With over 80 known sleep disorders, advanced nurses studying the critical issue of sleep need to be adequately prepared.
Until recently, there was no sufficient educational program that could provide post-graduate nurses with the groundwork necessary to apply theoretical concepts of sleep medicine for implementation in practice and research.
Penn Nursing responded to this critical need by launching the first post-master's program dedicated to studying sleep. The program is available to any qualified nurse in the country, and the first enrollment group will begin pursuing the certificate this fall.
According to Nursing professor Ann Rogers - who will be co-teaching the program along with fellow Nursing professors Kathy Richards and Norma Cuellar - the curriculum consists of three courses, two of which will be taken online.
The first course explores the basics of sleep, while the second course focuses on differentiating sleep disorders for diagnosis and treatment, she said.
In the third course, participants will spend two weeks of their summer shadowing practitioners at Penn. The nurses will focus specifically on treating patients for insomnia using cognitive behavioral therapy, said Rogers. The rest of the clinical practice will be done with a collaborating practitioner in each participant's home setting.
Nursing professor and program-developer Terri Weaver said that the flexibility of the online structure of the program caters to those many nurses unable to leave their jobs and come to Penn for study.
Coursework can be completed for Penn credit and also fulfills a "continuing education unit," which many institutions require to maintain license for practice, said Rogers.
"We are hoping that students will find [the program] very beneficial," said Weaver, adding that she thinks the experience will "enhance clinical practice."
As for the future, Weaver said she also hopes to create an undergraduate form of the program.
"As the field [of sleep study] grows, it is very, very important for nurses to provide care for patients, and clinics to have a good educational background" in sleep, said Richards.
