Sleep Technology
Hello, graduated from Sleep Tech course during the summer of 2016. Haven't taken the exam yet but in the process. Does anyone know of any private sleep labs that will allow you to shadow or volunteer in NC or SC to gain experience. Very hard field to get started in. In NC you have to be registered and have at least a year of experience. How do you even get the experience?
It is a hard field to break into. I know the owners of a sleep center in California. If you ever come this way you can contact me and I'll get you an interview. Keep your chin up.... WHEN you get a position with a sleep center, you'll have job security ;) It's fabulous field that is growing and you'll be at the forefront.
No, but, you'll probably find something soon. There are lots of people in this world who have sleep disorders. Good luck!
Go back to the school where you took your course. they should have information and assistance with internships and job placement.
Look for an opportunity to work with a pulmonologist (Lung doctor)--even if you have to volunteer at a hospital. Many private sleep labs are owned by these sleep disorder specialists. For other pulmonologists that don't have a financial interest in a sleep lag, they are going to have a close relationship with a sleep lab since the pulmonologist would be the on making the referral and evaluating the results of the sleep study. Once you have passed your exam and have a reference from a pulmonologist as too what a great worker you are (even if what you did had nothing to do with sleep studies), you will have a much better chance of breaking into the field. Good luck!
Thank you Adalyn for the advice. I know at the present moment my school doesn't provide these services for this class because we often discussed this during class. It would certainly be helpful. After completing externship for the course I spoke with the lab manage to see if i could continue to shadow or volunteer, the manage said i wouldn't be able to do that because of hippa laws. Since then i have even talked to various other sleep labs directly to see if that would be something possible. I am getting pretty much the same reponses...I am just wondering how others get a foot hole in this field. Again, thank you for your advice.
Your school should have some sort of career services department whose job it is to contact businesses and arrange internships or externships. This is good for the businesses (they get free help), good for the students(they make contacts and get experience and references), and good for the schools (they make contacts within the business community and enhance their credibility.) Talk to the Dean of Students at your school. He or she will refer you to the appropriate person. If they do not have a Career Services Department, perhaps you can help get one started.
GOOGLE the state licensing boards and see if they post a list of people who are certified in sleep technology. That may give you and idea of who hires sleep technologists and contact those firms. Google "sleep technology" and see what firms offer the service and apply there. Google sleep disorder centers.