Tips for Maintaining your BRPT Credentials:
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Author: Ashley Shelton
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Online Specialty Exam For Pediatric Sleep – Call For Volunteers
Volunteers are at the heart of the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists’ work. Because of the contributions of volunteers’ time, talent and expertise, BRPT is able to develop and administer the CPSGT, RPSGT and CCSH programs according to best industry practices, which ensures stringent professional standards of clinical sleep health professionals.
Based on previous surveys and feedback we’ve received from our credential holders, we agree there is an important need for a specialty exam for pediatric sleep.
BRPT is seeking assistance from active RPSGTs, who are currently working in a pediatric sleep facility, to help us with two phases of this project: First, to assist in the development of a Job Task Analysis (JTA) survey and second, to help develop exam questions based on the JTA survey findings.
A JTA Survey will examine the current state of pediatric sleep – the responsibilities of an RPSGT working with sleep pediatric patients and the knowledge and skills required to fulfill those responsibilities. Conducting a JTA is an important and standard method used to gather current job information and to stay abreast of new developments and movement in the field.
Based on the findings of the JTA, volunteers will assist in the development of exam questions. In doing so, volunteers will play an important role in this process, sharing their pediatric sleep knowledge and expertise by working with the BRPT Pediatric Sleep Committee to ensure exam content quality.
In addition, it’s a unique chance to gain a broader understanding of the exam development process and an excellent opportunity to make valuable business and personal connections by working alongside BRPT Board members and other colleagues in the field.
Expectations:
• Volunteers must be active RSPGT credential holders currently working in a pediatric sleep facility with approximately 75 percent of time spent working with pediatric sleep patients.
• Volunteers are expected to respond in a timely manner to requests from the BRPT Pediatric Exam Committee Chair and to review, edit and help develop survey and exam questions.
• Volunteers are expected to participate in conference calls when necessary.
A successful candidate who passes this online specialty exam for pediatric sleep will earn a certificate in pediatric sleep.
If you are interested in this important opportunity to influence and support this new online specialty exam, please send an email, including your resume/CV, to the following:
Michael McLeland, Ph.D., RPSGT
BRPT Pediatric Exam Committee Chair
EMAIL: volunteer@brpt.org
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Read the 2018 BRPT Annual Report
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BRPT Names Steve Marquis President-Elect of the Board of Directors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lydia Pelliccia
lpelliccia@brpt.org
202.422.5205
The Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists Names Steve Marquis President-Elect of the Board of Directors
Jomo Martin Nkunika Begins Term As Treasurer
Washington, D.C. – November 13, 2018 – The Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) named Steve Marquis, MBA, RPSGT, CCSH President-Elect of the Board of Directors. His two-year term as President will begin in January 2020. Marquis has been a member of the BRPT Board since 2015 serving as Treasurer, chair of the CSTE Committee and Volunteer Committee. Marquis is currently the Manager of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Sleep Centers.
“Steve’s contributions to the BRPT began long before he joined the Board,” said BRPT President Jessica Schmidt, MA, FACHE, RPSGT, CCSH. “Steve previously volunteered with the BRPT Education Program Task Force and with the Exam Development Committee. As Treasurer, Steve transformed our financial planning, management and reporting system. His instincts and insights are a tremendous asset to the organization.”
“I’m excited to serve as BRPT’s next President, and to continue to work with – and to learn from –
Jessica this year,” said Steve Marquis, RPSGT, CCSH, MBA. “I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside industry leaders in many different areas of the organization – from education, to the exam development process, to the financials. I’m eager to step into this new role, energized by the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Jomo Martin Nkunika, MSHCA, BS, CCSH, RPSGT will begin his term as Treasurer in January 2019. Nkunika is a clinical manager at MedBridge Health and a part-time faculty/program director at the CAAHEP-accredited sleep medicine technology program at Montgomery College in Maryland. Currently, Nkunika serves on the BRPT Finance Committee and previously served on the Education Committee. In addition, he was a key member of the website development task force, which worked to launch a new BRPT website in 2017.
These new roles in Board leadership take effect January 1, but an official installation will take place at the next Board of Directors meeting in February.
About The BRPT Board
The BRPT Board of Directors is comprised of volunteer members, all of whom serve four-year terms. The Board is international in scope and blends the expertise of the sleep community representing the interests of the consumer, patients, educators, and sleep technologists. Biographies of all BRPT Board members can be found at brpt.taupecatstudios.dev.
About The BRPT
The BRPT develops and administers credentialing exams for polysomnographic technologists and technicians. The RPSGT is respected worldwide as the leading credential for polysomnographic technologists. Since the first credentialing exam administration in 1979, BRPT has credentialed more than 20,000 RPSGTs worldwide. In May 2014, BRPT launched the Certification In Clinical Sleep Health (CCSH) examination for healthcare providers specializing in sleep medicine who work directly with sleep medicine patients, families and practitioners for patient care management, improved outcomes, and sleep health education and advocacy for patients and the community.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BRPT is an independent, non-profit certification board that cultivates the highest professional and ethical standards for polysomnographic technologists. In addition to administering the RPSGT, CPSGT, and CCSH exams in the United States and internationally, the BRPT also maintains the RPSGT registry and CPSGT roster. The BRPT also provides its Continuing Sleep Technology Education (CSTE) Program for educational providers seeking continuing education credits for their offerings. For more information, please visit brpt.taupecatstudios.dev.
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BRPT Website Wins 2018 WebAward
The BRPT’s newly redesigned website was presented with the Web Marketing Association (WMA) 2018 Web Award for Outstanding Achievement in Web Development. Since 1997, the WMA’s annual WebAward Competition has been setting the standard of excellence for website development. Independent expert judges from around the world review sites in 96 industries. The best are recognized with a WebAward which helps interactive professionals promote themselves, their companies, and their best work to the outside world.
Click here for more on the WMA WebAward
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Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists Names President-Elect, Treasurer and Four New Board Members Janice East, RPSGT, R. EEG T. becomes President-Elect
Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists Names Janice East President of the Board of Directors
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Important Changes to CCSH Eligibility
Important Changes to CCSH Eligibility
By Jim Magruder
BRPT Executive Director
At their June 30, 2018 board meeting, the BRPT Board of Directors reviewed the current eligibility criteria for the CCSH exam. After lengthy deliberations, the Board recognized the current eligibility criteria may be unfairly excluding a number of seasoned sleep health professionals with RPSGTs who are ineligible to apply, simply because they lack an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. The Board weighed this matter very carefully against a preexisting goal of promoting higher education for those seeking the CCSH credential.
At the inception of the CCSH, the degree requirement seemed like a laudable and attainable goal. However, after four years of observing application volume within each of the different pathways (including the now defunct CSE Pathway 3), we learned that the overwhelming majority of candidates were RPSGTs who applied through Pathway 3. This was not due to the discounted exam fee. It was because it was the only way they could apply.
Most of these technologists had obtained their RSPGTs through self-study programs and OJT. They did not have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. In the year and a half leading up to the closure of PW3, hundreds of technologists with the CSE certificate applied through the temporary pathway. In response, the board extended the deadline twice, before closing it permanently on March 31, 2017.
Despite the push for higher education, since the credential was launched four years ago, upwards of 80% or more of the nearly 1,000 current CCSH credential holders do not have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. In addition, there remains an unknown number of RPSGTs without degrees who also:
• Never took the CSE certificate live (or online) program and/or were unable to meet the PW3 deadline on time; or
• Previously failed the CCSH exam and will never have an opportunity to retake the exam, because they’re currently ineligible through Pathways 1 and 2.
This is troubling, as our RPSGTs are an extremely valuable part of the BRPT community and will remain forever shut out of the CCSH if the degree requirement remains an obstacle. The notion these individuals should go back to college simply to meet eligibility for an exam is unrealistic for a number of reasons, including time involved, cost of college tuition, existing work commitments, etc.
Secondly, as previously noted, the goal of fostering higher education among CCSH credential holders has not materialized as planned. The number of current credential holders without an AD or BA vastly outweighs those who do.
In hindsight, it’s also interesting there was never a requirement the degree had to be at all related to healthcare or the sciences. I would submit an RPSGT with several years’ experience in a sleep lab setting is a more qualified and knowledgeable sleep health professional than someone with one year of experience and an associate’s degree in art history (or something equally as unrelated); yet the current eligibility criteria favors this applicant over the more seasoned technologist.
In light of these considerations, the BRPT Board of Directors has agreed to open an additional pathway for active RPSGT credential holders, who have recertified at least once and have completed a CCSH-designated focused education program.
This focused education program is currently under development by the AAST and will take time to roll out; but the goal is to have the eligibility pathway open in the summer of 2019. We will provide future updates as they become available.
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Important A-STEP Self Study Program Requirements Clarification
In light of recent clarifications made by A-STEP, we have updated our A-STEP STAR Designated Self Study Program requirements accordingly:
Effective June 1, 2018 AASM A-STEP users that completed the series of 23 Self-Study Modules prior to 6/1/2018 are now required to complete three additional A-STEP modules. Individuals whose original A-STEP modules have expired (36-months from date of registration) are required to complete the full series of 26 modules. Log into your A-STEP account and follow instructions on your Dashboard to complete the required modules.
The new modules are:
- Module 4: Infection Control in the Sleep Center
- Module 21: Non-PAP Therapies for the Treatment of OSA
- Module 22: Administration and Titration of Oxygen
For additional information regarding the modules and how to access them, please go to the A-STEP website.
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BRPT Welcomes Dental Hygienists as an Approved Healthcare Credential for CCSH Eligibility Under Pathway 2
By Jim Magruder
BRPT Executive Director
At a recent BRPT Board of Director’s meeting, the Board voted to accept Dental Hygienists as an approved healthcare credential for CCSH eligibility under Pathway 2 (effective immediately).
We’ve received a lot of positive feedback about the dual role Dentists and Dental Hygienists play in treating patients with sleep disorders. Including Dental Hygienists as an approved healthcare credential makes perfect sense given the close proximity in which they work with Dentists to collaborate on treatment options. The Board is excited to see the role of the CCSH credential holder continuing to expand.
In addition, we’re very much looking forward to hosting a special forum at the AAST 2018 Annual Meeting on September 28 in Indianapolis, IN. The forum, entitled Going Beyond The RPSGT Credential – The Increasing Relevance of the CCSH Credential in Today’s Healthcare Environment, will showcase how leaders in the field are putting their CCSH credential into practice AND successfully billing for it.
The program, which is also an opportunity to earn 4 continuing education credits, is a free add-on to AAST members during the conference early bird registration period which ends July 26 so be sure to register asap!
And, all you need to know about obtaining the CCSH credential can be found on our website: About the CCSH Credential
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Home Sleep Apnea Testing – Where Are We?
By Jessica Schmidt, MA, FACHE, RPSGT, CCSH
BRPT President
I was recently invited to participate in a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Workshop entitled “Study Design Considerations for Devices including Digital Health Technologies for Sleep Disordered Breathing in Adults.”
The goal of the workshop was to examine the appropriate design of clinical studies to evaluate devices including digital health technologies intended for the diagnosis, monitoring, or treatment of Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) in adults. Study design considerations discussed included definitions for SDB conditions, inclusion/exclusion criteria for studies of these conditions, use of SDB assessment technologies, controls, and study endpoints.
It was a robust day of discussion on whether or not we are at a point in which HSAT can replace the current gold-standard in-lab PSG for purposes of certifying new devices, including diagnostic technologies and new therapeutic options. The overall consensus was that the home setting is lacking in control and that reason alone poses significant challenges to standardization.
The group agreed that any HSAT used in device trials should include oximetry, flow, and some way to differentiate types of apnea. In addition, it was determined that oximetry alone is not sufficient. PAT is widely regarded as a sufficient technology for OSA detection. While sleep staging may not be necessary, if it were omitted one should consider multiple nights of recording to reduce “first night effect.” The group also agreed that using HSAT for central sleep and hypoventilation disorders is insufficient. Finally, the panel noted that the explosion in un-regulated wearable technology presents a challenge to well-validated diagnostic methods.
The workshop was recorded in its entirety and can be viewed here:
https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/NewsEvents/WorkshopsConferences/ucm596147.htm