Sleep Professionals. Where are you?

So many CPAP users post here. The information exchange is fantastic. It is getting to the point that a case can be made that the patients visiting here know more about many aspects of treating obstructive sleep apnea with cpap than professionals within the industry. There are so few posts identified as coming from anyone other than patients.

So you who make a living working with apnea patients or cpap equipment I challenge you.

Identify yourselves and be welcomed!

Share your thoughts and expertise. Engage in debate. Help the community and learn from it. Become a better sleep tech, doctor, respiratory therapist, manufacturer, engineer, or salesperson. We NEED you to be better. We suffer because you are silent.

Are you telling your peers about forums like cpaptalk?

Are you even here? Do you even care?

I love your posting! Thanks for the invitation - but you may have opened a Pandora's box. When I first started lurking I was really afraid to speak out for fear of being considered satan reincarnate! You know, the evil DME!

Hellow, My name is Susie, and I have OSA. I have a degree in Nuclear Medicine and one is Psychology from Stetson University, (thus, stetsongirl). For ten years I was Supervisor of Nuclear Medicine in a hospital, where I worked with the cardiologists to develop the Nuclear Cardiology program. So my first experience with SA had to do with its affect on the heart. After a severe back injury my neurologist would not release me to go back to work, ever, because of the heavy patient lifting involved. So I went to work at Stetson U and used my free tuition to get a degree in Psychology. I worked as an adult case manager for the dually diagnosed (mental illness + substance abuse). After I burned out I could not get out of the medical field, it's my passion. I found my way into the world of DME. So now I'm a CMN specialist - the person whose responsibility it is to get the letter of medical necessity into the doctors hands and back to the DME within 30 days. Let me tell you, I don't know if the docs just don't understand the importance of patients having those letters submitted to insurance or if they just don't care. Getting signatures is like pulling teeth. Anyway, I also do the insurance verifications for all our patients.

I'm in the process of getting the OK from our corporate office to sponser a monthly support group for OSA patients in the area.

I am not only telling my peers, but all of our patients as they are setup about this website. It has been very informative for me, and I hope to be an assett to the group.

Yes, I'm here and I CARE!

Wow, Stetsongirl, what an impressive education and career you've had! I'm in awe of you. You say your passion is the medical field - I think that the heart from which that passion comes is all about helping others. Thanks for sharing that.

Re this thread; I mentioned to my DME that I've read and learned so much from this message board and he mumbled that I shouldn't put too much stock in "those boards" and not all of what is written should be believed.
I told him that I would think anyone in the field would want to read these boards DAILY and learn everything there is to learn, and hear from users all over the world as to what they are experiencing, desiring and learning.

After all, we "end users" are the true SME's (subject matter experts).

I know that if I were in this field, I would source the internet and message boards like this frequently, so that I could better serve my patients/customers and broaden my own horizons.

Maskedmechanic,

You haven't yet become a member of the forum and still post as guest.

Identify yourselves and be welcomed!

Are you a sleep professional?

My RT said that she will be joining - just as soon as her dh is finished "fixing" their computer (she can't do it from work.)
- JB

Yes, I am a sleep professional and one who daily learns from this forum. Allow me my quirks, I am not much of a joiner. I have heard some professionals say that a reader can be misled by amateur posts.I no longer have this concern as any incorrect post is corrected kindly and rapidly by subsequent posters. I believe the readers are more than capable of sorting the wheat from the chaff. I would go as far as saying that any sleep professional who does not make this board a regular part of their ongoing education is missing a fantastic resource for professional improvement.

I would go as far as saying that any sleep professional who does not make this board a regular part of their ongoing education is missing a fantastic resource for professional improvement

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Good for you, MaskedMechanic!

You know, you could register and remain as masked as you wish - the nice part about joining is being able to send and recieve private messages -and to set up a poll, should you feel like it. It would make searching for you messages easier too - since you don't even put you "name" ("mask?") in the signature, if someone wanted to fine out that interesting post from "MaskedMechanic" they'ld have "plenty trouble" finding it.

But, if you wish to remain as guest, that's fine with me - I welcome you as you are...

O.

But, if you wish to remain as guest, that's fine with me - I welcome you as you are...

I second ozij's sentiment. My gut instinct from the very first post I saw from you, MaskedMechanic, and all your posts since, makes me 99% sure you are with cpap.com.

Either way, part of cpap.com the company, or not, you're probably laughing right now, you quirky thing!

Oh, and I echo this sentiment of yours, MM

I would go as far as saying that any sleep professional who does not make this board a regular part of their ongoing education is missing a fantastic resource for professional improvement.

qrlylox, Thanks for the kind words, but the truth of the matter is,at the age of 58 I still haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up! If I had a patent for every time I've reinvented myself, I'd be a wealthy woman!