World Sleep Academy Sample Unit

Each unit has a sleep expert who delivers an original lecture and interacts with students. For Patient Evaluation in Sleep, the Academy expert is Dr. Bingqian Zhu. Meet Dr. Zhu!

Dr. Zhu is currently a full-time Research Associate Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Nursing. She received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2018. She was selected as a mentee by the “International Sleep Research Training Program” of the World Sleep Society (cohort 2021). The long-term goal of Dr. Zhu’s research is to develop interventions to improve sleep in an effort to decrease the cardiometabolic risks associated with sleep disturbances and maximize the well-being of adults. During the past five years, Dr. Zhu has received national, municipal, and intramural funding. Her research has been focused on sleep health among various populations, including people with diabetes, pregnant women, and patients with chronic pain. She has expertise in using novel data collection methods such as Ecological Momentary Assessment and wearable devices including actigraphy and continuous glucose monitor.

Each unit has a text guide written specifically for World Sleep Academy students. Each text guide provides a foundation of knowledge in the unit’s topic area and includes a list of references for further reading if desired. Students will build on this foundation in future learning activities. All text guides will be available for download to students.

Below is an excerpt from the text guide for the unit on Patient Evaluation in Sleep, including the first seven pages of the 24-page manuscript.

Each unit will feature a live lecture from a practicing sleep physician or researcher. The lecture will cover key topics and examples for the unit. Each lecture will be approximately one hour long, including time for questions. Lectures will be recorded and accessible to students afterward for re-watches or if a student cannot be online at the scheduled time.

The lecture for Unit 3: Patient Evaluation in Sleep will be given live by Dr. Bingqian Zhu.

The following is an excerpt from a presentation on the goals of treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It was presented on March 12, 2022 by Dr. Sanjay Patel during a course on OSA at the World Sleep congress in Rome. Each unit will contain a research presentation by an international expert in that topic area.

Dr. Patel’s presentation is about 20 minutes in length, and students will complete a simple quiz after watching it. The introduction to his presentation is available for free below.

This excerpt is used with permission from Dr. Sanjay Patel.

Each unit will contain a journal club discussion forum. Students will read one article out of a selected set of readings and then write a response. Students will also discuss the article’s information together and how it can be applied in their careers.

Throughout the course, a general discussion forum will be open to students and faculty. Students will be encouraged to use this space to ask questions, discuss cases, and get to know each other. Faculty and lecturers will interact in the discussion forum also.

Each unit has additional, non-required materials for students to read, watch, and download as they wish. Examples include additional research articles for reading and polysomnogram reading walkthrough videos from Academy director Dr. DelRosso.