Polysomnographic Sleep Trainee

Job Description Summary

A sleep trainee develops competency in and performs basic sleep testing procedures and associated interventions. The sleep trainee works under direct supervision of a sleep technician or a sleep technologist.

Entity

Medical University Hospital Authority (MUHA)

Worker Type

Employee

Worker Sub-Type​

Regular

Cost Center

CC001437 KER - Sleep Lab (KMC)

Pay Rate Type

Hourly

Pay Grade

Health-21

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Work Shift

Job Description

Entity/Organization:  MUHA (Medical University Hospital Authority/Medical Center)

FLSA Status: Hourly

Hours Per Week: 40

Job Description/Summary:    

A sleep trainee develops competency in and performs basic sleep testing procedures and associated interventions. The sleep trainee works under direct supervision of a sleep technician or a sleep technologist. 

Duties:

Sleep Study Preparation and Set-up 

• Develop skills in collecting, analyzing, and integrating patient information to identify and meet the patient-specific needs (physical/mental limitations, current emotional/physiological status regarding the testing procedure, pertinent medical/social history). 
• Develop skills in determining final testing parameters/procedures in conjunction with the ordering physician or clinical director and laboratory protocols. 
• Learn to review pertinent information from the patient’s history and verify the medical order. 
• Follow sleep center protocols related to the sleep study. 
• When patient arrives, verifies identification, collects documents and obtains consent for the study. 
• Explain the procedure and orients the patient for either in center or home sleep apnea testing (HSAT.) 
• Provide age appropriate patient education. 
• Learn to select appropriate equipment and calibrate for testing to determine proper functioning, and make adjustments, if necessary. 
• Develop skills in the application of electrodes and sensors according to accepted published standards. 
• Learn to perform routine positive airway pressure (PAP) interface fitting and desensitization. 

Sleep Study Procedures 

• Learn to follow procedural protocols [such as Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT), Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT), parasomnia studies, PAP and oxygen titration, etc.] to ensure collection of appropriate data. 
• Learn to perform appropriate physiological calibrations to ensure proper signals and make required adjustments. 
• Learn to follow “lights out” procedures to establish and document baseline values (such as body position, oxyhemoglobin saturation, respiratory and heart rates, etc.). 
• Learn to perform data acquisition while monitoring study-tracing quality to ensure signals are artifact-free. Identify, correct, and document artifact. 

• Learn to document routine observations, including sleep stages and clinical events, changes in procedure, and other significant events in order to facilitate scoring and interpretation of polysomnographic results. 
• Learn to implement appropriate interventions (including actions necessary for patient safety and therapeutic intervention such as positive airway pressure, oxygen administration, etc.). 
• Learn to follow “lights on” procedures to verify integrity of collected data and complete the data collection process (e.g. repeat the physiological and instrument calibrations and instruct the patient on completing questionnaires, checking for completeness, etc.). 
• Develop skills in scoring sleep/wake stages by applying professionally accepted guidelines. 
• Develop skills in scoring clinical events (such as respiratory events, cardiac events, limb movements, arousals, etc.) utilizing American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) standards. 
• Develop skills in generating accurate reports by tabulating sleep/wake and clinical event data. 
• Develop skills in demonstrating the knowledge and skills necessary to recognize and provide age specific care in the treatment, assessment, and education of neonatal, pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients. 
• Develop skills in demonstrating the knowledge and skills necessary to perform portable monitoring equipment preparation and data download. 
• Develop skills in performing patient education and instruction appropriate for home sleep apnea testing. 
• Learns and applies prescribed cleaning and disinfection procedures. 
• Learn and apply monitoring of patient safety and adherence to patient safety protocols. 
• Learn and apply adherence to AASM scoring parameters. 
• Learn to identify artifact, inadequate signals, and equipment failures and generate an accurate report. 

Service Management and Essential Skills 

• Comply with applicable laws, regulations, guidelines, and standards regarding safety and infection control issues. 
• Learn to perform routine equipment care and maintenance and inventory evaluation. 
• Maintain current CPR or BLS certification. 
• Develop or demonstrate computer skills appropriate for the position. 
• Develop or demonstrate effective written and verbal communication skills. 
• Develop or demonstrate appropriate social skills. 

• Develop or demonstrate customer service skills. 
• Develop or demonstrate critical thinking and ability to work with minimal supervision to analyze complex situations and apply policy. 
• Develop or demonstrate teamwork skills. 
• Follow HIPAA and privacy policies. 
• Demonstrate ability to follow direction. 
• Develop the ability to respond to sleep patients’ procedural-related inquiries by providing appropriate education utilizing sleep center specific protocols. 
• Adhere to sleep center policies and procedures. 
• Participate in the quality assurance program. 
• Learn to inspect and maintain sleep study related equipment and inventory. 
• Comply with professional standards of conduct. 

Minimum Training and Education: 

High school diploma or GED, plus six months of direct patient care experience or one year of postsecondary education or Current enrollment in an accredited educational program leading to a certificate or associate degree with an emphasis in sleep technology. 

Required Licensure, Certifications, Registrations:

Physical Demands and Work Environment: 

Work Environment 

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. In the performance of this job, the employee may be exposed to chemical vapors such as cleaning and disinfecting solutions. There may also be skin contact with these substances. The employee may also be exposed to infectious agents including blood-borne pathogens. 

Physical Requirements

Ability to perform job functions while standing. (Continuous) Ability to perform job functions while sitting. (Continuous) Ability to perform job functions while walking. (Continuous) Ability to climb stairs. (Infrequent) Ability to work indoors. (Continuous) Ability to work outside in temperature extremes. (Infrequent) Ability to work from elevated areas. (Frequent) Ability to work in confined/cramped spaces. (Frequent) Ability to perform job functions from kneeling positions. (Infrequent) Ability to bend at the waist. (Continuous) Ability to twist at the waist. (Frequent) Ability to squat and perform job functions. (Frequent) Ability to perform "pinching" operations. (Frequent) Ability to perform gross motor activities with fingers and hands. (Continuous) Ability to perform firm grasping with fingers and hands. (Continuous) Ability to perform fine manipulation with fingers and hands. (Continuous) Ability to reach overhead. (Frequent) Ability to perform repetitive motions with hands/wrists/elbows and shoulders. (Continuous) Ability to fully use both legs. (Continuous) Ability to use lower extremities for balance and coordination. (Frequent) Ability to reach in all directions. (Continuous) Ability to lift and carry 50 lbs. unassisted. (Infrequent) Ability to lift/lower objects 50 lbs. from/to floor from/to 36 inches unassisted. (Infrequent) Ability to lift from 36" to overhead 25 lbs. (Infrequent) Ability to exert up to 50 lbs. of force. (Frequent) Examples include: To transfer a 100 lb. patient that can not assist in the transfer requires 50 lbs. of force. For every 100 additional pounds, assistance will be required from another healthcare worker. 20 lbs. of force is needed to push a 400 lb. patient in a wheelchair on carpet. 25 lbs. of force is required to push a stretcher with a patient with one hand. Ability to maintain 20/40 vision, corrected, in one eye or with both eyes. (Continuous) Ability to see and recognize objects close at hand or at a distance. (Continuous) Ability to match or discriminate between colors. (Continuous) Ability to determine distance/relationship between objects; depth perception. (Continuous) Good peripheral vision capabilities. (Continuous) Ability to maintain hearing acuity, with correction. (Continuous) Ability to perform gross motor functions with frequent fine motor movements. (Continuous) Ability to deal effectively with stressful situations. (Continuous) Ability to work rotating shifts. (Frequent) Ability to work overtime as required. (Frequent) Ability to work in a latex safe environment. (Continuous) Ability to maintain tactile sensory functions. (Continuous) (Selected Positions) *Ability to maintain good olfactory sensory function. (Continuous) *(Selected Positions) *Ability to be qualified physically for respirator use, initially and as required. (Continuous) (Selected Positions)

Additional Job Description

High school diploma or GED plus current enrollment in an accredited educational program such as the AASM A-STEP introductory program, leading to becoming a certified or registered polysomnographic sleep technologist. State licensure and/or professional certification requirement/s dependent on position. Current Basic Life Support (BLS) required, either a certification from an American Heart Association (AHA) BLS for Healthcare Providers (or AHA recognized equivalent) or an American Red Cross CPR/AED for Professional Rescuer and Healthcare Provider.

If you like working with energetic enthusiastic individuals, you will enjoy your career with us!

The Medical University of South Carolina is an Equal Opportunity Employer. MUSC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or belief, age, sex, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, protected veteran status, family or parental status, or any other status protected by state laws and/or federal regulations. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment based upon applicable qualifications, merit and business need.

Medical University of South Carolina participates in the federal E-Verify program to confirm the identity and employment authorization of all newly hired employees. For further information about the E-Verify program, please click here: http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify/employees