine or 90-Yt tagged anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy for Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients.  In-vitro studies, such as Schilling tests and red cell mass/plasma volume are also performed in the department.  Nuclear Medicine residents receive extensive training in adult and pediatric radiologic imaging (primarily chest radiography and neuro, head/neck, chest, abdominal and pelvic CT), Cardiology Endocrinology and Oncology through rotations on these services.

MUSC Nuclear Medicine actively participates in research, especially clinical research, and at present is involved in multiple monoclonal antibody and other new radiopharmaceutical studies.  The Nuclear Medicine resident and Fellow typically has a radiology resident on the rotation with him/her.  It is expected that Nuclear Medicine Residents and Fellows participate in ongoing research projects or they may develop on their own project.  Faculty guidance and assistance is provided for producing publications, scientific presentations and exhibits for nuclear medicine, radiology, oncology and cardiology meetings.  There are two Nuclear Medicine research labs, one with a single-head gamma camera in an animal surgery suite (Strom Thurman Research Building) and the second with a PET/CT animal imager in the Hollings Cancer Center.  Both may be utilized by Residents and Fellows interested in basic or applied research,

Nuclear Medicine Residents and Fellows also participate in medical student education and may present during conferences in Radiology, Cardiology, and Endocrinology.  Faculty present two lectures daily with weekly lab sessions. There are multiple weekly, multidisciplinary conferences (e.g., trauma, musculoskeletal, urology, cardiology, pediatric…) as well as multiple tumor board conferences where current cases are discussed and resident participation is essential.

Our Nuclear Medicine division is staffed by two full-time American Board of Nuclear Medicine certified attending physicians, two Nuclear Medicine trainees, one medical physicist, and four part-time nuclear cardiologists.

Questions may be addressed to Kenneth Spicer, MD, PhD
Director of Nuclear Medicine Residency Training
spicerk@musc.edu
843-792-1957 (phone)
843-792-9503 (fax)

Those interested in applying for the program should request an application form, complete the requested information and mail the form along with a current CV, one photograph, three letters of recommendation and a personal statement to the division.

Application inquiries should be made to:
Mrs. Debbie Middleton
Div. Nuclear Medicine
MUSC
PO Box 250322
169 Ashley Avenue
Charleston, SC  29425
843-792-1957
843-792-1746 (fax)