1. Credentialing vs Competency: What’s the Difference?
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
Credentialing vs Competency: What’s the Difference?
Tom Smalling, MS, RRT, RPFT, RPSGT, FAARC
Stony Brook University

2. Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
Competency
Describes the work related skills and behavior needed to effectively perform to the standards expected in a sleep laboratory setting.
The sleep technologist must demonstrate the ability to apply appropriate skills and knowledge for the effective and efficient completion of a job or task in a variety of situations.
Stony Brook University

3. Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
Competency Testing
A process used to objectively measure essential knowledge, skills and abilities required of an individual.
Competency evaluations, typically conducted by the lab supervisor allow for objective assessment of performance throughout the employment process.
Stony Brook University

4. Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
Credentialing
A process where individuals are granted a credential upon successful passing of a nationally-recognized certification or registry examination.
Steps toward credentialing typically include either completion of a formal program of study from an accredited institution or on-the-job training.
Some credentialing organizations offer entry-level and advanced-level examinations.
Stony Brook University

5. Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
Credentialing
Once a candidate passes an entry-level credentialing examination, they have demonstrated the minimum level of competency required for entry into that field.
Entry-level credentials are often pre-requisites to obtaining advanced-level credentials that demonstrate advanced competencies.
Stony Brook University

6. Respiratory Tri-Partite

7. Polysomnographic Technology Tri-Partite

8. Sleep Physician/PhD Tri-Partite
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
Sleep Physician/PhD Tri-Partite
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education is a private, non-profit council that evaluates and accredits medical residency programs in the United States.
The ACGME was established in 1981 from a consensus in the academic medical community for an independent accrediting organization. Its forerunner was the Liaison Committee for Graduate Medical Education, established in 1972.
The mission of the ACGME is to improve the quality of health care in the United States by ensuring and improving the quality of graduate medical education for physicians in training.
The ACGME's member organizations are the American Board of Medical Specialties, American Hospital Assn., American Medical Assn., Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Council of Medical Specialty Societies.
Stony Brook University

9. Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
NBRC Specialty Exam
Viability Study to consider the desirability and feasibility of developing a certifying examination for RTs in the field of sleep diagnostics completed in September 2005.
The Viability Study is step 1 of a 5-step process for developing an NBRC specialty exam.
Stony Brook University

10. National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA)
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA)
Established in 1977, NOCA sets quality standards for credentialing organizations.
Develops standards and accredits organizations
Evaluates methods for assuring competency
Establishes standards, recommends policies, and defines roles for certifying organizations
Stony Brook University

11. National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA)
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA)
The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) is the accreditation body of NOCA.
Certification programs may apply and be accredited by the NCCA if they demonstrate compliance with each accreditation standard. NCCA's Standards exceed the requirements set forth by the American Psychological Association and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Stony Brook University

12. Credentialing in Sleep: The Role of ABSM and BRPT
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
Credentialing in Sleep: The Role of ABSM and BRPT
Tom Smalling, MS, RRT, RPFT, RPSGT, FAARC
Stony Brook University

13. American Board of Sleep Medicine
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
American Board of Sleep Medicine
The ABSM is an independent organization developed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining standards of individual proficiency in clinical polysomnography.
The ABSM is not affiliated with the American Board of Medical Specialties but has, as a long-term goal, the hope to establish itself as a subspecialty board of sleep medicine.
Stony Brook University

14. American Board of Sleep Medicine
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
American Board of Sleep Medicine
The Examination Committee of the Association of Sleep Disorders Center (now the American Academy of Sleep Medicine), was established in 1978 and administered the sleep medicine examination until 1990.
In 1989, the AASM voted to create an independent entity and in 1991, the American Board of Sleep Medicine (ABSM) was incorporated and assumed all the activities and responsibilities of the former Examination Committee.
Stony Brook University

15. American Board of Sleep Medicine
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
American Board of Sleep Medicine
The basic training requirement is successful completion of a total of 12 months of full-time training in sleep medicine at the level of postgraduate year (PGY) 3 or later.
Sleep medicine training must have occurred in the course of formal postgraduate educational training within an ACGME accredited program.
There are 4 acceptable training routes to qualification for the examination:
a) Accredited Sleep Medicine Fellowship
This track provides a route to qualification in which applicants must complete
12 months of full-time postgraduate
b) Accredited Alternate Track Sleep
Medicine Fellowship
c)Unaccredited Sleep Medicine Fellowship
Unaccredited Alternate Track Sleep
1300 examination fee
Stony Brook University

16. American Board of Sleep Medicine
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
American Board of Sleep Medicine
The ABSM Certification Examination is a multiple-choice examination administered in the fall of each year.
Candidates who pass the exam are referred to as a “Diplomate of the ABSM or D, ABSM”
Candidates outside the U.S. and Canada who successfully complete both parts of the examination will be issued an ABSM Certificate as a Certified International Sleep Specialist.
Currently, there are 2,993 Diplomates.
The examination tests the candidate's general body of knowledge in sleep medicine.
It covers sleep-related subjects including: physiology; neuroanatomy; biochemistry; pharmacology; endocrinology; psychophysiology; and psychopathology; as well as sleep-wake cycles and stages; pediatric sleep disorders; biologic rhythms; dreaming and behavior; maturational changes; sleep-wake disorders (including etiology, epidemiology, symptomatology, diagnostic procedures, and treatment); sleep in other medical, psychiatric, and neurologic disorders; patient-safety issues; medicolegal issues; and the skills of monitoring, record reading, and interpretation.
During the examination, candidates will be tested on the basic science of sleep; clinical disorders of sleep; and the use of clinical and PSG data. Questions will emphasize sleep-stage scoring, artifact recognition, interpretation of sleep studies, diagnosis of sleep disorders and patient management skills.
Polysomnograms, MSLTs, and other laboratory information may appear on the examination.
Stony Brook University

17. American Board of Internal Medicine
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
American Board of Internal Medicine
The ABIM along with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the American Board of Pediatrics, and the American Board of Otolaryngology, was recently authorized by the American Board of Medical Specialties to offer an Added Qualifications Examination in Sleep Medicine.
ABIM has administrative responsibility for examination development, and the participating/sponsoring boards have responsibility for setting admission criteria for their own diplomates.
Representatives from all four Boards will be developing and setting standards for the new examination. ABIM has administrative responsibility for examination development, and the participating/sponsoring boards have responsibility for setting admission criteria for their own diplomates. The examination will be open to diplomates in internal medicine, pediatrics, neurology, psychiatry, or otolaryngology.
The first examination will be administered in fall Admission requirements for ABIM candidates are being finalized, and confirmed information about the requirements will be available by the fall of 2006.
The Training Pathway for ABIM candidates will require 12 months of satisfactorily completed sleep medicine fellowship training. Sleep medicine fellowship training undertaken July 1, 2009, and thereafter must be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Sleep medicine training undertaken prior to July 1, 2009, must be conducted within a program affiliated with an ACGME-accredited internal medicine or pulmonary disease fellowship program. Please note that sleep medicine fellowship training which was credited toward the training requirements for admission to another ABIM Examination, such as the Subspecialty Examination in Pulmonary Disease, cannot be used to fulfill the training requirements for admission to the Sleep Medicine Examination through the training pathway.
A Practice Pathway will be available for the first three examinations in 2007, 2009, and ABIM candidates who have not had formal sleep medicine fellowship training will be eligible to apply through this pathway by documenting certification by the American Board of Sleep Medicine (ABSM) or by documenting the equivalent of 12 months of full-time post-training experience providing clinical care in sleep medicine accumulated over a maximum period of five years prior to application for examination.
Further information will be available on the ABIM website ( by fall 2006.
Stony Brook University

18. American Board of Internal Medicine
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
American Board of Internal Medicine
The first examination will be administered in fall 2007.
Sleep medicine fellowship training undertaken July 1, 2009, and thereafter must be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
PhDs working in sleep medicine are not eligible to take the ABIM examination and, therefore, must take the ABSM certification examination.
Stony Brook University

19. Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists
The BRPT sets the credentialing standards for the RPSGT credential and develops, maintains and administers the Registered Polysomnographic Technologist Examination for Polysomnographic Technologists (RPSGT).
The first credentialing exam administered in 1979.
Over 7,000 RPSGTs currently registered.
 The work of the exam development committee produced a three-part, two-day test that was first administered in June 1979 at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Stony Brook University

20. Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists
The BRPT is a member of the National Organization of Certification Associations and is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), the accreditation body of the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA).
Stony Brook University

21. Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
The RPSGT Credential
The Registered Polysomnographic Technologist™ (RPSGT) is an internationally recognized credential.
To become certified as a RPSGT, a technologist must have necessary clinical experience, hold CPR certification or its equivalent, adhere to the BRPT Standards of Conduct and pass the RPSGT credentialing exam.
Stony Brook University

22. RPSGT Exam Eligibility
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
RPSGT Exam Eligibility
Complete a minimum of 18 months** of paid clinical experience * where duties performed are primarily polysomnography; OR
Complete a minimum of 6 months **of paid clinical experience * where duties performed are primarily polysomnography AND provide proof of credentialing (national registry NOT state license) in a health-related field accepted by the BRPT (e.g., nursing, respiratory care, electroneurodiagnostics, or national EMT-P.)
Applicants MUST submit a copy of a
certificate or official correspondence from the credentialing agency with the application if mailed, or in the case of
online applications, forwarded to complete eligibility. OR
Successfully complete a program with special recognition in polysomnography , as accredited by the Commission on
Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). See page 38 for currently approved programs. An official
transcript documenting graduation from a qualified program must be submitted with the application if mailed, or in
the case of online applications, forwarded to complete eligibility.
AND
2. Be currently (and as of the date of the examination) certified in Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS), Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation (CPR) or its equivalent (international only). A copy of current BCLS card, or the equivalent, must be enclosed
with the application. BCLS certification submitted must still be valid at the time that the application is filed and at the time
of examination.
3. Follow the BRPT™ Standards of Conduct.
The BRPT randomly audits candidate eligibility and may request physical documentation of clinical experience. The
signatory of the experience verification section on the application is responsible for verifying any experience the candidate
may have had with a previous employer.
Stony Brook University

23. RPSGT Exam Eligibility
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
RPSGT Exam Eligibility OR
Successfully complete a program with special recognition in polysomnography, as accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). An official transcript documenting graduation from a qualified program must be submitted with the application if mailed, or in the case of online applications, forwarded to complete eligibility.
Stony Brook University

24. RPSGT Exam Eligibility
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
RPSGT Exam Eligibility
AND
Be currently (and as of the date of the examination) certified in Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS), Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) or its equivalent (international only). A copy of current BCLS card, or the equivalent, must be enclosed with the application. BCLS certification submitted must still be valid at the time that the application is filed and at the time of examination.
Follow the BRPT™ Standards of Conduct. The BRPT randomly audits candidate eligibility and may request physical documentation of clinical experience. The signatory of the experience verification section
$300
Stony Brook University

25. Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
The RPSGT Exam
In 2006, the exam will move to computer-based testing with four exam windows:
March 27 - April 8
June 26 - July 8
September 18 – 29
December
Stony Brook University

26. Revised Recertification Policy
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
Revised Recertification Policy
Candidates who pass the exam in December 2005 or after will become eligible to take the re-certification examination five years after the credential is initially issued.
Those who earn the RPSGT credential prior to June 2002 will not be required to re-certify.
Eligibility to re-certify will require documented continuing education credits.
Individuals who wish to complete recertification of the RPSGT credential will be required to document credit for 18 hours of continuing education within 36 months of application for retesting.
This will insure that the content of the exam has been updated but will allow an ample period of time to complete re-testing before expiration of the credential. If a certificant has not already successfully re-tested, the BRPT will notify them in the 7th year that their credential is nearing its expiration date. Individuals holding a time-limited credential who fail to provide documentation of CEUs and pass the re-certification examination within the specified time will lose the right to use the RPSGT credential and the assigned registry number will be retired. Those who are successful will keep the same registry number and be issued a new certificate with an extended expiration date.
This means that their credential will not be invalidated if the are unsuccessful at passing the exam. This process will provide an opportunity for continued assessment and certification of competency and provides self-assessment opportunities even for those who are not required to re-certify. Individuals who renew their perpetual credential will keep the same registry number but will receive a new certificate documenting the re-certification.
Stony Brook University

27. Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
Preparing for the Exam
Download the Candidate Handbook and Application from the website (
Consider purchasing the BRPT Study Guide and/or attending an exam review course.
Review RPSGT examination Primary References.
Consider taking practice exams (also available on the BRPT website).
The following texts are provided by the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) as suggested primary reference materials to assist applicants for the Registered Polysomnographic Technologist (RPSGT) credential in preparation for the RPSGT Examination.
Stony Brook University

28. What resources are at my disposal???
Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
What resources are at my disposal???
Specialty section in polysomnography
Accreditation and curriculum
Information on credentialing
Clinical practice guidelines/lab accreditation
Stony Brook University

29. Adult Sleep Stage Scoring Criteria
Contact Info
office
Respiratory Care Program
Stony Brook University
HSC Level 2 Room 410
Stony Brook, NY
Stony Brook University