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Practice

Practice makes perfect! Measuring for lead placement requires precision, which means you'll spend lots of time practicing on both mannequins and each other. 

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Intraoperative Neuromonitoring Program

As a neuromonitorist, you will monitor electrical potentials from a patient's nervous system during surgery while the patient is under anesthesia.
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As an IONM student, you:

  • Already hold a college degree, or have ABRET credentials in NDT, or have prior IONM work experience
  • Can finish the program in 2 semesters (about 8 months!)
  • Complete your theory coursework online
  • Complete your hands-on clinical training in a hospital or clinical partner facility in your area
  • Come to our MA campus for 1 weekend boot camp during the program 
  • Will be prepared to take the American Board of Registration of Electroencephalographic and Evoked Potential Technologists (ABRET) Intraoperative Neuromonitoring (CNIM) exam

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Working as a neuromonitorist

While a patient is under anesthesia and a surgeon is operating, the intraoperative neuromonitorist is monitoring the patient to ensure their safety. Through electrical potentials emitted from the patient’s nervous system, the neuromonitorist can determine if the patient is losing oxygen to the brain, or about to have a stroke, and immediately alert the surgeon. In a situation where every second counts, the presence of a neuromonitorist during surgery has become invaluable and is increasing the demand for certified IONM professionals in the operating room.

As a neuromonitorist, you'll learn to perform a variety of specialized recordings, including electroencephalograms (EEG), evoked potentials (SSEP, BAEP, MEP), electromyography (EMG), cranial nerve (CN live and triggered, SEMG/TEMG) and peripheral nerve (PN) monitoring techniques.

IONM Student

Even guardian angels need practice

A respected member of the operating team, the neuromonitorist is a patient’s guardian angel in the operating room. Before you get to the OR, though, you'll have lots of practice starting with mannequins and your classmates at boot camp. 

To learn more about the history of IONM and what a day in the life of a neuromonitorist looks like, read our article Angels in the OR.

measuring heads in ionm2-optimized
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STUDENT TESTIMONIAL

Jake Uminski '17

Jake graduated from BU with a degree in neuroscience, but didn't know how to use his degree to get a job so he looked for programs in IONM. A month into his program at Labouré, he already had a job lined up. 

IONM PROGRAM
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1st

IONM certificate program in the country to be accredited by CAAHEP

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2

semesters to complete the program. Each semester has a 7-week session I and 7-week session II.

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100

cases in an intraoperative setting you'll need to be eligible take the ABRET CNIM exam after completing the program

Program Accreditation, Outcomes, and Effectiveness Data

This CAAHEP-accredited program allows the completer to follow ABRET Pathway I towards certification (CNIM). The IONM student is able to document approximately 30% of the 100 cases required to sit for the CNIM. 

Completers of the IONM certificate program will learn to accomplish the following:

  • Collaborate as an integral part of the interdisciplinary operating room team, delivering professional competent neuromonitoring, which results in improved patient outcomes;
  • Utilize critical thinking skills essential to the IONM technologist, enabling the technologist to excel in the monitorist’s role;
  • Understand, recognize, and engage in research- and information-seeking strategies to maintain accepted standards of professional behavior while using evidence-based medicine as an IONM health care specialist; and
  • Work within the ethico-legal framework of the profession.

The board examination for IONM is an ABRET Certification in Neuro-Intraoperative Monitoring (CNIM). 

The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs (CAAHEP) has established a threshold of 60% board pass rate to maintain accreditation. As these data indicate, Labouré College of Healthcare IONM graduate board pass rate is just above the CAAHEP threshold in total.  

Graduates are not required to take the board examination to work in any state. Further, graduates do not have a deadline by which to take the boards after graduation. 

 
IONM Graduation Year
Year 2021 2020 2019
# Graduates 18 3 8
Attrition 14.3% 25% 0
Retention 85.7% 75% 100%
CNIM Credentialing Exam - % of grads attempting 56% 67% 25%
CNIM Credentialing Exam - Pass Rate 90% 100% 50%
Positive Placement 100% 100% 100%

 

Frequently asked questions:

Intraoperative neuromonitoring is a great fit for a unique kind of student. Utilizing both direct patient care and extraordinary critical thinking skills, students in IONM not only have to be experts in Neuroanatomy and neurodiagnostic technology, they must also possess exemplary communication skills. As an intraoperative neuromonitorist, you need to feel comfortable talking with patients about the procedure and also working with a diverse team in the operating room. Advocating for the patient during surgery is just as crucial as interpreting the delicate world of the brain and central nervous system. Students who have been successful in IONM come from all kinds of backgrounds- neuroscience, sports, even geology. There is no “perfect” profile for an IONM student- just a million different ways to be a dedicated, self-starting, independent, team player with exceptional clinical skills.

Yes. This is a new and emerging field. For safety precautions, more health insurance companies are beginning to demand a qualified neuromonitorist to be present during operations. Labouré’s program is one of the first in the country and its graduates will be among the first group of college-educated, certified IONM specialists.

With few opportunities for education in IONM, there is a push by hospitals, surgeons, and professional organizations to further standardize its practice and teaching. The demand for competent and certified neuromonitorists is huge and right now there are very few of them out there. Even more pressing is the need for high-quality, accredited programs to educate the next wave of IONM graduates. Labouré College is excited to be at the forefront of IONM education, with faculty and clinical instructors who are experts in the field with years of experience and research behind them.

Salaries in Massachusetts can range from $75,000 to $125,000, depending on position, rank, number of shifts worked, etc. Current national rates range between $50,000 and $100,000. (indeed.com)

A neuromonitorist performs a variety of specialized recordings, including electroencephalograms (EEG), evoked potentials (SSEP, BAEP, MEP), electromyography (EMG), cranial nerve (CN live and triggered, SEMG/TEMG) and peripheral nerve (PN) monitoring techniques.

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Request more information about this program

You'll be able to download our program info sheet and receive an email from our Admissions team with information about the admissions process, tuition, courses, and more.