Neurodiagnostic Technician Training Program - Paid Training and Guaranteed Employment

UPMC Children’s Hospital is looking for caring and dedicated people to join our Pediatric Neurodiagnostic Team! 

Neurodiagnostic Technicians use EEG’s (electroencephalograms) to identify issues with the brain and nervous system. They perform these tests and share the results with doctors so that patients can receive formal diagnoses.  Children’s Hospital offers a formal training program that allows you to work in the hospital while learning the essential skills and function of this role.  At the completion of the program, there is an increased pay rate and guaranteed employment as a Neurodiagnostic Technician.  This is an amazing opportunity to build a career in this field with a career ladder that offers advancement and higher earning potential. 

Specifically, the Student Neurodiagnostic Training Program will teach the students how to perform EEG procedures to established guidelines, assess conditions and abnormalities affecting the EEG, and maintain/manage EEG equipment function under the supervision of senior EEG instructor/technologists, EEG Medical Director, and Program Manager Neurology. They will also learn to prepare patients of all ages/mental status for EEG procedures in the EEG Lab, Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, at the patient’s bedside, ER, and in the critical care areas.

Responsibilities:

• Learn to perform EEG’s utilizing digital EEG equipment. Learn to calibrate, evaluate function, adjust instrument settings to proper technical standards, and troubleshoot EEG equipment.
• Learn to recognize, monitor, and/or eliminate EEG artifact, such as high impedance leads, muscle artifact, eye movements, respiration artifact and EKG, in order to obtain an adequate EEG recording.
• Learn routine video EEG monitoring procedures, and procedures for surgical evaluation of patients with seizures.
• Learn to prepare a proper EEG Tech Worksheet, including a technical description of the EEG, with emphasis on clinical observation, in order to assist the Electroencephalographer with final interpretation. .
• Learn to implement alternative montages and instrument settings in order to better define artifact, normal variants, and EEG abnormalities.
• Learn to properly assess clinical seizures, follow seizure testing methods, and implement protocols for seizure intervention and first aid.
• Learn to obtain an accurate and concise patient history. Note pertinent information such as seizure type, date of last seizure, other neurologic symptoms, and medications taken by patients.
• Take and pass periodic written/oral exams administered by the EEG instructor.
• Support the departmental goals of quality care, system improvement, and cost containment by contributing to the successful implementation of recommended changes, cost awareness and fiscal responsibility
• Learns to remove electrodes from patient’s scalp paying attention to cleanliness and hygiene, and proper technique for cleaning, storage, and sterilization of EEG electrodes.
• Demonstrate positive interpersonal skills and the ability to perform testing on a wide variety and age range of patients.
• Learn to properly record EEG activity on standard montages. Document all pertinent instrument settings and clinical observations.
• Attend annual Hospital and departmental fire/safety and infection control training and maintain current knowledge of safety procedures within the Hospital and department.
• Learn to measure and apply EEG electrodes using the International 10-20 System of Electrode Placement, in an accurate and efficient manner on patients of all ages and mental status, with varying degrees of co-operation. Learn to test the integrity of the applied electrodes via impedance testing.
• Improve and/or support others in improving the health and well-being of all patients through excellence in patient care, teaching and research.
• Learn to perform routine activation procedures such as hyperventilation and photic stimulation, and when these procedures are contraindicated.
• Learn various medical and pharmacologic conditions which influence the EEG. Learn the clinical correlation of abnormal EEG patterns with various disease states.
• Learn about EEG procedures and how to explain the procedure to patient and caregiver in a clear, concise manner. Able to do so on an age/mental status appropriate level.
• Learn to maintain equipment cleanliness, bi-weekly preventive maintenance procedures, and proper reporting of hardware/software problem to senior staff.
• Learn anatomy and physiology of the nervous system as it pertains to EEG testing. Learn medical terminology used in EEG/Neurology.
• Learn to recognize normal EEG patterns and variants, and abnormal patterns for all ages.
• Review all EEG’s with senior technologists. Utilize feedback from procedures performed to improve the quality of future EEG’s performed.