European guidelines for the certification of professionals in sleep medicine: report of the task force of the European Sleep Research Society

Abstract

In recent years, sleep medicine has evolved into a full-grown discipline, featuring a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and treatment of patients with sleep disorders. Sleep medicine cuts across the boundaries of different conventional disciplines and is therefore open to medical and non-medical professionals with different specialty backgrounds. The aim of the current paper is to introduce a qualification for those professionals whose main occupation is to practice sleep medicine in the setting of a sleep medicine centre. The drafting of guidelines dealing with requirements for such qualification was entrusted to a task force by the European Sleep Research Society. The guidelines are the result of a progressive consensus procedure in which standards were defined for education, training, and evaluation. The final step along this pathway is a theoretical and practical examination, providing proof of proficiency in the field of sleep medicine. This paper describes the object of specific competences, the scope of sleep medicine, and the qualification procedures that pertain to three professional categories: medical specialists, non-medical professionals with a university master degree (such as psychologists and biologists), and nurses and technologists. Indices of preceding practical experience and theoretical knowledge are presented in Appendices 1 and 2. These guidelines are a European standard. They may be adapted in the future according to new scientific insights. National certification programs that comply with these guidelines may be subject to homologation by the ESRS.doi: 10.1111/j. 1365-2869.2008.00721.x European guidelines for the certification of professionals in sleep medicine: report of the task force of the European Sleep Research Society SUMMARY In recent years, sleep medicine has evolved into a full-grown discipline, featuring a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and treatment of patients with sleep disorders. Sleep medicine cuts across the boundaries of different conventional disciplines and is therefore open to medical and non-medical professionals with different specialty backgrounds. The aim of the current paper is to introduce a qualification for those professionals whose main occupation is to practice sleep medicine in the setting of a sleep medicine centre. The drafting of guidelines dealing with requirements for such qualification was entrusted to a task force by the European Sleep Research Society. The guidelines are the result of a progressive consensus procedure in which standards were defined for education, training, and evaluation. The final step along this pathway is a theoretical and practical examination, providing proof of proficiency in the field of sleep medicine. This paper describes the object of specific competences, the scope of sleep medicine, and the qualification procedures that pertain to three professional categories: medical specialists, non-medical professionals with a university master degree (such as psychologists and biologists), and nurses and ...

Sleep medicine in Saudi Arabia: Current problems and future challenges

“…In 2005, sleep medicine was approved as an independent specialty in the USA and Germany. [10] In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the first certification exam for sleep medicine as an independent specialty was approved by King Saud University in 2009.…”

An open letter to the sleep and circadian rhythms community: Presidents’ viewpoints of the World Sleep Federation (WSF)

“…In association with certification, coordinated and unified educational training initiatives also have to be taken, including publication of guidelines [as already published in the Journal of Sleep Research (Fischer et al, 2012;Pevernagie et al, 2006Pevernagie et al, , 2009] and textbooks in sleep medicine. In this respect, the ESRS believes that the future of sleep research and sleep medicine in Europe necessitates the creation and development of academic multi-disciplinary sleep centres across Europe .…”

Diagnostik in der Schlafmedizin

“…Dies ist aber nicht zwingend erforderlich, denn die Kompetenz ist nicht an die apparative Ausstattung gebunden. Entscheidend für die schlafmedizinische Versorgung der Ebene 4 ist die über die normale ärzt-liche Ausbildung hinausgehende zertifizierte schlafmedizinische Kompetenz [4,21]. Ein Schlafmediziner/eine Schlafmedizinerin der Versorgungsebene 4 kennt alle schlafmedizinischen Diagnosen nach der internationalen Klassifikation der Schlafstörungen ICSD [1] und kann diese auch diagnostizieren und behandeln.…”

“…B. Somnologe/Somnologin und/oder Schlafmediziner(in) [4,5,21], strukturelle Qualifikationen, z. B. Schlaflaborakkreditierung [17,20], und eine Qualitätssicherung der Prozesse [7,12] umfassen.…”