Occasionally but we have good staff who carefully explain everything to the patient so they understand what’s going on. We do get quite a few folk asking if they’ll glow in the dark afterwards. The answer is, sadly, no!
I don’t work in nuclear medicine so haven’t come across that question. But one of my colleagues who does work in nuclear medicine says he gets the ‘will I glow in the dark’ question quite a lot (he blames the Simpsons for that), as well as people wondering whether they are going to turn into the Hulk 🙂
Some do, when people hear the word ‘nuclear’ they think nuclear power station disasters or nuclear weapons. A person who comes into hospital trusts healthcare professionals to act in their best interest, so as part of my job i have to maintain good professional conduct, to be knowledgeable in my field and to seek help and advice when i need it. This helps foster trust between the healthcare professional and the patient. Sometimes we have to be more direct and explain to the patient why the word ‘nuclear’ doesn’t automatically mean dangerous or bad.
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