• Question: do patients ever get worried because of the association of nuclear with bombs even though its used commonly in medicine?

    Asked by Jack to Sarah, Mohan, Jen, Dan, Christopher on 13 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Jen Dennis

      Jen Dennis answered on 13 Mar 2017:

      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!

    • Photo: Sarah De Vos

      Sarah De Vos answered on 14 Mar 2017:

      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 🙂

    • Photo: Mohan K

      Mohan K answered on 14 Mar 2017:

      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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