Job Task Analysis
I had the privilege to be part of the job task analysis task force for the BRPT. It allows us to look at the field and what is being performed and create a test that covers the actual skills and knowledge used daily. It also allows us to update the blueprint to make it easier to study and prepare.
We met two times. The first meeting had a group of experts in the field with different levels of experience, from newly credentialed to people with decades of experience. We discussed what is being done in the field currently. Some of the topics were easy to discuss -- such as PAP titration --and some were more contentious -- such as home sleep testing. There were discussions about items that had been dropped from the test and why they needed to be added back. Some of the discussions were quite heated. Some of the topics were covered by teams within the group. What ultimately came from that meeting was a survey that was sent to all RPSGTs. This gave everyone a chance to share input into the test. It also allowed us to find out what was truly being done in the labs.
The survey is usually done every three to five years. The BRPT decided that three years was needed due to the drastic changes in job responsibilities of individual technologists. The results of the survey were reviewed during the second meeting. There were some surprising results, such as many of the technologists are already performing education. There was an increase in the number of people doing pediatric patients. The number of people performing home sleep testing was quite low.
We then discussed how to structure the blueprint. Creating a blueprint that can be used not just for writing questions with little to no overlap was not the only thought; we also considered it as a way to study for the exam. It needed to be clear with specific topics. This was a little more difficult because we took a totally different approach than the previous blueprint. When it becomes available it will be much easier to study and to create curriculum as we grow this field. We also took into account some of the growth that may occur so that a new JTA should not have to occur for five more years.
Ultimately this will be used to write the RPSGT and the CPSGT. In my next blog (Jan. 24) I will discuss the CPSGT and the advanced credential possibilities.