M.C. Townsend Associates, LLC

NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Training

Recommendations/ Requirements for NIOSH-approved Spirometry Certification

As of March 27, 2013, OSHA recommends completion of a NIOSH-approved course as best practice for all occupational spirometry technicians. This best practice recommendation is in addition to OSHA-mandated training for technicians testing workers under certain exposure-specific standards. See OSHA's Guidance on Spirometry Testing in Occupational Health Programs: Best Practices for Healthcare Professionals for details.

Certificates of successful completion of a NIOSH-approved spirometry course remain active for 5 years from the course date. Certification can be extended in 5 year increments by completing a NIOSH Approved Spirometry Refresher course before the current certificate expires. NIOSH also instituted a 7 month grace period to give technicians ample time to renew their NIOSH course certificates. E.g., if a current course certificate was dated April 1, 2008, the technician would have up to 5 years and 7 months to complete a NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Refresher Course, i.e., until November 1, 2013.

Course Description

This comprehensive NIOSH spirometry course is appropriate for those with no spirometry background as well as for experienced spirometry users. Though the course assumes no prior spirometry experience or knowledge of respiratory physiology, experienced spirometry users always increase their understanding of spirometry and its results by participating in the course. The goal of this course is to teach not only what the recommendations and requirements are for conducting tests and interpreting results, but also why the recommendations and requirements were made.

Using lectures, discussion, and practice sessions, the course presents basic pulmonary pathophysiology, instrumentation requirements, performance of the spirometry test (stressing active coaching), recognition of testing errors and spirometer malfunctions, supervised use of the spirometer, measurement of the spirogram, and interpretation of results.

OSHA standards and 2013 guidance on Spirometry Testing in Occupational Health Programs: Best Practices for Healthcare Professionals, the 2005 American Thoracic Society (ATS) Spirometry Official Statements, and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) Statement on Spirometry in the Occupational Health Setting - 2011 Update are reviewed.

In the classes, Dr. Townsend draws on her extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of various spirometers, acquired through on-going consulting with a variety of clients. As she helps clients solve their spirometry problems and identify optimal spirometer configurations, Dr. Townsend obtains new information to share with her students, enabling them to work more effectively with their own equipment and to optimize their spirometry testing skills.

Over half of the class time is devoted to supervised student practice of the techniques that are presented. Individual attention is ensured by maintaining the student/instructor ratio at 6:1 or better. All lectures are given by Dr. Mary Townsend; all practice session assistants are NIOSH-approved and have extensive spirometry experience. The course is co-provided by UPMC Work Partners.

Class size is restricted to 24 or fewer students, to maximize student-faculty interaction and to keep the atmosphere informal and conducive to learning.  Topics and presentation styles are varied to keep students interested and involved.  Breaks are frequent to help students concentrate and remain focussed.

Practical and written examinations are given on the last half-day of the course, and a certificate is awarded if performance is satisfactory. NIOSH-Approved Course certificates remain active for 5 years.

Course Topics

• Review of OSHA standards and OSHA's 2013 Spirometry Testing in Occupational Health Programs: Best Practices for Healthcare Professionals, the 2005 ATS Spirometry Official Statements, and the ACOEM Spirometry in the Occupational Health Setting - 2011 Update.
• Respiratory defense mechanisms; obstructive and restrictive impairment patterns.
• Spirometry technique and recognizing testing errors.
• Measuring the spirogram: FVC and FEV1, back-extrapolation, BTPS correction, repeatability.
• Interpreting test results: Comparing observed with predicted values; race- adjusting predicted values; evaluating change over time.
• Types of spirometers: advantages, disadvantages, and potential problems.
• Spirometer calibration and calibration checks.

Continuing Education

This continuing nursing education activity was approved by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN), an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation, for 19.5 contact hours.

This program has also been approved for up to 19.42 contact hours of Continuing Respiratory Care Education (CRCE) credit by the American Association for Respiratory Care.

* DuBois Regional Medical Center is accredited by the Pennsylvania Medical Society to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.  DuBois Regional Medical Center designates this a continuing medical education activity and it awards 19.50 AMA Physicians Recognition Award Category 1 Credits and the Pennsylvania Medical Society Member CME Certification.  Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity. Faculty participants in continuing medical education activities sponsored by DuBois Regional Medical Center are expected to disclose to the audience whether they do or do not have any real or apparent conflicts of interest or other relationships related to the content of their presentations.

Course Materials

• Please bring a calculator and your spirometer operating manual, if available. All other course materials will be provided.

• Please submit several test results, with tracings, from your spirometer prior to the class, if possible. The reports and tracings will be critiqued and feedback will be provided.

Dates & Course Locations

Pittsburgh Course Location

• On-line, more than 2 weeks before class, click the appropriate class date: March 18-20, June 3-5, September 9-11, or November 18-20, and enter your check-in and check-out dates.
• By phone, call (412) 788-8400 - ask for "spirometry/audiometry" room block.
• Less than 2 weeks before class or for any problems, contact Ralph Davis, Hotel Director of Sales, at (412) 788-8400.

Pittsburgh 2013 Dates

March 18 - 20, 2013 *
June 3 - 5, 2013 *

*Immediately followed by a CAOHC-Approved Hearing Conservation Workshop, taught by Dr. Roger Angelelli of Audiometric Baseline Consulting. Call (412) 831-0430 for complete workshop information and to register for the course.

Baltimore Course Location

• Directions: http://www.jhsph.edu/resources/directions.html

• Hotels convenient to the school are listed HERE. Some hotels offer a Johns Hopkins room rate and shuttle service to the hospital.

Baltimore 2013 Dates

February 13-15, 2013*

October 30 - November 1, 2013*

Plymouth (Sheboygan area), WI Course Location

Plymouth (Sheboygan area) 2013 Dates

June 19-21, 2013

Registration Information

• all course materials, including comprehensive workbook and reference materials
• OSHA's 2012 Spirometry Testing in Occupational Health Programs: Best Practices for Healthcare Professionals
• ACOEM Spirometry in the Occupational Health Setting - 2011 Update
• continuing education credit
• spirogram measuring tools and use of spirometers
• refreshments (and lunch in Pittsburgh only)

Customized on-site courses are also available, and a minimum number of participants is usually recommended. Please call for more information: (412) 343-9946.