The American Board of Sleep Medicine (ABSM) will discontinue the Registered Sleep Technologist (RST) certification examination following the administration of the exam scheduled for April 4 to May 2, 2022. The ABSM will continue to offer recertification through 2032, when it will permanently sunset the RST credential.

When the ABSM established the RST credential in 2011, there were concerns that the number of sleep technologists being certified annually was insufficient for the sleep field. Today, those concerns have been alleviated, as there are more than 18,000 active registered polysomnographic technologist (RPSGT) credential holders certified by the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT).

“The ABSM board of directors appreciates the hard work of everyone who has contributed over the last decade to the development of the RST exam, which has helped advance the profession of sleep technology during an era of significant change in the sleep field,” says ABSM president Vishesh Kapur, MD, MPH, in an announcement on ABSM’s website. “We’re also grateful for all the sleep technologists who earned the RST credential, and we pledge to support and assist them during this transition period.”

The application deadline for the last RST exam is March 18. The ABSM will provide a refund to any registrants who choose to cancel their registration for the exam.

The ABSM has been in communication with the BRPT about the eligibility criteria for the RPSGT exam. The BRPT has agreed to include the RST credential in the list of accepted allied health credentials for RPSGT Pathway 2.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the RST credential will continue to satisfy the sleep technologist training requirement as described in the AASM Standards for Accreditation until the final expiration of all RST credentials.

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