Sleep Fellowship

[nycdoc22]

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Does any one have any thoughts about neurologists going into sleep medicine.

Any thoughts on job outlook / competition, lifestyle, $$$, satisfaction.

Thnx

 

[architbhatt]

Sleep is a good option if you want a cool lifestyle. Can make upto 200-250k if you also do neuro outpt.Competetion high as it is a primary pulmonary subspeciality.Advantage: 1 year fellowship-decent comp, CONS: high comp,no (minimal)compensation(to read them) in medicaid patients

 

[nycdoc22]

Thanks for your input.

 

[kws888]

Does any one have any thoughts about neurologists going into sleep medicine.

Any thoughts on job outlook / competition, lifestyle, $$$, satisfaction.

Thnx

good thought. neurologist with sleep training is highly compensated.

kws

 

[kws888]

good thought. neurologist with sleep training is highly compensated.

kws

in the next five years, neurologist still can take sleep board exam even without sleep fellowship

kws

 

[kws888]

if you can , do a sleep fellowship or neurophysiology training.

kws

 

[nycdoc22]

good thought. neurologist with sleep training is highly compensated.

kws

Not exactly. You must have a 1 year fellowship to be boarded. For the next five years, your fellowship need not be ACGME approved. [ie you can do a non approved fellowship].

To be board certified, you must do a fellowship. This applies to pulmonology as well as neurology. Gone are the days you could do 2 months of sleep during a clinical neurophysiololgy fellowship and get boarded in sleep. Some people can still be grandfathered in, but that doesn't apply to most of us on these forums.

This is actually a tricky area right now....the ABPN [the board that certifies neurology, psych, vasc neuro, clinical neurophysiology] will start certifying sleep medicine starting 2007. Therefore a lot of rules are going to change in the next year.

 

[kws888]

there will be 3 more exams (2007,2009, and 2011), board certified neurologist can sit for sleep board exam if they can attest one year clinical experience in sleep medicine. sleep fellowship is not requied. but after 2011, a fellowship will be necessry. I read this from chest journal. I hope it is true.

KWS

 

[nycdoc22]

board certified neurologist can sit for sleep board exam if they can attest one year clinical experience in sleep medicine. sleep fellowship is not requied.
KWS

1. clincal 'experience' is not enough

2. You must attest to 1 year of sleep medicine training. I've directly spoken to the AASM, and it is NOT as simple as having a sleep attending [sleep boarded or not] writing a letter stating that you've trained for one year and done X number of PSG and Y number of MSLTs.

3. If you are a neurologist; you will be certified by the ABPN starting 2007. They have not set the necessary criteria to be eligible for the sleep boards that the ABPN will start admistering. [And, yes, i've also directly spoken to the ABPN about this.] They will establish criteria for certification in "fall" 2006.

4. Both the AASM and ABPN have hinted that it will be a little harder to get certfied than in the past. If you have the option, your best bet would be to do a 1 year fellowship...hopefully it will be time well spent.