Sleepwalking patients are just one of the situations that a polysomnography
technician might encounter.
Out of the 80 or 90 known sleep disorders, technologist Ron Polischuk thinks
sleepwalking is among the most interesting. "You'd think they are awake, but
they're sleeping."
Polischuk became fascinated with sleep because sleep is so important.
When we don't get enough sleep, we experience poor memory and concentration,
fatigue, low energy, and even emotional problems and depression. Without enough
sleep, sick people will not recover as quickly.
"This work is satisfying because we diagnose the problem, and we don't
have to be a doctor to help with the treatment," he says.
Polischuk graduated from a two-year course in electroneurophysiology technology
in 1998. After working for four years at a sleep clinic at a university, he
moved to his present job.
"We do a wider range of testing here," he says. "This is a multidisciplinary
unit."
Technicians at Polischuk's workplace work both day and night
shifts. When working days, they runs tests on certain patients and analyze
the records from the previous night's sleep study tests. The night technicians
run sleep tests on two patients at a time.
It takes 30 to 45 minutes to set a person up for a test. The tests last
six to eight hours, or a person's normal sleep cycle. "Some places have you
working with more than two people, but I think that is too many," he says.
Communicating with the patient is extremely important. Patients can be
frightened if they don't understand what is happening. "It's my role to calm
their fears and explain to them what I am going to do," he says.
Communicating can be challenging in a multicultural community. "You have
to realize the language barrier and find ways of helping the patient understand."
Before you go into this career, Polischuk suggests that you do some volunteer
work at a hospital or clinic. You have to be sure that you enjoy working with
patients and that you like being in a medical setting. Later, if you are taking
a training program with an internship or work placement, you might see if
you can find a placement in a sleep clinic.
Laree Fordyce works at a private sleep clinic. She graduated from an electroneurodiagnostic
technologist program in 1993. At that time, it was a new field, and she could
not find work locally.
"I took a job in a clinic in Anchorage, Alaska," she says.
The Anchorage clinic had a sleep disorder center, and Fordyce discovered
that she preferred that type of work. "I find it more interesting. It's on
the cutting edge," she says. "A lot of people don't know about sleep disorders."
The technicians worked 10-hour shifts, four days a week. They hooked patients
up the equipment, put them to bed and monitored them throughout the night.
Shifts ended at about 8 a.m.
Sleep apnea is a disorder where people stop breathing several times throughout
the night. Polysomnography technicians teach sleep apnea patients to use
a mask that helps them to keep breathing.
Some of Fordyce's patients had gone for 10 years without a decent night's
sleep. "After even one night with the mask, they wake up feeling so much better,"
Fordyce says.
In time, Fordyce started work at a sleep clinic. She is the lab manager.
"There are opportunities to move up in this field," she says. "Especially
if you are board registered."
Fordyce is happy to be working days now, saying that her body never adjusted
well to working nights.
She enjoys seeing how much better her patients feel after they have had
treatment for a few months. Patients with sleep apnea come in for periodic
check-ups, and they are usually very appreciative.
"One person lost 80 pounds after he started using the apnea mask," says
Fordyce. "Apnea patients often gain a lot of weight because they are too tired
to exercise and they crave carbohydrates."
There are many opportunities and chances to learn new things. Currently,
Fordyce is participating in a research study that examines how sleep apnea
patients respond to medication. Her work also provides opportunities to
attend meetings in other areas.
Fordyce encourages anyone to enter the profession who can manage working
nights. She says there are opportunities to move up, so you would not be working
nights forever.
"If I could do anything at all, this is what I'd be doing!" she says. "I
like to interview patients and help the doctors with treatment modalities.
I'm very fortunate."
Shawn Kimbro operates his own clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee. He worked
in electroneurodiagnostic testing while he was in the military. Afterwards,
he applied for work in a sleep lab.
"I didn't have a health-care background, but the manager was willing to
give me on-the-job training," he says.
Like most newcomers, Kimbro started working as a night technician. After
four years, he worked up to a management position. In early 2003, he opened
his new sleep lab in partnership with a local physician.
Kimbro employs 17 polysomnography technicians. When he's hiring, he looks
for technicians with good people skills.
He also looks for people that are "high-tech rednecks." That means they
are good with computers and high-tech equipment, but are also good at fixing
things like broken lamps or home repair jobs. "I want people who can troubleshoot
when the equipment doesn't work right," he says.
The best aspect of the work is helping people. Kimbro recalls working with
a 10-year-old bed wetter. The boy suffered from sleep apnea. After treatment,
he woke up to the first dry night of his life.
"I remember the look on his face when he went around saying, 'It worked!
It worked!'" Kimbro says. "That's one of the things that made me want to stay
in the field."