A neurodiagnostic technologist is a professional who uses specialized equipment in monitoring the way the nervous system of a patient is functioning for doctors to identify and offer treatment to neurological complications. These experts receive a lot of training in the area of neurophysiology to be ready to identify both abnormal and normal electrical activity occurring in the peripheral, autonomic, and nervous and central nervous systems. As the recording of the electric patterns is done across these diverse systems, the expert will in turn provide great information for physicians to use in diagnosing and treating conditions of all kinds, such as degenerative brain damage, strokes, seizure disorders, dizziness and headaches.
What they do
Neurodiagnostic technologist performs tests helpful to doctors in uncovering hidden mental disorder causes and determining brain death in a patient. Lots of procedures are carried out by these individuals, which include EEGs (Electroencephalograms) used in the assessment of brain activity and intraoperative neuromonitoring that keeps track of the nerve and brain function as a surgery is underway.
Neurodiagnostic Technologist will also do long-term evaluation and monitoring towards diagnosing such disorders as seizures and perform polysomnograms that diagnose cases of sleep disorders. At the same time, these professionals evoke certain studies where they measure the neurological response towards some external stimuli all in trying to trace electrical pathways. They also conduct nerve studies that measure the period of time taken to relay some electrical signals through a nerve to a certain muscle.
Responsible Experts
Electroencephalograms are the common tests neurodiagnostic technologist carry out and are also mandated with the responsibility of ensuring patients and staff members are safe by calibrating and maintaining the equipment. The accurate data produced by the technologist including accurate analysis is exactly what neurologists wait for to work on. This is the reason the professional has to be well versed in various aspects of critical thinking for complete and accurate reports deployment.
Places of Work
Like many health care occupations, the neurodiagnostic technologist usually works with diverse patients of every age and can mostly be found in research institutions, centers of sleep disorder, units of epilepsy monitoring, physician’s offices, clinics and hospitals. The procedures done by these technologists are hugely carried out in laboratories full of equipment that comes into use in conducting neurodiagnostic studies.
Essentially, the procedure of monitoring neurodiagnostic procedures could last for 60 minutes to about two hours and in a number of cases, require continuous monitoring. At such a time, it is the neurodiagnostic technologist who has to ensure the patient understands the procedure and is very comfortable. The expert has to relive the patient any anxiety and keep observing and monitoring the data as it is recorded via the neurodiagnostic equipment in use.
Help During a Surgery
In cases where patients have to undergo surgery with intraoperative neuromonitoring required, the neurodiagnostic technologist has no choice but help in monitoring the EEG of the patient or any of the potentials evoked as the procedure is ongoing. In the process, the surgeon is kept abreast with information on the brain activity or nerve function of the patient.
The medial annual salary of a neurodiagnostic technologist graduate is about $44,200 and more than $112,000 for one who is working fulltime while the average salary stands at $65,226.
Interested to know more about how to gain expertise and which school to attend? Visit healthcareerexplorer.com