Mass Bay Community College Offers Sleep Tech Program

Northern Essex is partnering with Mass Bay Community College in Wellesley, along with two other state community colleges: Bunker Hill in Boston and Quinsigamond in Worcester — to offer an online sleep technician program.

All coursework can be completed online, then students will travel to Northern Essex's Lawrence Campus one Saturday a month for clinical instruction in the college's state-of-the-art sleep laboratory.  Students will also be required to complete a clinical experience at a sleep technology clinic near their home campus.

Registered sleep technologists are in high demand across with country, earning starting salaries of between $40,000 and $50,000 a year, according to John Murray, program and clinical coordinator of Northern Essex's Sleep Technology Program.  "All of the 19 students that graduated from our program in May are employed locally," he said.

Sleep technologists work in sleep labs, often associated with hospitals, helping to diagnose sleep disorders.  A growing awareness of sleep disorders and of their serious health risks has led to the opening of more sleep labs in recent years, creating a growing demand for sleep technologists. Due to the nature of the work, sleep technologists often work at night.

Students in Northern Essex's Sleep Technology Program participate in classroom study, laboratory practice, and clinical experiences.  Upon completion of the program, students are awarded a certificate in polysomonography, which will allow them to sit for a national registry exam for polysomnographic technology.  The program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs (CAAHEP).

For more information on Northern Essex's Sleep Technology Program or the new hybrid option, contact John Murray at jmurray@necc.mass.edu or 978 738-7274.