The Neurodiagnostic Niche
Encouraging a community in the world of Neurodiagnostics
Spring is a Tough Act to Follow
“Seasons change and so do we.” – unknown
Are you feeling a little off? There is likely a reason.
Think of the seasons…if the earth skipped any of them what might the next one look like? Particularly if Spring was missed – a whole season of growth would be altered.
Value the season you’re in…recognize, reflect…ask questions…appreciate the opportunities each new one brings.
Just like with our planet, the seasons keep evolving…so will we.
If you have gotten off track on your goals…reset and start again.
Re-read an earlier post or two:
Outcomes…Not Obstacles
Follow inspiring sites on your social media feeds:
Pick back up right where you left off…
You.Got.This.
Let’s Stay Curious and Grow What We Know
Summer Scholar Package
“I’ve a grand memory for forgetting.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
There’s no such thing as a good memory or a bad memory; there is only a trained memory and an untrained memory.
Memory is arguably the most important part of the learning process. There is no knowledge without memory.
But why do most people have less than ideal memory skills?
Perhaps it’s because of the way we were taught to memorize things….through rote memorization. Memorizing through the act of repetition.
To this day, many schools teach students to memorize by repeating a fact until it is temporarily burned in, even though people tend to forget this information as soon as they no longer need it.
Some of the alternatives and one might argue a more meaningful way of learning is through associative or active learning…
Experiencing and understanding rather than just memorizing facts.
Once that level of understanding is reached repetition is helpful for reinforcing.
As you prepare for your boards if you need help with the understanding piece please take a moment to check out the Summer Scholar package being offered on the website.
I would be happy to help.
Just click here to visit the Marketplace today.
Let’s Stay Curious and Grow What We Know
MARKETPLACE Launch
“Your life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by change.” -Mel Robbins
I wrote something similar a few weeks back about the number of Registered Technologists…at the time of this writing there are only 7504 of us in the world. That’s 7504 technologists since the exam was first started in 1963.
Just for comparative purposes the examination for sleep technologists (RPSGT) was first administered in 1979 and there are currently over 22,000 registered sleep technologists in the world.
Hands down the best way for a technician to increase their income is to become registered in their field of testing.
The overall average pass rate for the last 2 years is around 82%…so your chances of passing the test is very good.
I started my business in 2007 and the more I worked with students the more I realized there was a need for more information to be available…
for more Affordable…Training…Resources…
After starting this blog in the Fall of 2019, I am excited to launch the on-line Marketplace.
Have you been following my complimentary weekly Study Guide? If you are looking for an Easier Way to research the answers check out the Answer Key option on the website. Notecards are a quick and comprehensive way to prepare for your boards…Get started with the Waveform package.
While you’re on the website be sure to take advantage of the Summer Scholar Package that is currently available for a limited time.
Just Click Here to visit the MARKETPLACE – and check back often for new updates!
Let’s Stay Curious and Grow What We Know
Study Guide Update
Finding Answers to Your Questions…
Have you been following the weekly Complimentary Study Guide?
Want an Easier Way to get the Answers to 5 weeks worth of Questions?
Week’s 1-5 Answer Key is Now Available for purchase!
Just Click Here to access the Study Guide section on the website.
Just Keep Swimming
Life is like riding a bicycle. If you want to keep your balance, you must keep moving. – Albert Einstein
Graduation season is always a favorite of mine:
The New Chapter…The Launch…The Opportunities
This might sound weird but I actually enjoy listening to graduation commencement speeches : )
Click here for a short, inspiring clip from one of my favorites.
Why is that?
We all need motivation…we all need reminders to keep pressing on.
In times like these it’s easy to get stuck. To pause the momentum….to stall.
Don’t though…Just keep swimming.
- Look to Your Mentors (Review the older post by clicking here)
- Keep current on the Weekly Study Guide
- Review and Bookmark the ABRET Handbook to be sure you are on target for studying through the Exam Outline.
- Read back through earlier posts for resources you may have missed.
- and enter your Email Address below to not miss a post.
Let’s Stay Curious and Grow What We Know
Outcomes…not Obstacles
Keep your face to the sun and you can’t see shadows. – Helen Keller
It’s easy to lose our focus during times like these. The uncertainty of change can often stop us in our tracks and derail our plans.
Our focus is what drives our outcome.
Put that vision of yourself front and center in your mind – it’s yours and yours alone.
It simply starts and ends with you.
Having trouble getting started?
Write down your goals.
Seeing them in front of you will help you stay accountable – it’s when we lose our focus that we lose our drive…this applies to just about everything.
If one of your goals is to get registered this year, I can help you:
- Follow my Complimentary Weekly Study Guide:
Research the terms/Review the Material/Repeat Daily
- Need a coach to support and motivate you? Enter your email at the bottom of this page to subscribe to receive new blog posts in your inbox. Also, click here to go back and review posts that you may have missed.
- Need additional learning support? Join a small group lesson for course work, questions and training. Students also receive guidance for clinical experience, suggestions and recommendations in the field.
For more information about how small group or private Zoom lessons work, just email: RTompkins@TompkinsAssociates.com
Let’s Stay Curious and Grow What We Know
Start Small…Go Big!
“Go the extra mile, it’s never crowded.” Mel Robbins
Last week’s post shared some fun facts about the history of Neurodiagnostics and one fact that I was hoping to highlight here is the one about registered EEG technologists.
At the time of this writing there are only 7501 of us in the world. That’s 7501 technologists since the exam was first started in 1963. For such a widely administered medical procedure, why in almost 60 years are there so few?
Just for comparative purposes the examination for sleep technologists (RPSGT) was first administered in 1979 and there are currently over 22,000 registered sleep technologists in the world.
Like anything in life, there are multiple factors that go into these statistics but the one that I am aiming to highlight here is the personal growth factor.
Hands down the best way for a technician to increase their income is to become registered in their field of testing.
ASET has created multiple pathways that allow for a variety of ways for a technician to sit for the examination. Once they take the exam the percentage rate for passing is pretty good!
The overall average pass rate for the last 2 years is around 82%…so your chances of passing the test is very good.
Click here for the 2018 pass rate statistics
Click here for the 2019 pass rate statistics
Because there are not a large number of technicians taking the test the individual pathway statistics can vary significantly from year to year but one observation of the statistics shows that there is not really a significant difference to the pass rate for those in formal END programs compared to those with an Associates degree but not in a formal program (Pathway III).
Wherever you are in your process….look for an avenue to take the exam.
Looking for a place to start?
Try looking through some earlier posts:
Your Year to Getting Registered
Don’t Let Setbacks Set You Back
It doesn’t matter where you start – Just.Start.
Don’t keep waiting – The best time is now.
Let’s Stay Curious and Grow What We Know.
That’s a wrap…
“We are not makers of history, we are made by history.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Just some quick fun facts as we wrap up Neurodiagnostics Week:
- 1924 – Calvin Coolidge was elected President, Jimmy Carter was born, the first Macy’s Day Parade was held…and Hans Berger, a German Psychiatrist inserted silver wires under his subject’s scalp (mostly used his children) and invented the EEG recording. He called it an Elektrenkephalogramm and first described the alpha rhythm showing how it suppresses when we open our eyes.
- 1934 – It’s real breakthrough into the clinical world when 2 patients with Absence seizures were studied at Harvard and because their seizures didn’t introduce movement artifact in the recording a clear 3Hz Spike and Wave complex was seen.
- 1937 – the first hospital based EEG lab was started with a 2 channel EEG machine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
- 1963 – the first EEG registration exam is administered for technicians. There are currently 7501 technologists in the world at the time of this writing that have passed the test. (Lol…my number is 2474 : )
- Although EEG is the most common test in Neurodiagnostics, the field also includes inter-operative monitoring, long-term monitoring, polysomograms, evoked potentials, and nerve conduction studies.
Pretty amazing how this test has evolved and how we can now conduct them in the comfort of patient’s own homes. Remembering how far we have come is inspiring for what is ahead.
Let’s Stay Curious and Grow What We Know
Need a break from the mundane? Make today great!
We are living through a moment that will be written about in the history books….you will tell your grandkids about the time the world shut down. Movies will retell the story for generations to come.
So, while we may be staying in place right now, we are going to come out on the other side…..what will that look like for you?
Stuck in a Procrastinating Mood?
Do a brain-dump….list out everything you want to get accomplished. Then make it a mission to check off at least one thing each day. Hint: we are most productive when we first wake up.
We don’t have to seize this opportunity and finish quarantine with something to show for it – but just small daily wins can go a long way towards helping us meet our long term goals. Keeping our minds active is just as important as eating well and exercising.
Don’t let your current circumstances derail your career plans…use this time to:
- Cross-train to a new testing modality.
- Prepare for your board exam – this is The.Most.Productive way to increase your income!
- Research.Read.Repeat
Access my complimentary Weekly Study Guide – be sure to not miss a week by adding your email below.
Interested in interactive training? Just email me at RTompkins@TompkinsAssociates.com for information about both Small Group and Private (Zoom) lessons or Click Here for more information.
Let’s Stay Curious and Grow what we Know
(photo credit to Nasa Images Gallery – explore the cosmos with their Astronomy Picture of the Day)
Limited Spots Available
After over 25 years in the field of Neurodiagnostics and multiple students since 2007; this part of my business – Student Training, is by far my favorite. I am now expanding my reach to students outside my immediate area and plan to still deliver the personal level of in-depth training they need.
Teaching online will allow me to reach a much wider audience than I would have ever been able to do in person.
Initially when I started to plan for offering my classes on-line I was in the process of converting my training materials to pre-recorded videos and slides; however, the events of the past month made me realize that people/students do not need any more passive viewing of information.
We need a dialogue, a connection, a personal interaction more than anything right now.
A Quick Summary of Options:
- Classes are available at the Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Level
- Both small group and private lessons are available
- Courses are 40 minutes in duration and are taught using an on-line platform (Zoom) once a week
- Course material will be emailed ahead of the weekly lessons with follow up homework assessments
Click Here for more information or email RTompkins@TompkinsAssociates.com for Questions and to reserve your spot.
Are you following my Weekly Study Guide?
Click here for Week 3
Stay Curious…and Let’s Grow What We Know
Registered Technologist | Business Owner | Encourager of a community helping others find their way in the world of Neurodiagnostics.
Business website: www.TompkinsAssociates.com
Blog: NeurodiagnosticNiche.com Training Academy: North Texas Neurodiagnostic Academy
The Neurodiagnostic Niche 