Cleveland Family Study

17.2 PSG Training and Certification Requirements

Personnel charged with the responsibility of participant hook-ups will be required to meet performance standards that indicate an understanding of sleep physiology, polysomnology, the study goals and methods, medical alert levels and responses, equipment use and sensor placements specific for the Family Study. Only personnel who meet these standards will be “certified” (and approved) to perform sleep studies for the Family Study.

Personnel will be required to attend a central training session, or undergo local training by a centrally-certified technician.

Training will consist of:

• An overview of Sleep Physiology and Sleep Apnea
• An overview of the Study Protocol
• An overview of Polysomnology
• Detailed training on all aspects of the Family Study protocol specific for performing and processing sleep studies.

17.2.1 Certification

Demonstration of the requisite knowledge and adequacy of technical performance will be assessed with a written and practical examination (requiring a grade of >75%). After passing these examinations, personnel will be required to perform a minimum of 5 studies of acceptable quality (interpretable) on non-cohort volunteers.

Those personnel trained locally will be required to perform 5 studies under the supervision of a centrally trained technician and perform a minimum of 5 studies of acceptable quality (interpretable) on non-cohort volunteers prior to being authorized to perform a study independently. Personnel who serve as back-up technicians (for illness, scheduling conflicts, etc.) will be required to do a minimum of 4 studies/month to remain certified.

Re-certification will be required of any personnel who fall below the pre-set levels of performance standards, or who obtain <90% acceptable sleep studies in any given month evaluation period (or, for “back-up” personnel, who obtain 2 or more inadequate studies in any given month). The Director of the Reading Center, after consulting with the PI of the investigative center, will determine whether local or central (Reading Center) re-certification is indicated.