How to Get Involved

Sponsors

Sponsors may be:

• NIOSH Education and Research Centers
• Academic institutions
• Non-profit organizations
• Private companies
• Individual professionals

Within NIOSH, the responsibility of approving courses has been delegated to the Respiratory Health Division and is carried out by a Course Approval Committee.

Course approval is granted with a two-step process:

Step 1: Submit a current curriculum vitae (CV) for your intended course technical director to NIOSHbreathe@cdc.gov. CVs should include specific information regarding experience performing and interpreting spirometry tests.

Step 2: Once your CV is approved, NIOSH will send you an application consisting of:

• Faculty qualifications
• Facility and equipment capabilities
• Course design and content
• Examination instruments

Refresher courses

NIOSH-approved Course Sponsors can apply to teach refresher courses after teaching initial courses for at least one year. NIOSH-approved Refresher Courses are at least 7 hours in length. Email NIOSHbreathe@cdc.gov to apply.

Director

A course director must meet one of the following criteria:

- A physician who has at least 3 years training and experience in the technical procedures and instrumentation for spirometry testing and in the diagnosis of occupational lung diseases or 1-year full-time experience supervising a pulmonary function laboratory.

- A health professional with an advanced degree in pulmonary physiology or a related field who has at least three years training and experience in the technical procedures and instrumentation for spirometry testing (e.g., Ph.D. in pulmonary physiology, bioengineering, etc.).

- A health professional with licensure or professional certification in the pulmonary function testing field with at least three years documented experience under the supervision of individuals described above.

It is the responsibility of the course director to assure that all faculty meet qualification criteria and course content is consistent with the minimum requirements. The course director should be an active participant in the course: supervise all faculty, monitor the progress of each student, and be available to answer questions which arise in lecture or practice sessions.

Faculty member

Course lecturer

Course lecturers are responsible for teaching the course content. The lecturer must have intimate knowledge of spirometry testing guidelines and techniques. The greatest strength of a lecturer is to present the information by whatever method necessary so that each student can understand the material and apply it for collecting spirometry data.

Course lecturers must meet one the following criteria:

- A faculty-level member of the institution (MD or PhD) with at least 1 year of teaching experience at the collegiate level or equivalent (basic anatomy and physiology or some course related to spirometry).

- An instructor-level member of the institution (RN, RRT, MS) with greater than 50% of workload dedicated to teaching or with at least 3 years teaching experience.

- A health professional with licensure or professional certification in the pulmonary function testing field with at least three years documented teaching experience under the supervision of individuals described above.

Practicum instructor

Practicum instructors are responsible for providing students with hands-on-knowledge in correctly administering spirometry tests, including coaching subjects and operating a spirometer. Instructors also provide guidance on identifying spirometry curves with errors and knowledge of how to prevent errors in subsequent trials.

Practicum instructors must have at least three years of experience in background, training, and practical aspects of collecting spirometry data (e.g., occupational health nurses or pulmonary function technicians). Instructors must also successfully complete a NIOSH-approved spirometry course.