Nuclear Education Online (NEO) is an educational consortium between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy.
History
In 1972, The University of New Mexico began teaching radiopharmacy courses and established the first commercial radiopharmacy, which became the model for an entire industry. The University of New Mexico and the University of Arkansas Colleges of Pharmacy are two of just a handful of pharmacy schools nationwide that now offer nuclear pharmacy education and training.
Faculty from these colleges came together in 1999 to form an educational consortium to expand specialty education and training beyond the walls of the universities in order to help meet the demand for pharmacists, physicians, technicians, cyclotron operators, and other professionals with specialty education and training required to handle radioactive materials. Each university and faculty member brings valuable experience and expertise to our program. Since offering our first online courses in 2001, we have trained thousands of workers and authorized users of radioactivity.
In 2004, the NEO program received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) to expand our educational programs into the related areas, including, nuclear cardiology, PET, and pharmacy school curriculums. Due to this expansion, NEO now provides specialized training to a more extensive audience including:
Authorized User Training
- 80 hour and 200 hour Authorized User (Nuclear Cardiologists, Radiologists, Oncologists, etc)
- Non-Pharmacist/ Non-Physician Authorized Users (i.e., PET Cyclotron Workers or Nuclear Pharmacy Technicians)
- Authorized Nuclear Pharmacist Training
- Nuclear Pharmacy Technician Training
Training for Workers with Occupational Exposure to Radiation
• Basic Radiation Safety
• Shippers and Transporters of Radiopharmaceuticals for Highway and Air