Better Sleep Coach; Your Help to Better Health through Better Sleep
  • Home
  • Who we are
  • Tips for Better Sleep
  • Tips for Students of Any Age
  • Tips for Making CPAP your Friend
  • Tips for Techs
  • Sleep Quiz
  • Coaching
  • Night shift coaching
  • Products to Help You Sleep Better

How Do I Become a Sleep Tech?

9/24/2012

1 Comment

 
I have met many people who became interested in my chosen field.  It is such a strange field to find education in and so many people do not know how to become a sleep technician.  They may hear that you can just find someone who will hire and train you or you may have heard you need to take a 2 week class or you may wonder where there are schools so you can get your degree.  Well all of them are right and all of them are incomplete.  So let’s look at what it takes to get into the field

The first thing you need to look at is what the job entails.  If you do not think you can perform the job than you might not want to go into the field.  Most of the jobs are night shift jobs and many people have to work on weekends.  This is part of being in healthcare and is common in many fields.  You need to be able to work alone and make decisions within posted guidelines.  Many technicians work alone as many of the labs are small.  You can have anywhere from 1 to 3 patients during the night.  You will make decisions during the night on whether to start therapy or change the level of therapy so you have to know how to make decisions.  You have to be detailed oriented.  The doctor will need to know why you made your decisions.  You will also need to perform a study that is clean and easy to read.  Not making corrections could lead to the patient returning and an upset doctor.

Where do I get my education?  Well the field is in transition.  College programs are being developed around the country for sleep techs.  Some of the programs are add on programs for EEG techs or Respiratory Therapists others are stand alone programs that will allow you to be working within 1-2 years.  You could sign up for one of the accredited programs through the American Academy of Sleep Medicine or the Board of Polysomnography Technologists that are generally partially online and partially classroom.  These programs give you some hands on education as well as some theory and along with experience people who go through these programs can sit for both the RPSGT and RST credential.  Finally you can get an on the job training job.  The problem with them is that you are at the mercy of the lab to get your training and if they do not have a program set up you can learn a great many incorrect things as well as out of date information.  You will still have to take an online program to sit for your board exams that should help supplement your learning.

Ultimately, with licensure coming on the job training will limit your employment possibilities.  You will need to get credentials as soon as possible so you have the opportunity to be grandfathered into some of the licensures.  There will still be some states that will be requiring college education so you should look at the state you live in or may want to live in before you make a decision. 

If you have any questions of if you have your own experiences to share please share them below because we all can learn from each other.

1 Comment
AirLink Helix RT link
11/15/2013 06:13:16 pm

You blog post is just completely quality and informative. Many new facts and information which I have not heard about before. Keep sharing more blog posts.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    May 2020
    December 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    January 2018
    January 2017
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    August 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    December 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    January 2010

    RSS Feed

    Blog Roll
    Stop Snoring
    View my profile on LinkedIn

    Categories

    All
    Aasm
    Aast
    Add
    Allergies
    Amy Korn Reavis
    Amy Korn-Reavis
    Anxiety
    Apap
    Auto Titrating Cpap
    Balance
    Bedding
    Bipap
    Boards
    Bodymedia Fit
    Books
    Breathing
    Brpt
    Career
    Children
    Cpap
    Cpap Accessories
    Cpap Mask
    Cpap Masks
    Cpap Problems
    Cpap Solutions
    Cpap Therapy
    Daylight Savings Time
    Dental Appliances
    Diabetes
    Dr Steven Park
    Education
    Enurisis
    Exercise
    Fatigue
    Fibromyalgia
    Florida Association Of Sleep Technicians
    Gerd
    Growth
    Habits
    Health
    High Blood Pressure
    Holidays
    Hot Weather
    Insomnia
    Insurance
    Job
    Licensure
    Management
    Monitoring
    Morning Headaches
    Napping
    Nbrc
    New Cpap
    Obesity
    Obstructive Sleep Apnea
    Oral Appliances
    Osa
    Pain
    Pap Nap
    Physicial
    Planning
    Publicity
    Relax
    Relaxation
    Resolutions
    Respiratory Credentials
    Respiratory Therapy
    Shaq
    Sheets
    Short Sleep
    Sleep
    Sleep Apnea
    Sleep Deprivation
    Sleep Disorders
    Sleep Education
    Sleep Hygeine
    Sleep Hygiene
    Sleep Lab
    Sleep Routine
    Sleep Societies
    Sleep Stages
    Sleep Study
    Sleep Technician
    Sleep Test
    Sleep Testing
    Sleep Therapy
    Snoring
    Stress
    Studying
    Summer
    Support
    Support Groups
    Surgery
    Teens
    Tired
    Travel
    Treatment
    Vitamin D
    Weight Loss
    Winter Health
    Women
    Writing

    Amy Korn-Reavis, EzineArticles.com Basic PLUS Author
    Follow this blog
Photo used under Creative Commons from momentcaptured1
  • Home
  • Who we are
  • Tips for Better Sleep
  • Tips for Students of Any Age
  • Tips for Making CPAP your Friend
  • Tips for Techs
  • Sleep Quiz
  • Coaching
  • Night shift coaching
  • Products to Help You Sleep Better