Registered Polysomnographic Technician Job Description
Certification and Qualifications for a Polysomnography Technician, A Sleep Technologist, Polysomnographic Technologist Training, A Sleep Technologist and more about registered polysomnographic technician job. Get more data about registered polysomnographic technician job for your career planning.
Certification and Qualifications for a Polysomnography Technician
The job of a polysomnography technologist begins before the first electrode is attached. The idea of trying to sleep in a strange place while attached to wires can be frightening to many patients. The technician is often the one putting the patient at ease.
A reassuring tone and good bedside manner is important. A polysomnography technologist is responsible for the care of the patient during the sleep study. It is not uncommon for a sleep study to find serious medical conditions.
Irregular heartbeats and cessation of breathing are related to sleep disorders that need to be treated immediately. Patients usually don't enter cardiac arrest during a sleep study. Sleep study technicians are required to have a certification.
The polysomnography technologist's responsibilities do not end after the sleep study is over. A technician is usually the one who helps the patient and his or her doctor. The technician is often the one who helps develop a treatment plan and provide educational materials for the patient.
There are few educational programs that teach polysomnography exclusively, so technicians are graduates of other programs. Continuing education and additional on-the-job training are required for certification as a polysomnography technician. The American Association of Sleep Technologists and the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists have been accredited in the United States.
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A Sleep Technologist
A sleep technologist works under the supervision of the medical director designee to provide comprehensive evaluation and treatment of sleep disorders, including in center and home sleep apnea testing, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, comprehensive patient care and direct patient education. There is a A sleep technologist is able to provide oversight of other sleep center staff. The sleep technologists or the medical directors are in charge of the technicians and trainees.
Polysomnographic Technologist Training
Polysomnographic technicians work in hospitals. They prepare equipment to assess patients for sleep disorders, such as sleepwalking or breathing problems that occur during sleep. Sleep techs need to have a good understanding of the stages of sleep to help them spot problems in a patient's data.
The job requires careful attention to both the patient's activity and the data coming in. Techs can see and communicate with patients through monitoring equipment during the night. The median annual salary for polysomnographic technicians was about $52,000 as of August 2015.
42% of respondents worked in the profession for 21 or more years as of the year 2014, showing positive job security prospects, according to a career survey conducted by Advance for Respiratory Care & Sleep Medicine. A polysomnographic training is a path to becoming a sleep technician. The work that the trainees do is similar to the work that the technician or technologist does.
To become a training officer, you need a high school degree or GED and 6 months of experience working with patients. Being a current student in an associate degree program is one way to get to trainee status. If you want to stay a credentialed person, you need to become a registered technologist.
The BRPT requires that the registered polysomnographic Technologist credential be obtained by three years. A college degree in polysomnography is required to be eligible. Depending on your academic background, you need more extensive work experience.
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A sleep technologist works under the supervision of the medical director to provide comprehensive evaluation and treatment of sleep disorders, including in center and out of center sleep testing, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, comprehensive patient care and direct patient education. A sleep technician needs a sleep technologist to perform their duties and provide oversight of other staff. The sleep technologist is a professional.
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