NIOSH-Approved Spirometry courses are widely regarded as the benchmark for training health professionals to conduct occupational spirometry tests. Effective 01/01/09, certificates of completion of all NIOSH-Approved courses will remain valid for only 5 years from the course date.
A technician who successfully completed an initial NIOSH-Approved course in 2000 or later is eligible to complete a NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Refresher Course by the end of 2010 to maintain a valid NIOSH certificate. However, a technician whose initial course preceded 2000 must repeat the initial full course to obtain a valid certificate of course completion. That new certificate remains active for 5 years from the course date.
Need for On-line NIOSH-Approved Refresher Training: In the current harsh economic climate, many technicians who are eligible to complete a NIOSH-Approved Refresher Course cannot travel to a live course to maintain their NIOSH certificates, and so another training option was needed. Though the interactive benefits of live courses are clear, this web-based NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Refresher Course, the first of its kind and newly approved by NIOSH, provides a useful alternative for eligible technicians to renew their NIOSH certificates in a timely fashion.
Course Description
Goals of the Training: The course aims to help health professionals: 1) obtain acceptable and repeatable test results; 2) perform appropriate spirometer calibration checks; and 3) recognize the uses and limitations of spirometry in the occupational setting.
As described in Requirements for Course Completion below, successful completion of this web-based NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Refresher Course by an eligible technician will result in a 5-year extension of that technician's NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Course certificate.
Content of the Training: The web-based NIOSH-Approved Refresher course consists of:
- Overview of Pulmonary Anatomy and Physiology
- Overview of Spirometry
- Quality Assurance Procedures
- Spirometric Technique
- Basic Spirometric Calculations
- Comparison of Observed to Predicted Reference Values
- Evaluating Changes in Follow-Up Spirograms
- Overview of Standards for Spirometry Equipment
- Examples: Identifying and Correcting Problems That Affect Test Results
- Additional Exercises
Click HERE to view sample training materials.
Development of the Training: Developed by Dr. John Hankinson, with technical review by Dr. Mary Townsend. Dr. Hankinson worked for over 30 years at NIOSH and is a major contributor to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Spirometry Standardization Statements. Dr. Hankinson helped develop the original NIOSH-Approved spirometry training materials and has taught courses for many years. That experience indicated the need for refresher training and for an alternative web-based method that meets NIOSH requirements for individuals unable to attend a live course.
Requirements for Course Eligibility
Only students who have successfully completed the full or Introductory NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Training Course after January 1, 2000 are eligible to take the NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Refresher Course.
If you are eligible for the NIOSH Refresher training course, click HERE to review the web-based course requirements. If you are eligible and wish to register for the refresher course, please submit the requested pre-course information. A registration form will be forwarded to you for enrollment in the course.
If you are not eligible for the NIOSH-Approved Refresher Training Course, you may either register for an initial NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Course or you may complete the web-based training material for continuing education contact hours only, at a reduced cost, but with no NIOSH-Approved spirometry certificate awarded.
Requirements for Course Completion
When eligible technicians successfully meet the course requirements, as described below and summarized HERE, they obtain a NIOSH certificate that is valid for 5 years from the course completion date.
However, if the technician's performance is not adequate to qualify for a NIOSH spirometry certificate, the technician will obtain an alternate certificate of attendance for the Independent Study Spirometry Training Program, with continuing education contact hours.
To successfully complete the course, enrolled technicians must meet the following requirements:
- Complete a set of 30 pre-course questions.
- Complete 10 chapters of on-line material and answer 94 chapter review questions, getting at least 70% of the answers right.
- Pass the 50-question post-course exam with a grade of 70% or better.
- Within 30 days of completion of the post-course exam, submit 10 good quality spirometry test results (graphs must be included), performed using your spirometry equipment. Additional spirometry test results may be required if the original submission does not include 10 good quality tests.
The course director will provide you with a summary assessment of your strengths and weaknesses based on the information provided in items 1 through 4 above, and your certificate of completion for the NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Refresher Training Course will be awarded.
Continuing Education
This continuing nursing education activity was approved by the PA State Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation, for 9.4 contact hours. Pennsylvania has continuing education reciprocity with all states except California and Iowa. Nurses in California and Iowa must contact their state Boards of Nursing to accept other states' continuing education credits.
Registration Information
Course tuition is determined by whether the technician is eligible to take the NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Refresher Course. (See Requirements for Course Eligibility above.)
Ineligible technicians may complete the web-based training material for a course tuition of $95.
- A NIOSH spirometry certificate will not be awarded to such technicians, but upon successful course completion, they will receive a certificate of Independent Study Spirometry Course attendance, approved for 9.4 nursing continuing education contact hours.
Eligible technicians may enroll in the NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Refresher Course for a course tuition of $295.
- A NIOSH certificate, valid for 5 years from the course completion date, will be awarded if the technician successfully meets all stated course requirements, summarized above and HERE.
- After enrolling in the course, if the technician fails to complete the stated course requirements, course tuition will not be refunded since expenses for evaluation of student progress have already been incurred. Such technicians will not receive a NIOSH certificate, but will receive a certificate of Independent Study Spirometry Course attendance, approved for 9.4 continuing education contact hours.
Tuition may be paid by check or using VISA, MasterCard, or American Express credit cards as noted on the Registration Form.