Diagnostic & Imaging specialty
Nuclear Medicine: Salary, Residency & Career Guide
Molecular imaging and radionuclide therapy using radiopharmaceuticals.
Typical Training
2–3+1 years
Clinical prerequisite plus two to three years nuclear medicine depending on prior training.
Attending Compensation
$389,260
Estimated Base Salary
Employment outlook
Not isolated
Projected Job Growth
Relative Competitiveness Index
Not Available
Separate match, fellowship pathway, or no comparable NRMP cohort.
Start in Medical School
M1 to M4 Preparation
Practical experience, projects and rotation planning.
See the Medical School RoadmapAttending Compensation and State Wages
U.S. Attending Compensation
$389,260
Estimated Base Salary
BLS does not publish a separately matched state wage series for this specialty.
Resident Pay by Institution
Clinical prerequisite plus two to three years nuclear medicine depending on prior training..
2026–27 salaries, five published training-institution examples.
Selected institution
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
$77,049/ year
Pay varies by institution and postgraduate year.
Schedules and Work Setting
Schedule and Call
PET and SPECT reading, tracer scheduling and radionuclide therapy follow planned workflows. Hospitals differ in after-hours imaging, radiopharmaceutical availability and oncologic consultation.
Practice Settings
Nuclear medicine departments, cancer centers and academic imaging practices.
Procedures and Clinical Work
- PET/SPECT interpretation
- Radiopharmaceutical administration
- Theranostics
- Radioiodine therapy
Fellowship Training
Fellowship Expectation Index
1 / 5
Fellowship Options
Common Fellowship Duration: 0–1 year(s) beyond residency. Board route and imaging background matter more than a universal post-residency fellowship.
Nuclear medicine training is already specialized; an additional fellowship is selective and route-dependent.
Direct Practice
Nuclear imaging and radionuclide therapy within the completed board training route.
Specialized Practice
Highly specialized theranostics or research practice may favor additional experience.
Choosing a Path
Focus on diagnostic and therapy case mix, radiopharmaceutical safety and prior-training eligibility.
Potential Fellowship Pathways
- Nuclear radiology
- Theranostics
- Molecular imaging research
Preparing in M1 Through M4
Observe PET interpretation and one radiopharmaceutical therapy pathway. Tracer selection, uptake physiology and safety procedures define the specialty.
Research or QI
A PET reporting quality project, tracer utilization audit or oncology theranostics workflow analysis links imaging to treatment choices.
Common Mistake
Assuming nuclear medicine is interchangeable with diagnostic radiology or that a single standardized residency duration applies to every entry route.
Preparation by Year
- 1Attend a PET conference and observe radiopharmaceutical preparation and safety procedures where permitted.
- 2Ask program staff how prerequisites differ for trainees with internal medicine or radiology experience.
Ask a resident this: How much time do residents spend interpreting PET/SPECT versus delivering radionuclide therapies and handling radiation safety?
MD vs DO Match Outcomes
NRMP does not publish a directly comparable 2024 preferred-specialty MD/DO cohort for this training pathway.
Applicant Considerations
There is no isolated nuclear medicine MD/DO preferred-specialty comparison in the NRMP 2024 report.
DO Application Strategy
Evaluate route-specific eligibility and institutional acceptance of prior training rather than relying on a generic degree competitiveness figure.
Job Outlook
N/A
Projected Employment Growth
2025 to 2035, BLS occupational projection
No distinct employment forecast is published for this exact specialty.
AI and the Specialty
Potential Workflow Changes
Image reconstruction, segmentation and tracer quantification may benefit from AI.
Sources & Data Notes
Reviewed . National attending compensation uses Doximity's 2026 specialty survey (2025 pay) where available, then verified specialty-specific Medscape, Marit or Salary.com estimates. Doximity, Medscape and Marit report total compensation; Salary.com models base salary. Survey averages, modeled salaries and BLS wage medians measure different populations and must not be interpreted as identical metrics. BLS May 2025 state wages are shown separately and exclude self-employed physicians. The ophthalmology BLS category excludes pediatric ophthalmologists. State figures may be missing, top-coded, or suppressed. Job outlook uses BLS 2025–2035 occupational projections; it is not a local vacancy forecast. Resident stipend examples reflect published institutional scales for 2026 to 2027, by postgraduate year, not specialty. Stanford includes housing in its reported base salary; other institutions handle allowances differently.
The Relative Competitiveness Index uses a fixed score of 25 plus 1.75 times the 2024 U.S. MD preferred-specialty unmatched percentage, rounded, then applies the same 1.225 multiplier to every specialty. Neurological Surgery is 98/100; the score is not the applicant's chance of matching. It is not a 2026 estimate or DO-specific score. The MD and DO percentages compare different unadjusted applicant cohorts who ranked that specialty first. They do not account for application strategy, program selection, scores, or geography. Ophthalmology and urology have separate specialty match processes; other pathways may lack suitable NRMP cohorts.
The 1–5 Fellowship Expectation Index is an editorial assessment of customary career paths, not a measured participation rate or requirement. For residency profiles, compact training labels put specialty years before the clinical base or preliminary year; e.g. 3+1 means three specialty years and one clinical base year, even though the clinical year comes first. Fellowship-defined careers are presented in the separate fellowship explorer. Schedules, procedural scope, preparation suggestions, and potential AI effects depend on the program and practice setting; they are qualitative descriptions, not guaranteed outcomes or forecasts of physician replacement.
For Nuclear Medicine: Salary.com 2026, Estimated Base Salary, reported under “Physician - Nuclear Medicine.” The national estimate must not be treated as a state-specific compensation figure.
Nuclear Medicine: Editorial estimate of how fellowship shapes a career path. No observed fellowship uptake percentage is implied. Specialty-specific roadmaps describe illustrative activities, not mandatory publication, shadowing-hour, rotation, or skill requirements. Common fellowship routes: Board route and imaging background matter more than a universal post-residency fellowship.