Certification marks another milestone in distinguished medical diagnostics career
John Corsak '06

John M. Corsak has achieved numerous milestones in his distinguished professional career during his 25-year tenure as technical coordinator in the neurology department of Norwalk Hospital, and his most recent certification this year in the field of neurodiagnostics marks an especially important accomplishment recognized by his peers.

In June, Mr. Corsak became the first technologist in Fairfield County, and only the second in the state of Connecticut, to receive the Certification in Long Term Neurophysiological Monitoring (CLTM) awarded by the prestigious American Board of Electroencephalographic and Evoked Potential Technology (ABRET).  He previously earned R.EEG and E.EPT certifications from the ABRET board, affirming the high professional standards of his work as a diagnostic technologist in the fields of electroencephalography (EEG) and evoked potential testing (EPT).

Certification by ABRET represents “the gold standard in electro-neurodiagnostics, recognized worldwide and required by many hospitals, clinics and neurology departments nationwide,” the board website observed.  “Earning ABRET credentials requires study, focus, dedication and significant preparation.”

Corsak, who resides in Danbury, is among an elite group of nearly 8,000 EEG, EPT, CLTM and neurophysiologic monitoring technologists who have received ABRET certifications. ABRET has been focused on the competency and evaluation of technologists serving the neurology community and patients for the past 45 years.

Corsak’s commitment to meet the highest professional standards in his work has been matched in recent years by his interest in advancing his knowledge and skills through graduate studies at Western.  In 2003 he enrolled in the Ancell School of Business, completing studies to earn a master’s degree in health administration in 2006 at WCSU.

Corsak credited former Western M.H.A. coordinator Dr. Neil Dworkin for his direction of a flexible program that provided for presentation of much of the course work on site at Norwalk Hospital. “The course work was helpful in strengthening my skills in writing, financial spreadsheets, insurance adjustments, HIPPA privacy policies for patients and employees, and health care delivery systems,” Corsak observed.

He previously received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Sacred Heart University and master’s degree in counseling psychology from Fairfield University, following military service as a second class petty officer with the U.S. Navy from 1969 to 1975. He did internships at the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Haven and at Yale New Haven Hospital, and graduated in 1976 from the School of Electroencephalography Technology in Port Chester, N.Y. He began his neurodiagnostics career as an EEG technologist for Surgical and Medical Neurology Associates in Akron, Ohio, from 1980 to 1984, and served as chief EEG technologist at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in New York City from 1984 to 1986.

As technical coordinator in the Norwalk Hospital neurology department since 1986, Corsak’s responsibilities have included supervision of technologists, in-service education of staff in computer technology and video monitoring, and administrative tasks such as capital budget management and preventive maintenance reports. His extensive work in neurodiagnostics has included development of testing modalities for standard, long-term and ambulatory EEG recordings as well as EPT recordings.

Among his professional achievements is his past service as a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Society of Electroneurodiagnostic Technologists. He coauthored an article on the “Clinical Utility of Topographic EEG Brain Mapping” published in the Journal of Clinical Electroencephalography.