How can I improve ASET’s educational opportunities for you?

I really need to know what you like about ASET’s educational resources, and what you would like us to change.  What can we add to make education more pertinent to you?  How can we make our educational resources more accessible?   At the Mid-year ASET Board of Trustees meeting, a very astute facilitator spoke of association members as “owners”, just as stock holders “own” a company.  So, in that role, what instructions would you give to me to improve our “products”?  I will listen to your opinions and requests and try to incorporate as much as possible into future ASET educational initiatives. 

ASET Education encompasses many areas of interest and methods of delivery:

•         ASET Annual Conference – Special Lectures, Courses, Abstracts
•         Spring and Fall Seminar Courses
•         On-Line Courses
•         Webinars
•         Publications
•         Support of Formal Education Programs
•         Connections with other associations: ACNS, AES, CoA-NDT, and many others

We have just posted a member satisfaction survey on the ASET home page.  Please take a few moments and fill out the survey.  I had the opportunity to compose questions related to education and it will really mean a great deal to me, if you can tell me more about what you want from ASET.  You make a difference in your patients’ lives and I want to make a difference in yours!

Here is the link to the survey: www.aset.org/membersurvey

Thanks in advance for taking the time to provide us with feedback!

 Fantastic Neuro-Voyage Mission Clue # 2:
The Fantastic Neuro-Voyage team is having trouble navigating against the flow of blood as they are nearing the heart.  Flow from the heart is too strong for the nuclear engines to overcome.  They have sent a message to the support team of scientists and physicians about what can be done to overcome the powerful force of the blood flow against the small size of their vessel.

                 

Incredible Imagery of the Brain

 

No, it is not a Mohawk hair-do!  It is the latest imagery that helps us understand brain structure and function!  This NPR article shows the connecting pathways within the brain.  Just look at the corpus callosum!  How did they do that?  It is so exciting to be in a field related to neurology.  I have never tired of looking at EEGs, thinking about how fascinating it is to view brain function on a daily basis. And in the 21^st Century, we have rapid technological advances, which will improve the way in which we can capture images of the brain at work.  To view or listen to the full NPR piece, follow this link for the article “Your Brain is Like Manhattan.”

 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/03/29/149629657/how-your-brain-is-like-manhattan?ps=sh_stcathdl

At the ASET 2012 Annual Conference in St. Paul, we will feature educational events on another high-tech brain imagery process:  MEG, or Magnetoencephalography.  In addition to scientific platform presentation about the use of MEG to evaluate post-resection seizures, there will be a Sundown Seminar on MEG utilization and technology.  There are over 40 MEG machines in the United States now, and it is a growing and valid diagnostic tool.  If you work in a comprehensive epilepsy center, chances are that sometime in the future, a MEG will be coming to your institution.  EEG technologists who want to work in an advanced role and do something new and challenging should attend this workshop and find out more about it.  Electrodes must be applied for these studies, so who better than neurodiagnostic technologists to work in MEG departments!

You have a chance! Apply now for a Scholarship for the ASET 2012 Annual Conference

We have a May 1^st deadline for scholarship applications so take action now!  Most people don’t think they have a chance of winning a scholarship, so they just don’t apply for one.  But, members of ASET have a very good chance of getting a scholarship to attend the ASET Annual Conference in St. Paul, MN, Aug 2-4 this year.

ASET offers up to four scholarships to cover the cost of the full conference registration fee.  In addition we have company sponsored scholarships that vary in value, from covering the registration fee, to one that includes a cash stipend to cover travel expenses.  There are six companies sponsoring scholarships, and one of them offers two, so that is seven.  That makes a grand total of 11 scholarships!  It is also important to note that the application process is very simple and does not require a financial statement.  Every ASET member may be considered, from students, to entry level technologists to lab managers.  If funding for travel has been cut from your budget, this is a way to stay connected with your colleagues, and the Society, and experience the best education in neurodiagnostics, that inspire you, and improve your work life.

I encourage all ASET members to apply for a scholarship now!  You will find a link right on the home page of the ASET website, that will get you to the applications and instructions.  Please take a look at the 2012 Annual Conference Program on our website, and see how great this meeting is going to be!  Don’t miss out on this opportunity to attend!

Farewell to a friend: Dr. Niedermeyer’s Passing

When I posted a blog entry about Dr. Niedermeyer’s birthday, back in January, I knew that I would soon be following up with an “in-memoriam” piece.  When we visited him in December, he said to me:  “I won’t be here much longer”.  He was very matter-of-fact and seemed comfortable with his short future.  He told me he was grateful to reach the age of 92 and have such an active and wonderful life.   We will miss him very much!  I would like to thank Brian Markley and Sabrina Galloway for attending his funeral service on April 5^th, to represent those of us at ASET who could not get away to attend.  I will be making a donation to the ASET Foundation in his name, since he supported technologists so avidly and always aspired to making sure that technologists were educated about all aspects of neurophysiology.  He learned to run early EEG instruments as well as a technologist, so he really appreciated what it took to be a good technologist!  I encourage you to remember Dr. Niedermeyer with a contribution to the ASET Foundation also!  The funds go toward scholarships and other educational resources for technologists.

To read more about his fascinating life: here is a link to Dr. Neidermeyer’s obituary in the Baltimore Sun:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bs-md-ob-ernst-niedermeyer-20120411,0,4357703.story

At the 2012 ASET Annual Conference in St. Paul I will be presenting the abstract:  The Life and Contributions of Dr. Ernst Neidermeyer first presented at the OSET meeting in Germany in May of 2011.

Educational Resources for EEG Monitoring in the ICU

Continuous EEG monitoring in the ICU is becoming the standard of care for treating patients with critical neurological injuries.  The demand for this service is on the rise.  As we strive to expand our services in this arena, we find that there just are not enough resources available.  The problem is not just limited to equipment, but to the human element.  Who is watching all these continuous EEGs in critically ill patients?  How quickly are significant patterns recognized and how fast is treatment initiated when EEG findings indicate a need for intervention?  We all agree that there are not enough skilled neurodiagnostic technologists to cover all cases 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in all institutions. 

The ICU nurses are interacting with us, our recording equipment and the neuro-intensivists as they deliver care to their patients.  There is a distinct advantage to working with our nurses to help provide high quality, effective neuro monitoring in the ICU.  If a nurse can identify a lead that needs maintenance, or know when to ask for urgent review of an EEG file, an added benefit will be that perhaps we will not have to return to the ICU in the middle of the night to fix a lead or troubleshoot equipment!  The patient outcome will improve also!

Last year, ASET had a booth in the Exhibit Hall of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses Annual Conference.  We received a lot of interest and the most common comment we heard was:  “I need some help learning what to do with the bedside EEG”.  So, we have been working on two specific educational resources to help ICU nurses and also technologists who are just getting started with this type of monitoring.

Next month, we plan to publish a bedside EEG manual that will have EEG samples from ICU cases in an atlas-like format, and include technical information about electrodes, placement, basic equipment, and trending software.  It will be spiral bound so that specific pages can be kept open right at the patient’s bedside.   The book is titled:  “EEG Pattern Recognition for the Bedside Caregiver: Continuous EEG in Adult Patients”.  A group of technologists, headed by Lucy Sullivan, the ASET Publications Director, worked very hard to compile this book.  I think it will be a great resource!  There will be an announcement on the home page of our website when this publication is ready to order.

We also have scheduled an extended webinar for May 10^th and 11^th, on the topic of
“ICU Continuous EEG Monitoring: An Introduction for LTM Technologists & ICU Nurses”.  We have booked nationally recognized experts in ICU monitoring to participate as faculty.To view the entire webinar schedule, please click here.

Please let your ICU nursing team know about this wonderful opportunity!  This webinar will be recorded and can be purchased for future use, for those who cannot participate in the live event.

Neurodiagnostic Job Description for the Bureau of Labor and Statistics

ASET has been working with the Bureau of Labor and Statistics for several years now, to update information for their job description for our profession. The BLS maintains a website where users can research all of the major job categories in the USA, and the website is called O*NET.  They schedule the major updates for each profession on their list once every ten years.  Our profession was updated in their O*NET database in 2010.  The update included a change from the job title “Electroneurodiagnostic Technologist” to “Neurodiagnostic Technologist”.  The BLS gathers data for the job descriptions and ensures accuracy of information by sending out surveys to “subject matter experts” who are people working directly in a branch of the profession, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in the field.  I provided the BLS with a list of ASET members, representing all of the neurodiagnostic credentials two years ago, when our update process began.  This year, O*NET contacted me, to request a new list of ASET members, because they are sending out a follow-up survey, to assess the need for adjustments in the information they have published about our profession.  I provided about 120 names with contact numbers to the BLS, and the BLS then sends out a notice to them to explain the purpose of their program.  Last week, I heard from my O*NET liaison that surveys will be mailed very soon, to some of the technologists on this list.  So, if you get something from them, please take the time to fill out the survey and return it to them.  This information is very important, and provides key information to users visiting the website, in an effort to research possible job opportunities.  Since we desperately need more technologists nation-wide, we need to make it clear that this is an attractive career option.

Did you know that O*NET has a special designation for jobs that are predicted to have greater than average growth in the future?  It is called “Bright Outlook” and Neurodiagnostic Technologist has been selected for this category.  That means that when users browse through the O*NET website, they will see a special icon (a sun) that indicates that we have job growth potential.

If you would like to view our job listing, please try this link:

  http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2099.01

Or go to www.onetonline and select “Bright Outlook” and “New and Emerging Jobs” and scroll down to “Neurodiagnostic Technologist”.