In Sleep Academy, Dr. Brian Bohner, Dr. Alan Schwartz and several sleep educators present a practical “soup to nuts” curriculum with an in-depth overview of the essential topics needed to practice sleep medicine. This curriculum includes several interactive cases in the final section of each of the topics, with these management sessions representing the common challenges you will be facing every week in a sleep medicine clinic. The curriculum is presented at a level for the advanced practitioner or physician, either new to the field or seasoned and looking for a fresh overview.  The course has also been utilized by sleep technicians in preparation for the CCSH examination, with feedback suggesting that this course prepared them for every question.  

Session 1: Understanding Normal Sleep

• Understand the fundamentals of normal sleep
• Develop an approach to the new sleep patient
• Apply lessons learned from understanding normal fundamentals and history taking, to managing patients

Session 2: Sleep Studies

• Understand the types of sleep studies, as well as the physiological parameters that are measured.
• Understand how the objective measurements of a study will help the management of a specific patient
• Understand how to manage the patient by choosing the correct study and presenting the results in a way that the patient will understand

Session 3: Overview of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

• Understand the pathophysiology and comorbidities of obstructive sleep apnea
• Understand the importance of properly educating the patient on obstructive sleep apnea including the importance of therapy
• Learn how to manage the patient with suspected or documented obstructive sleep apnea in a practical and cost-effective manner

Session 4: Therapy Options for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

• Understand the available treatments for obstructive sleep apnea
• Learn how to review the treatment options with the patient in the way that they can make the best choice in terms of a successful therapy
• Understand an approach to managing patient’s on positive airway pressure therapy as well as other treatment modalities for obstructive apnea

Session 5: Central Sleep Apnea

Session 6: Overview of an Approach to Insomnia

• Understand the causes of insomnia in terms of both initiating and maintaining sleep.
• Understand a pharmacologic as well as a behavioral approach to treating insomnia
• Learn how to develop an insomnia treatment plan and how to follow up on this plan

Session 7: Hypersomnia - Causes & Therapies

Session 8: Movement Disorders & Parasomnias

• Understand the spectrum of limb movement disorders as of the well as other movement disorders that can cause sleep disruption
• Learn the appropriate workup and treatment for patients with symptoms suggestive of limb movement disorders or other nocturnal movement disorders
• Developed a management program for initiating therapy and providing follow-up for patients with limb movement disorders, particularly those with RLS augmentation, and REM behavior disorder

Session 9: Common Circadian Wake/Sleep Disorders

• Appreciate an overview of disorders that could be caused by disruption in circadian rhythm
• Understand appropriate therapies for circadian conditions , particularly shift work sleep disorder, as well as delayed sleep phase syndrome
• Understand how to develop a treatment plan for patients with sleep disorders attributed to disruption in circadian rhythm

Session 10: Sleep Pharmacology

• Understand a general overview in terms of classes of medications that affect wake and sleep
• Learn how to make the best choice in terms of pharmacologic agents, as well as identifying those that may be primary cause of patient’s sleep disorder
• Understand how to properly initiate, educate, and follow-up patients on medical therapy for their sleep disorder

AANP recognizes both AMA Category 1 and AAPA Category 1 credits towards nurse practitioner CE requirements.

Drs. Bohner & Schwartz have no actual or potential conflicts of interest or financial disclosures to report in relation to this program.