Polysomnographic Technologist

Salary

The salary range for this position is CAD $40.19 - $50.20 / hour

Job Summary

Come work with us!

We invite you to apply today and find out why employees recommend Fraser Health to their friends as an exceptional place to work. We are committed to planetary health; we value diversity in the work force and seek to maintain an environment of Respect, Caring and Trust. Fraser Health’s hiring practices aspire to ensure all individuals are treated in an inclusive, equitable, and culturally safe manner.

Joining our team offers you opportunities to work in a rapidly growing organization with health professionals who are excellent in their respective fields, career growth and advancement, a competitive compensation package (including earning four weeks of vacation in your first year, comprehensive health benefits, and pension plan), and the rewarding opportunity to make a difference every single day in health care.

Detailed Overview

The Polysomnographic Technologist is responsible for performing polysomnograms for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep/arousal disorders. Duties include receiving requisitions and preparing patients for specific studies, the collective process of monitoring, recording, and scoring physiologic data during sleep, entering relevant data into a computerized database, conducting various tests involving non-invasive techniques including electroencephalography, electrooculography, electromyography, electrocardiography, multiple sleep latency and respiratory tracings, monitoring patient during procedures, recording measurements, formulating technical reports for interpretation by medical staff in clinical diagnosis, and monitoring equipment performance.

Responsibilities

Receives and prepares patients for polysomnographic studies by performing duties such as receiving requisitions from physicians, reviewing case history and assessing the nature of the problem to determine process and direct study accordingly. Prepares patients for studies by receiving and interviewing patient or family, explaining procedures, connecting patient to a variety of monitor devices, and monitoring patient's comfort to ensure patient is at ease while obtaining required results.

Conducts various polysomnographic related tests involving non-invasive techniques such as electroencephalography, electrooculography, electromyography, electrocardiography, multiple sleep latency and respiratory tracings on patients by performing duties such as operating a variety of monitoring devices required for sleep studies, calibrating and adjusting the equipment during test processes, taking appropriate measurements from test data produced in order to demonstrate whether abnormalities exist, and ensuring that the data generated is processed to provide computerized written and graphic reports.

Keeps close surveillance on patient during the polysomnographic study for crises intervention by methods such as observing and responding in the event of cardiac arrest or other emergent situations by methods such as initiating cardiopulmonary resuscitation and informing designated staff of emergency situation in accordance with established policies and procedures.

Formulates preliminary polysomnographic study reports to facilitate the identification of dysfunction in sleep/wake cycles, the diagnosis of breathing disorders during sleep, and the evaluation of treatment of these disorders by performing duties such as analyzing recordings according to accreditation standards, measuring numerical data, describing abnormal manifestations and other observations, and forwarding calculation/reports to physician for use in clinical diagnosis.

Maintains, monitors and tests the integrity of the laboratory equipment in accordance with recommended manufacturer's guidelines to ensure safe and effective functioning through methods such as calibrating and cleaning equipment, running diagnostic applications and recording results as well as identifying malfunctioning equipment for repair. Notifies Manager of identified repairs/issues for determination of appropriate action.

Participates in quality control program by performing duties such as identifying and trouble-shooting problems and independently resolving technical difficulties in order to ensure quality service standards.

Maintains a variety of records including patient files through methods such as gathering information, entering data into computerized databases and/or recording information into approved formats, coding and manipulating databases to generate reports, compiling statistics including analyzing trends and accounting for variances, and summarizing information into written reports as requested.

Guides clinical experience of assigned new staff and students by monitoring progress, ensuring policies and procedures are respected; provides input to the manager as requested on individual's progress in achieving established clinical practice guidelines and standards of practice. Demonstrates technical procedures, usage of equipment, and interpretation of tests to staff including medical residents and students.

Participates in team activities required to ensure an efficient and effective delivery of service through methods such as attending departmental in-service programs and meetings including goal setting and planning and new initiatives, reviewing current literature, consulting with other health care professionals, promoting quality management principles for team operations, and making recommendations regarding modifications and development of procedures, operating standards and polysomnographic resource materials.

Identifies and reports unsafe practice/professional conduct in accordance with professional standards and the organization's policies.

Participates on designated program and professional committees/teams through methods such as attending meetings, drafting/revising client care documentation/methods/forms for review by committee/team and providing written/verbal input