Sleep Technician Program
Interview with Abbe Fass - Department Head

Wendy: Welcome to another addition to momentum where we share ideas of how you can gain and sustain momentum with in your career. I’m Wendy Walden. Today we’re talking about polysomnographic technician training program otherwise known as sleep technician program that is offered within our continuing education program. Later on we will be speaking with a doctor that specializes in sleep disorders. If you are having difficulties falling asleep and staying asleep, you may want to stay tuned to hear about some treatment options that can help you get a good night sleep. But now with me is Abbe Foss the Department Head for Direct Patient Care in our continuing education. Welcome Abbe.

Abbe: Well, thank you Wendy.

Wendy: It is nice to have you with us. Tell us about the Sleep Technician Program.

Abbe: Well, the Sleep Technician Program is a new program, relatively new. It’s been in since 2003 and the reason we began to offer the Sleep Technician Program is because there was no other program in the Southeast that was training technicians and in this program it plans patient care, technical skills and computer skills and we train individuals and health care providers on how to set up a patient and how to run an effective sleep study.

Wendy: Very good, tell me how, so is there a class room setting and also clinical, correct?

Abbe: correct

Wendy: Describe the clinical aspect of the program for us.

Abbe: There is a classroom setting, lab setting and a clinical setting.

Wendy: Ok.

Abbe: The clinical setting is after the students have been though their 80 hours of training. We place them in certain clinical externship sites in sleep labs throughout the Southeast regions because we do have students from GA, MS, NC and SC attending this program. By far the students will report that their clinical experience was the most helpful portion of their learning and they are able to actually administer patient care set up a patient and run, a sleep study by the end of their clinical course.

Wendy: Very good, so what would a person or student walk away with once they have gone through and completed the course?

Abbe: They will walk away with a comprehensive understanding of what is required to become a sleep technician. They will have an understanding of what their job description entails. They will also have the skills the technical skills to completely set a person up. And when I say set a person up, I think we will refer to that later but it entails sixteen different wires, electrodes, all over their body. And then they will also be able to monitor the patient and the monitor the electrical waves, the respiratory patterns, and the cardiac patterns. And when they walk away, I think they feel very confident that they are able to run a study confidently and provide the data they physician needs to diagnosis what the sleep disorder is.

Wendy: Very good, so there are some prerequisites for a student, come into the course of course, whether that being they have some prior health care experience or patient care.

Abbe: right

Wendy: Or some certification in a health care field, talk about that for us.

Abbe: And the reason for that is because this is a very short training program, basically 12 to 14 weeks. We only teach information specifically related to sleep. So we like the candidate, the student to have good background in healthcare already, patient care, emergency medical training. And so an ideal student coming into this program would be someone from another health care profession; such as, medical assistant, and EMT, a basic EMT, possibly a registered nurse, or LPN. Someone who has neurondiagnostic technical training. We will actually provide them a track to take certain courses to meet that prerequisite.

Wendy: But preferably you want someone who has prior health care training or patient care. Let’s talk about the personality type that best fits this job because this is a unique. It is not a 9 to 5 job.

Abbe: No

Wendy: So let’s talk about the best personality type that would best for this job.

Abbe: And obviously it is not a 9 to 5 job. It is probably more a 9 to 7 a.m. job so it’s for the night owl. Most people sleep at night so a study is run during their normal sleep patterns so this is a full night time position initially. There is room for growth into full time position during the day but initially it is a full time night position. Usually 40 hours the technician works for four consecutive nights but the person that it is ideal for this again is a person coming from a health care background. They like to work with patients. They also have a comfort level with working with electrodes, wires and the computer, analyzing data and being able to down load it into proper format so that the physician can diagnosis a sleep disorder.

Wendy: What do you think is the job outlook for a sleep technician?

Abbe: I think that it is an ongoing field or a field that will continue to grow. Since the late 80’s and early 90’s we’ve seen a huge increase in the demand for sleep study. And the reason for that is because the medical profession has realized the benefits of the diagnosis for sleep as far as diagnosing diabetes or helping in the treatment of diabetes or hypertension. For that has impacted the need for more sleep studies. And based on my prior enrollment in this class because this class has been running since 2003, I would say that 95% of my students leave with a position already in place and are employed in the field of sleep currently.

Wendy: Very good, so it’s a very good program, real quickly, what we have is a really, high standard credential program here. Talk about that a little bit. You touched on it that we are one of the only colleges or institutions that teaches this within the Southeast. Elaborate a little.

Abbe: And I appreciate that question. We are the only college in the technical system and even in the community college system that has an accredited sleep program, a polysomnographic sleep program. We are accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. It’s A Step Provider meaning that out curriculum had meant a certain credential nationally and we have been recognized for that.

Wendy: Great, wonderful, Well, Thank you so much Abbe for sharing all that you could on the Sleep Technician Program. When we come back we are going to speck with Dr. Wilson regarding sleep disorders. Stay with us.