Celebrate Sleep Tech Appreciation Week
The best time of the year for teaching sleep is Sleep Tech Appreciation Week, Oct. 4-10. My goal is to inform doctors and the community that walking around tired all the time is not normal.
The AAST has a page dedicated to Sleep Tech Appreciation Week. On it you will see how others have celebrated, activities such as a crossword and word search, a sample calendar of activities, and a list of songs about sleep and dreaming. Also, on ADVANCE you can read about more ways to celebrate and download a customizable certificate of appreciation to recognize techs.
If you want to have CEUs for your techs, you can approach manufacturers. Many have websites with CEUs you can take online. You also might want to write a CEU class. I'm writing one on CPAP titration to give to my technicians. I am also doing a case study for all of us to review on an unusual patient who ultimately was diagnosed with delayed sleep onset and sleep apnea.
In addition, I'm hosting an open house to show the new CPAP masks available to existing PAP patients. And this might be an excellent time to start a support group or newsletter for patients.
Whatever you do, make sure that you express to your technicians how much you appreciate them and the excellent care they give your patients. They're the reason for the lab's success.