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Respiratory Therapist, Sleep therapist/technician, etc, how to ge there?
For you professionals in the field and anyone else who knows or has considered this field.
What is the difference between the various people who work in the respiratory and sleep study field?
My local Community College has a Respiratory Therapy Associate Degree.
I'm interested in ultimately being the person to hook you up and do your sleep study, or reads your sleep study.
Is Respiratory Therapy the best place to start? I have a BSN in Nursing from 1984 so I've been out of academia for a while.
What does it take to be a sleep technician? What are the levels of expertise?
I asked a similar question a while back but was not specific enough about what I wanted to know
What would those of you in the sleep study field recommend as the way to go.
Would some of you be kind enough to detail your education and present job?
From what I've seen Respiratory Therapists in a hospital setting work their butts off. So do the folks who do sleep studies, but it seems a different pace though I'm sure no less challenging.
Thanks,
Marry Zimlich
What is the difference between the various people who work in the respiratory and sleep study field?
My local Community College has a Respiratory Therapy Associate Degree.
I'm interested in ultimately being the person to hook you up and do your sleep study, or reads your sleep study.
Is Respiratory Therapy the best place to start? I have a BSN in Nursing from 1984 so I've been out of academia for a while.
What does it take to be a sleep technician? What are the levels of expertise?
I asked a similar question a while back but was not specific enough about what I wanted to know
What would those of you in the sleep study field recommend as the way to go.
Would some of you be kind enough to detail your education and present job?
From what I've seen Respiratory Therapists in a hospital setting work their butts off. So do the folks who do sleep studies, but it seems a different pace though I'm sure no less challenging.
Thanks,
Marry Zimlich
Views: 1487
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by D. W. Conn on
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Your BSN is more than enough to get started. To gain your RPSGT go to BRPT.org and you can get the information you need. Respiratory therapy is not needed way back when I started RTs would not even spit on the Sleep field. Neuro-diagnostics such as EEG may be of some help but you do not have to have it. Having your BSN you may take the fast track and be done in just a few short months. When you go to brpt.org click on astep program and it will have some information on steps needed.
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Permalink Reply by Rock Conner RRT on
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Hi Mary:
I don't recommend from scratch going through RT world to get to sleep tech land. If one is already an RT, there is a pathway to help with the transition to sleep, but since you are already an RN, I'd say go straight to a sleep job & use another pathway to become eligible for the RPSGT exam.
http://www.brpt.org/Exam_info/eligibility.htm
Rock C.
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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on
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What is the difference between the various people who work in the respiratory and sleep study field?
Sleep techs rule!
Going through respiratory to get to sleep is like going from New York to LA with a layover in Miami.
i came through "on the job training". Probably one of the last few. Be glad you have your BSN. From what I have seen respiratory is a very physical job. I would not want to do it. Sleep requires alot of problem solving. We do get some down time, but we have to work for it.
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Permalink Reply by Mary Z on
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Thanks,
D.W. Conn, Rock Conner, and Rock Hinkle,
You've given me something I can work with.
Thanks again,
Mary Zimlich
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I just found out that my sleep experience offers no help in reducing my time to get my REEGT. I am a little bummed. Even though the END program is free for me I could not start it for 17 months. 3 years either way I go.
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Another couple of questions- ballpark- what pay scale do sleep technicians fall under?
I'm finding a lot of information. There is an A-Step class about 2 1/2 hours from my home (the class is in Richmond, Virginia) - it's an 80 hour course.
I also see I can contact the different sleep study providers in my area to see if any offer OJT. Who would I contact at the sleep study centers- the director?
In any case I see I have a lot of research to do- find all the local sleep study centers, see if any provide OJT, find out what the need for sleep techs is in my area, find out if any of the local hospitals subsidize training. I already have my work cut out for me just finding the answers to these questions.
Thanks again for all your help.
Mary Zimlich
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Permalink Reply by Tammie Jacob, RPSGT on
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If you're really interested, go to www. BRPT. org for sleep and find an A-step program or get the books on your own. Right now, you do not need to be an RT to do sleep studies. Step 2: find a reputable place to get some hands on experience and then take the boards after 18 months of practical experience. Now for the bad news: if you do not get into the field within the next 2 years, then you will have to get an RT degree to even be considered for sleep. With your background as an RN, however, you should have no problem finding a company that will take you in. Also, a good place to get more info is bianarysleep.com
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i can't find the post by the BRPT. They are requiring an associate degree in sleep as of 2012. It does not have to be an RT degree. Even this rule will probably be changed due to a lack of schools. They just can't get them set up fast enough.
Welcome to Sleepguide Tammie.
Tammie Jacob, RPSGT said:If you're really interested, go to www. BRPT. org for sleep and find an A-step program or get the books on your own. Right now, you do not need to be an RT to do sleep studies. Step 2: find a reputable place to get some hands on experience and then take the boards after 18 months of practical experience. Now for the bad news: if you do not get into the field within the next 2 years, then you will have to get an RT degree to even be considered for sleep. With your background as an RN, however, you should have no problem finding a company that will take you in. Also, a good place to get more info is bianarysleep.com
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Why would I be explaining the problem solving part of sleep to you Mollette? That does not make any sense.
"We'll see."
What will we see?
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I really appreciate everyones help and haven't meant to waste anyones time. Becoming a sleep tech is probably a pipe dream for me. I have been out of work as a hemodialysis RN for four- five years due to various neurological disorders worsened by the stress of the job. There's no such thing as an RN who doesn't take a supervisory role in hemodialysis these days and I just can't take the stress. I desperately want to be a normal person and have a job again but it may not be in the cards for me. I take Aricept now for symptoms of early onset dementia I don't know what the stress of the job would do to me, or even the stress of school.
Again, I thank everyone for their insight and the trouble you've gone to in answering my questions. I haven't given up, but am trying to be realistic. I think the simplest thing to do would be to find a local program that would take me on as a trainee and see how I handle things.
Thanks again for a great thread.
Mary Zimlich
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OK. The problem solving comes in the form of trouble shooting. While pt comfort, safety, and well being our any practitioners main concern study integrity is a huge part of our job. With over 30 different wires connected to our patients we can run into quite a few different situations. The first hour ( or 2 sometimes) can be spent making sure that we are using the right equipment for the patients. Sometimes our problem solving comes in the form of letting a patient sleep or changing a wire or belt. Which is more important at the time. which would the doc rather see? It can be more mental leg work than the average person might expect. i have seen many a nurse or RT quit sleep due to these situations. We also spend quite a bit of time battling the bad perceptions that have been taught about sleep. With education being the key to good sleep sometimes reeducation can be tough. i could go on and on with situations. The truth of the matter is that I have never done anything more frustrating yet so exciting in my life. There is no other medical practice that has such an immediate affect on the lives of our patients.
Is that right Kim? I mean Mollette.
Mollete said:Actually, it's not for me, this is Mary's thread, looking for information about the sleep profession, and if, in your opinion, that it requires a lot of problem solving, then it strikes me that a few examples of that would be helpful to her in making an informed decision about entering the profession.
mollete
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I do believe that what we do, when done right , has an immediate effect on our patients's health. What's up with all of the sleep techs down playing sleep lately? What we do can have benefits for all medical practices and health concerns. A good nights sleep plays such a pivital role in the healing process. That ER doc might have saved the life. Was it bad sleep that got the pt there? Without good sleep how long will that doc's work last? Our job may not be glamorous or high profile, but our job, my role is just as important as anyone elses. Think about it Cindy. How many times have you had a patient displaying bigeminy or trigeminy palpitations. They may not be on their death beds, but they are knocking on the door. In essence you might as well be holding their heart in your hands. If you do not see our jobs as being just as important ....I don't even know what to say to that.
Cindy Brown said:"no other medical practice that has such an immediate affect on the lives of our patients.", you really believe that? Come on how about the ER docs bringing back the dead? The surgeons who literally have hearts in their hands. I think those would be life changing events and more dramatic than sleep medicine. Don't get me wrong it's very, very gratifying and exciting in the morning when you have a pt, that drug themselves into the lab, springs out of bed and says "best nights sleep I've had EVER!!!".
Cindy
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