PubMed Health⌕ Search
Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 11868148

What is a necessary knowledge base for sleep professionals?

S M Harding·J W Hawkins
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

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 published 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.

Explore related subjects

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansOccupationsSleepEditorialReview

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

S M Harding, J W Hawkins. 2001. What is a necessary knowledge base for sleep professionals?. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-001-0101-x

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed2006

Quality of life in age-related macular degeneration: a review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: The Age-related Macular Degeneration Alliance International commissioned a review of the literature on quality of life (QoL) in macular degeneration (MD) with a view to increasing awareness of MD, reducing its impact and improving services for people with MD worldwide. METHOD: A systematic review was conducted using electronic databases, conference proceedings and key journal hand search checks. The resulting 'White Paper' was posted on the AMD Alliance website and is reproduced here. REVIEW: MD is a chronic, largely untreatable eye condition which leads to loss of central vision needed for tasks such as reading, watching TV, driving, recognising faces. It is the most common cause of blindness in the Western world. Shock of diagnosis, coupled with lack of information and support are a common experience. Incidence of depression is twice that found in the community-dwelling elderly, fuelled by functional decline and loss of leisure activities. Some people feel suicidal. MD threatens independence, especially when comorbidity exacerbates functional limitations. Rehabilitation, including low vision aid (LVA) provision and training, peer support and education, can improve functional and psychological outcomes but many people do not receive services likely to benefit them. Medical treatments, suitable for only a small minority of people with MD, can improve vision but most limit progress of MD, at least for a time, rather than cure. The White Paper considers difficulties associated with inappropriate use of health status measures and misinterpretation of utility values as QoL measures: evidence suggests they have poor validity in MD. CONCLUSION: There is considerable evidence for the major damage done to QoL by MD which is underestimated by health status and utility measures. Medical treatments are limited to a small proportion of people. However, much can be done to improve QoL by early diagnosis of MD with good communication of prognosis and continuing support. Support could include provision of LVAs, peer support, education and effective help in adjusting to MD. It is vital that appropriate measures of visual function and QoL be used in building a sound evidence base for the effectiveness of rehabilitation and treatment.

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice↗