Download PDF
Sleep Breath 2001; 05(3): 101-108
DOI: 10.1055/s-2001-19820
GUEST EDITORIAL

Copyright © 2001 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA. Tel.: +1(212) 584-4662

What Is a Necessary Knowledge Base for Sleep Professionals?

Susan M. Harding1 , Jeffrey W. Hawkins2
  • 1Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
  • 2Department of Pulmonary Medicine/Norwood Clinic, Carraway Methodist Sleep Disorders Center, Carraway Methodist Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
27 September 2001 (online)

    Permissions and Reprints

ABSTRACT

Sleep medicine is multidisciplinary, and sleep medicine professionals should be trained to evaluate and treat all 88 sleep disorders. Sleep medicine specialists require a fund of knowledge that goes beyond what is obtained during a pulmonary fellowship. Skills required for a pulmonary sleep professional include: sleep medicine, neurobiology, psychiatry, neuro-psychology, neurology, pediatrics, and even limited exposure in otolaryngology, oral maxillofacial surgery, and dentistry. There is a paucity of publiished information concerning curricular requirements. Required skills for a sleep professional include proficiency in the clinical skills of sleep medicine as well as the technical skills of polysomnography. There is a very large knowledge content area requirement in both the basic sciences of sleep and the clinical aspects of sleep medicine. There are also important clinical skills content areas. As with all medical professionals, sleep professionals should have the highest ethical standards and a strong sense of responsibility toward their patients. A sleep medicine professional also has to be knowledgeable about administrative and legal aspects specific to sleep medicine. This essay reviews a sleep professional knowledge base model with emphasis on the requirements for a pulmonary sleep professional.

KEYWORD

Sleep medicine education - sleep curriculum - medical education

REFERENCES

  • 1 Collop N A. Conundrums in Sleep Medicine [editorial].  Chest . 1999;  115 607-608
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 2 Personal communication. Gregory Mader, Membership Director, American Academy of Sleep Medicine; January 16, 2000
  • 3 American Sleep Disorders Association. International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Revised: Diagnostic and Coding Manual Rochester, MN: American Sleep Disorders Association; 1997
    Google Scholar
  • 4 Phillips B, Collop N, Goldberg R. Sleep medicine practice, training, and attitudes. A wake-up call for pulmonologists.  Chest . 2000;  117 1603-1607
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
      >