PA College Magazine - Spring 2021 - 14

HALL OF
HISTORY
Penni Longenecker
'85, CNMT, RT(N), PhD,
as a Nuclear Medicine student
Spotlight on Nuclear Medicine
Compared to the lengthy history of
Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences,
the history of the College's Nuclear
Medicine program is fairly short.
Nuclear Medicine was only officially
recognized as a medical specialty by
the American Medical Association
in 1971, and the Nuclear Medicine
Technology program did not become
part of PA College's curriculum
until 1994.
During the 1980s, the South Central
Pennsylvania Consortium for Nuclear
Medicine Technology Training was
sponsored by Harrisburg Hospital.
Lancaster General Hospital served as
a clinical site for Harrisburg Hospital's
Nuclear Medicine program. In 1994,
Harrisburg Hospital eliminated all
education programs and asked
14
PACOLLEGE.EDU
consortium members to consider
sponsoring the programs. LGH had
just reaffirmed its commitment to the
education of health care professionals
and was happy to add the nuclear
medicine program to the Lancaster
Institute for Health Education in 1994.
When LGH absorbed the Nuclear
Medicine program, Harrisburg
Hospital alumni were grandfathered
into the Pennsylvania College of
Health Sciences Alumni Association.
The start of the Nuclear Medicine
program was a little less formal than
others. Penni Longenecker '85, CNMT,
RT(N), PhD, was the first program
director of PA College's Nuclear
Medicine Technology program, and
today she is PA College's Vice President
of Institutional Effectiveness.
" My orientation to the program consisted
of the former program director loading
six boxes of files into my old brown
Volvo station wagon and wishing me
luck, " she recalls. " I credit Bob Hess
'73 (Diagnostic Medical Sonography),
Robin Harclerode (Radiography), and
Alice Ahlfeld (Nursing) for being kind
and patient mentors as I transitioned
from clinician to educator. "
Since the program's migration to PA
College, it has been infused by the
latest breakthroughs in experiential
learning and taught by faculty members
with years of real-world experience. n
Directory photo of Penni Longenecker '85, CNMT, RT(N), PhD,
first Nuclear Medicine Program Director for PA College
http://www.PACOLLEGE.EDU
PA College Magazine - Spring 2021

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