Polysomnographic Technologist

Appalachian Regional Healthcare•Beckley, WV

26d

About The Position

The Polysomnographic Technologist works under the general supervision of the Director of Respiratory or designee to provide comprehensive evaluation and treatment of sleep disorders. This may involve polysomnography, diagnostic and therapeutic services, or patient care and education. The technologist also oversees and performs difficult and unusual procedures and therapeutic interventions.

Requirements

Successful completion of an accredited educational program leading to an Associate Degree with an emphasis on polysomnography; or successful completion of a polysomnography program of at least one year associated with a state-licensed and/or nationally accredited educational facility; or equivalent experience and documented proficiency in all competencies required of a Polysomnographic Technician.
Certification by the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists as a Registered Polysomnographic Technologist or equivalent.
Must present a copy of registration.

Responsibilities

Prepare and calibrate testing equipment, verify proper functioning, and make adjustments as necessary.
Apply electrodes and sensors according to accepted published standards.
Perform physiologic calibrations to ensure proper signals and make adjustments as necessary.
Perform positive airway pressure (PAP) mask fitting.
Follow procedural protocols, including Multiple Sleep Latency Test, Maintenance of Wakefulness Test, and parasomnia studies, to ensure appropriate data collection.
Follow “lights out” procedures to establish and document baseline values, such as body position, oxyhemoglobin saturation, respiratory rate, and heart rate.
Perform polysomnographic data acquisition while monitoring tracing quality, ensuring signals are artifact-free, and making adjustments as necessary.
Document routine observations, including sleep stages, clinical events, procedure changes, and significant events, to facilitate scoring and interpretation.
Implement appropriate interventions, including actions necessary for patient safety and therapeutic interventions such as continuous and bi-level positive airway pressure.
Follow “lights on” procedures to verify the integrity of collected data and complete data collection.
Provide age-specific care in the treatment, assessment, and education of patients.
Oversee and perform difficult and unusual procedures and therapeutic interventions.
Score sleep/wake stages using professionally accepted guidelines.
Score clinical events, including respiratory events, cardiac events, limb movements, and arousals, according to center-specific protocols.
Generate accurate reports by tabulating sleep/wake and clinical event data.
Perform other related duties as assigned.