Brian Williams with NBC Nightly News has been covering a weeklong series of reports titled, “Personal Best: A Nightly Guide to Fitness” and sleep issues made last night’s cut. Robert Bazell reports that many sleep professionals claim that “sleep is a critical part of staying fit that many people ignore.” With nearly 57 million prescriptions for sleep medications being filled by people in the year 2008, which is nearly twice what is was 7 years ago in 2001, it is important for the general public to pay more attention to their sleeping habits.

The most common sleeping issue is not necessarily a sleep disorder, but rather the fact that many people just don’t set enough time aside to get an adequate amount of sleep each night. With this in mind, lack of sleep can cause many serious problems including (but not limited to) diabetes, heart disease and appetite changes that can result in weight gain.

Try taking this Sleep Quiz offered by MSNBC to see if you are getting enough sleep. If your quiz results show that your sleeping habits indicate that you may have a sleeping disorders please talk with your physician about referring you to a sleep clinic/lab for a sleep study.

As always the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine & Technology is invested in the education of its students and the public about the importance of sleep and sleep medicine, so be sure to get your rest!

Please view the videos below for more detailed information:                                  

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/35697236#35692995

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/35697236#35697236

Happy Sleeping!

Kristen Smith, Program Coordinator

Enroll in “Sleep Medicine for Nurse Practitioners & Physician Assistants” – April 17-18th, 2010 Today!

The Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine's Website now offers a Sleep Medicine Bookstore where Physicians, Technologists,  Technicians, and others interested in Sleep Medicine can find the top Sleep Textbooks that our faculty recommends.

Some Textbooks include Free Shipping for those who purchase via our website.

You can explore the Atlanta Sleep School Bookstore by finding it under the "FAQs and More" tab or by going directly to: http://www.sleepschool.com/resources.aspx?id=374 

Current Textbooks Sold in Our Bookstore:

Atlas of Clinical Sleep Medicine: Expert Consult - Online and Print By Meir H. Kryger, MD

Elsevier, 2009

Our Price: $139.00

Buy Now! 

Review of Sleep Medicine, 2nd Edition  By Teri J. Barkoukis, MD, FCCP and Alon Y. Avidan, MD, MPH

Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007

Our Price: $93.00

Buy Now!

Sleep Disorders Medicine: Basic Science, Technical Considerations, and Clinical Aspects, Expert Consult - Online and Print, 3rd Edition By Sudhansu Chokroverty, MD, FRCP, FACP

Saunders, 2009

Our Price: $189.00

Buy Now!

Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine: Expert Consult - Online and Print, 5th Edition By Meir H. Kryger, MD, Thomas Roth, PhD and William C. Dement, MD, PhD

Saunders, 2010

Our Price: $189.00

Buy Now!

Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine: Expert Consult Premium Edition - Enhanced Online Features and Print, 5th Edition  Edited by Meir H. Kryger, MD, Thomas Roth, PhD and William C. Dement, MD, PhD

Saunders, 2010

Our Price: $299.00

Buy Now!

Principles and Practice of Pediatric Sleep Medicine By Stephen H. Sheldon, DO, Meir H. Kryger, MD and Richard Ferber, MD

Saunders, 2005

Our Price: $85.95

Buy Now!

Focus on Sleep Medicine: A Self-Assessment (Neurology Self-Assessment) By Teofilo L Lee-Chiong

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009

Price Varies

Buy Now!

Fundamentals of Sleep Technology: Endorsed by the American Association of Sleep Technologists 

By Nic Butkov (Editor) and Teofilo L. Lee-Chiong (Editor)

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007

Price Varies – Provided as part of tuition to our “Essentials of Sleep Medicine: An A-STEP Accredited Course” 

Buy Now!

Sleep Medicine Pearls, 2nd Edition By Richard B. Berry MD

Hanley & Belfus, 2002

Price Varies

Buy Now!

Sleep: A Comprehensive Handbook By Teofilo L. Lee-Chiong

Wiley-Liss, 2005

Price Varies

Buy Now!

The AASM Manual for the Scoring of Sleep and Associated Events: Rules, Terminology and Technical Specification The Manual was edited by Con Iber, MD, assisted by a Steering Committee that included Sonia Ancoli-Israel, PhD, Andrew Chesson Jr., MD and Stuart Quan, MD.

Our Price: $70.00 

Available at our live classes. 

The International Classification of Sleep Disorders 2nd Edition, Softbound, 2005 Edition

Our Price: $135.00 

Available at our live classes. 

The Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine & Technology has opened the April 24-30, 2010 offering of the “Essentials of Sleep Technology: An A-STEP Accredited Course” for registration.

The A-STEP course is comprised of 80 hours worth of material designed specifically to introduce newcomers and novice techs to the field of Sleep Medicine. Generally the 80 hour requirement is a 10-day/two-week long course, however the Atlanta School is the proud provider of the first ever A-STEP program including an online component.

The online material makes up 24 hours of the 80 hour requirement, and is released 4 weeks before the live dates of the class to ensure students have plenty of time to complete the online component before attending the live class. The live class dates are 7 days in length, and run from Saturday thru Friday, minimizing the amount of time students must spend away from their family, job, and other responsibilities.

A-STEP class sizes are limited to 20 students per class, and the classes can fill up quickly. So be sure to register today, to ensure that you will have a spot in the April 24-30, 2010 A-STEP class.

If you have any questions regarding “Essentials of Sleep Technology: An A-STEP Accredited Course”, please do not hesitate to contact The Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine & Technology at (678)651-2000 or by email 

at sleepschool.administrator@sleepschool.com. Also feel free to visit our website for more information: www.sleepschool.com.

We hope you will join us soon!

Kristen Smith

Program Coordinator

By: David Wolfe

*Excerpted from “Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy: For Specialists in Clinical Sleep Medicine” Magazine – http://www.sleepdt.com*

Continuing education is required by most healthcare fields. With advancing technology and constantly emerging research in medicine, continuous education is needed for those involved in healthcare. Continuing education may be required to maintain a credential, licensure, and/or compliance with certain standards set by an accrediting organization.

For a sleep technologist, required continuing education can be a complicated topic. How many credits do I need? How long do I have to get them? How do I get them? What kind of education is accepted? Which credential, license, or organization will accept/require specific continuing education credits (CECs)? These questions will be answered in this article.

The Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) administers the Registered Polysomnographic Technologist (RPSGT) exam. This exam is identified as the leading credential for sleep technologists. To maintain the RPSGT credential, the BRPT requires 50 hours of continuing education over a 5 year period. An alternative to this would be to take and pass the exam again in 5 years.

For recertification, the BRPT only accepts a certain number of continuing education hours depending upon the program type. Only 30 of the 50 hours can be obtained by approved online training courses. Reading approved journals and magazines are accepted for only 15 of the 50 hours. Readings and online training programs both require program evaluations to acquire credits. Ten of the 50 hours can be attained by approved in-services and case conferences. All 50 hours are accepted through sleep-related programs (i.e. conferences and seminars).

Not to be confused with the BRPT is the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). By following certain standards, sleep facilities can be accredited by the AASM. One of the standards addresses continuing education for sleep technologists. The AASM requires that all sleep center technical staff obtain CECs. However, the program type is not specified. In addition, instead of the 50 hours in 5 years required by the BRPT, the AASM requires an average of 10 per year over 3 years. These CECs can be obtained within the sleep facility by providing an informal educational gathering among sleep technologists. The standard states, " the session (must have) defined objective(s) and attendance documented by a roster signed by the medical director." Keep in mind that the AASM requires these CECs for ALL technical staff: technicians, technologists, therapists, nurses, RPSGT's, non-RPSGT's, etc.

It may be difficult enough to sort through the alphabet soup of AASM, AAST, RPSGT, BRPT, AARC, NBRC, etc. To add to the difficulty with the acronyms, different organizations require different program types for different staff in different time frames. Those of us in the field of sleep medicine must continually expand our knowledge base by participating in various continuing education programs. Understanding which programs are accepted by which organizations is part of this education.

For more information, please see the BRPT and AASM website at www.brpt.org and www.aasmnet.org, respectively.

Original story url: http://www.sleepdt.com/_journal/v5n1/HTML/SDT_V5N1-08.asp

With the upcoming BRPT Registry Exam right around the corner in March 2010, shortly followed by the “On-Demand” Registry Exam option in June 2010, sleep tech hopefuls are in need of a thorough, convenient method of studying.

The Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine & Technology is proud to announce the recent release of the updated Online Technologist Registry Review! This particular review course includes 18 detailed sections covering separate areas of information that may appear on the BRPT Registry Exam.  Each portion is supplemented with review questions at the end of the section. The course package also includes a printable course manual as well as a mock final exam.

During this day and age, it can be quite cumbersome to take time away from family and/or work obligations in order to attend live classes or review sessions. However, the Online Technologist Registry Review course can be taken at any time from the comfort and convenience of your own home.  Students are given 6 months access to the course once it has been purchased, to ensure they have plenty of time to review the materials before taking the actual Registry Exam.

Also, do not miss the opportunity to speak one-on-one with our Lead Instructor, Terrence Malloy, RPSGT to discuss any lingering questions or concerns you may have regarding the exam.  Mr. Malloy will set up times twice a month to troubleshoot any questions or problem areas students may be facing as they study for the Registry Exam. Please check our website for updated times and dates to speak with Mr. Malloy. (Dates and times to be determined soon.)

If you have any questions regarding the Online Technologist Registry Review Course, please do not hesitate to contact The Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine & Technology at (678) 651-2000 or by email at sleepschool.administrator@sleepschool.com. Also feel free to visit our website for more information: www.sleepschool.com.

Happy Studying!

Kristen Smith, Program Coordinator

 Atlanta, GA - January 13, 2010 - The Georgia Association of Sleep Professionals (GASP) Board Members met on January 12, 2010 at the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine and Technology’s classroom facility to discuss the agenda and speakers for the GASP Annual Meeting and Expo, “Updates in Sleep Medicine: Clinical, Technical and Facility.” This annual meeting is scheduled for March 12-13, 2010 at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta, GA. The Expo will feature combined and breakout sessions on pertinent sleep medicine topics. 

Two of The Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine’s faculty hold positions on GASP’s Board of Directors.  Terrence Malloy, RPSGT, is the school’s lead technology instructor and is one of GASP’s Technical Board Members. Michael Lacey, MD, D. ABSM is a frequent presenter in many of the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine’s live courses and is one of GASP’s Facility Board Members.

In addition, Jeffrey Durmer, MD, Ph. D, D. ABSM, the President of the Association is a frequent lecturer in the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine’s “Sleep Medicine and Polysomnography” course designed for physicians interested in the field of sleep medicine.

The Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine supports the Georgia Association of Sleep Professionals position as the “leader in Georgia for setting standards and promoting excellence in sleep, medicine care, education, research, and public health by promoting awareness and advocating for sleep professionals across the state.” The Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine and Technology was pleased to host the board during its planning meeting.

Georgia Association of Sleep Professionals Board of Directors:

President

Jeffrey S. Durmer, MD, PhD, D.ABSM

Vice President / President Elect

Jeffrey Michaelson MD

Secretary

David Gregory, RPSGT

Treasurer

Sharon Williams, RPSGT

Clinical Board Members

Mark Taffel Pollock, MD

Mayoor Patel, DDS

Technical Board Members

Susan Keller Yenney, RPSGT

Terry Malloy, RPSGT

Facility Board Members

Michael Lacey, MD, D. ABSM (The Atlanta Sleep Medicine Clinic)

David Schulman, MD, MPH (The Emory Clinic Sleep Disorders Center)

Two Free CME Online Programs Offered to Physicians by The Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine and Technology and The National Sleep Foundation

For a limited time, two online CME programs are provided free of charge by The Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine and The National Sleep Foundation.

The first program, entitled: “A New Look at Gastroesophageal Reflux: Old Wine in a New Bottle” takes a look at increasing data on the role of sleep in GERD. The second program, entitled: “Insomnia in the Context of Comorbidity” investigates how chronic sleep deprivation can cause a variety of other health problems. Both of these CME online activities can be accessed 24/7 for free at this link: www.sleepfoundation.org/cme 

Both CME activities are jointly accredited by the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine and Technology and the National Sleep Foundation. These talks were originally held at the American College of Physicians meeting in Philadelphia in April 2009.