Sleep medicine is one of the most evolving medical specialty or subspecialty which is devoted to the diagnosis and the therapy of sleep disorders and disturbances. Over the years, research therapist and physician have been carrying out studies that seek to provide increased knowledge and answering numerous questions related to sleep-awake functioning (Mattice & Lee-Chiong, 2012,p.5). In this paper, I will further discuss about sleep medicine and highlight the role of a respiratory therapist in regard to this disorder. In addition, I will explain the standard credentials for a respiratory therapist, where they get them and also touch on their job description.
For a respiratory therapist (RT) to start practicing in the subspecialty of sleep medicine, one requires to have various credentials awarded by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC). The sleep disturbances specialist CRT-SDS or the RRT-SDS are the most common credentials in the subspecialty of sleep disorders and are recognized by the American Academy of sleep medicine(AASM) (MacIntyre, 2011, p.1175). In addition, it is vital for RT’s to maintain active credentials with the NBRC so as to be able to secure and maintain the state license and also to be able to satisfy the requirements for getting a job. These credentials are very important because they prove ones mastery for their sub-specialty. The Job of a sleep medicine RT entails working in hospitals and sleep labs where they are responsible for diagnosis and treatment of an array of sleep disorders such as excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep apnea, insomnia and narcolepsy.
In conclusion, it is now clear that sleep medicine RTs should be well trained in order to be able to provide the best health care to their patients. Training in EEG is an added advantage to the respiratory therapist since this specialty requires an in-depth understanding of how the respiratory system works (Mattice & Lee-Chiong, 2012,p.5). However, some schools have started to pump out sleep technicians with only two-week training, this is not up to standards since sleep study is a diagnostic study and therefore requires more time and intensive learning so as to master all its requirements. In my opinion, the government should closely monitor the sleep labs so as to ensure that patients are getting the best care as possible.
References
Attanasio, R., & Bailey, D. R. (2009). Dental management of sleep disorders. Wiley.
com.
MacIntyre, N. (2011). Respiratory care: principles and practice. Jones & Bartlett
Learning.
Mattice, C., Brooks, R., & Lee-Chiong, T. L. (2012). Fundamentals of sleep technology.
Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
