Curriculum
“The experience you'll gain in our diverse training sites will maximize your knowledge of the full range of sleep disorders,” says Alan T. Aquilina, MD.
Our curriculum will develop your professionalism, research skills, bedside manner and competence in treating the full spectrum of conditions you will encounter as a sleep medicine specialist.
You will be exposed to every facet of sleep medicine during our yearlong fellowship. We will ensure that you are prepared to successfully complete your board certification examination.
Through our curriculum, you will gain a thorough understanding of conditions including sleep related breathing disorders, insomnia, hypersomnia, parasomnias and sleep related movement disorders.
In addition to the clinical and technical training you will receive in our rotations, we provide didactic lectures and case presentations, interdisciplinary exposure, a variety of research possibilities and opportunities to develop your teaching skills.
Orientation
Our orientation module is an intense introduction to the field of sleep medicine and our training sites. During your first month of our fellowship, you will attend a wide range of lectures on topics including:
- sleep staging
- polysomnography
- sleep apnea
- narcolepsy
- pediatric sleep disorders
- therapies such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
- clinical policies and procedures of our community sleep centers
These overviews serve as the foundation for the in-depth learning you will experience in subsequent modules. Additionally, you will investigate ongoing research opportunities and meet your research mentor during orientation.
Our orientation module gives you the opportunity to observe and interact with the polysomnographic technologists who perform sleep studies. We expect you to participate in a few overnight sleep studies, which will help you learn about the process of preparing and wiring patients for polysomnograpy.
Core Lecture Series
Our lectures cover a wide range of subjects. We provide technical and clinical didactic lectures on subjects including:
- electroencephalography electrode placement and polysomnography wiring
- artifact detection
- research opportunities
- multiple sleep latency and maintenance of wakefulness tests
- restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder
- polysomnography interpretive strategies
- administrative, financial, medical and ethical issues of running a sleep center
- diagnostic and therapeutic challenges faced by practicing sleep physicians
Throughout your time in our fellowship, we will rely on you to assist with coordinating core lectures and some conferences. You will present at many of these conferences and help arrange for guest speakers. Additionally, we expect you to attend our journal club and citywide grand rounds.
Our core lectures are introduced during orientation and occur monthly thereafter.
Leadership and Teaching Opportunities
Leadership opportunities are built into our curriculum. Our fellowship enables you to develop the skills you need to lead and educate others. Throughout your time in our program, we will entrust you with various supervisory roles.
You will be responsible for leading didactic sessions for the residents and medical students rotating on the sleep service. You will arrange and help moderate the case presentation sessions and grand rounds. We will rely on you to give topical reviews to the sleep technicians at staff meetings. You will also participate in community education by providing expertise at CPAP support group sessions.
