PERMANENT RULES
(Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission)
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: WAC 246-841-530 through 246-841-585 establishes alternative program requirements for home care aides-certified and medical assistants-certified to meet the nursing assistant certification level of training. The rules outline the requirements for development of the program and requirements for graduates applying for nursing assistant certification.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 18.88A.087.
Other Authority: RCW 18.88A.060.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 11-11-047 on May 13, 2011.
A final cost-benefit analysis is available by contacting Terry J. West, Department of Health, P.O. Box 47864, Olympia, WA 98504, phone (360) 236-4712, fax (360) 236-4738, e-mail terry.west@doh.wa.gov.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 11, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 11, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: June 21, 2011.
Paula R. Meyer, MSN, RN
Executive Director
OTS-3767.12
NEW SECTION
WAC 246-841-530
Alternative program -- Purpose.
The
commission intends to establish criteria for an alternative
program for home care aid-certified and medical
assistant-certified that will provide continued opportunity
for recruitment and career advancement in nursing, recognize
relevant training, and maintain a single standard for
competency.
The alternative program is intended to provide twenty-four hours of additional training, including clinical training, on topics not addressed in the specified training for certification as a home care aide or medical assistant, that will meet the requirements necessary to take the nursing assistant-certified competency evaluation.
Successful completion of an approved alternative program may allow the home care aide-certified and medical assistant-certified to meet requirements to complete a competency evaluation. Successful completion of the competency evaluation may allow an applicant who is a home care aide-certified or medical assistant-certified to become a nursing assistant-certified. The nursing assistant-certified credential may then qualify an individual for entry into a nursing program.
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(1) Home care aide-certified means any person certified under chapter 18.88B RCW.
(2) Medical assistant-certified means a person certified by a medical assistant program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or the American Association of Medical Assistants and the American Medical Association.
(3) Nursing assistant-certified means any person certified under chapter 18.88A RCW.
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(1) An alternative program shall:
(a) Meet the requirements of WAC 246-841-420.
(b) Have a competency based curriculum composed of learning objectives and activities. The curriculum content shall include:
(i) Measuring vital signs, height and weight, fluid and food input and output.
(ii) Developmental tasks associated with developmental and age specific processes.
(iii) Use and care of prosthetic devices.
(iv) Provision of adequate ventilation, warmth, light, and quiet for the client.
(v) Principles of good body mechanics for self and clients to lift and move clients or heavy items.
(vi) Achieving competence in reading, writing, speaking and understanding English at the level necessary to:
(A) Use terminology accepted in health care settings.
(B) Accurately record and report observations, actions and information in a timely manner.
(vii) The scope of practice of nursing assistant-certified.
(viii) The workers right to know law.
(ix) The Uniform Disciplinary Act, including RCW 18.130.180.
(c) Have a program director:
(i) Who is currently licensed as a registered nurse (RN) in good standing in the state of Washington and has a minimum of three years of experience as an RN with at least one year of experience in direct patient care; and
(ii) Who has successfully completed a training course on adult instruction or can demonstrate that he or she has one year experience teaching adults, unless the program director works exclusively in a secondary educational setting.
(A) The training course on adult instruction must provide instruction in understanding the adult learner, techniques for teaching adults, classroom methods for teaching adults and audio-visual techniques for teaching adults.
(B) Acceptable experience does not include in-service education or patient teaching.
(iii) Who has a minimum of one year experience within the past three years in caring for the elderly or chronically ill of any age or both if also acting as an instructor.
(2) The program director may select instructional staff to assist in the teaching of the course. Instructional staff must meet the following requirements:
(a) Hold a current Washington state license to practice as a registered or licensed practical nurse in good standing; and (b) Have a minimum of one year experience within the past three years in caring for the elderly or chronically ill of any age.
(3) Instructional staff may assist the program director in development of curricula, teaching modalities, and evaluation. The instructor must be under the supervision of the program director at all times.
(4) A guest lecturer or individual with expertise in a specific course unit may be used in the classroom setting for teaching without commission approval, following the program director's review of the currency of content. The guest lecturer, where applicable, must hold a license, certificate or registration in good standing in their field of expertise.
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(1) An alternative program shall:
(a) Submit documentation of meeting all requirements of WAC 246-841-420.
(b) Have a competency based curriculum composed of learning objectives and activities. The curriculum content shall include:
(i) Measurement of fluid and food input and output.
(ii) Participation in planning and nursing reporting process.
(iii) Bathing, oral care, and skin care.
(iv) Personal care tasks, appropriate to chronological age and developmental stage of residents.
(v) Grooming and dressing.
(vi) Toileting.
(vii) Eating and hydration, including:
(A) Techniques to prevent choking and aspiration; and
(B) Health and sanitation in food services.
(viii) Basic restorative services.
(A) Use of assistive devices in ambulation, transferring, eating and dressing.
(B) Range of motion.
(C) Turning and positioning.
(D) Transferring and ambulating.
(E) Use and care of prosthetic devices.
(ix) Client resident rights and promotion of independence.
(A) Assistance in getting to and joining in activities appropriate to chronological age of resident.
(B) Respect for client's property.
(C) Use of restraints and acknowledges agency policies that may apply to restraints.
(x) An environment with adequate ventilation, warmth, light, and quiet.
(xi) Rules and regulations, including:
(A) The scope of practice, nursing assistant-certified.
(B) The workers right to know law.
(C) The Uniform Disciplinary Act, including RCW 18.130.180.
(c) Have a program director:
(i) Who is currently licensed as a registered nurse (RN) in good standing in the state of Washington and has a minimum of three years of experience as an RN, with at least one year of experience in direct patient care.
(ii) Who has successfully completed a training course on adult instruction or can demonstrate that he or she has one year experience teaching adults unless the program director works exclusively in a secondary educational setting.
(A) The training course on adult instruction must provide instruction in understanding the adult learner, techniques for teaching adults, classroom methods for teaching adults and audio-visual techniques for teaching adults.
(B) Acceptable experience does not include in-service education or patient teaching.
(iii) Who has a minimum of one year experience within the past three years in caring for the elderly or chronically ill of any age if also acting as an instructor.
(2) The program director may select instructional staff to assist in the teaching of the course. Instructional staff must meet the following requirements:
(a) Hold a current Washington state license to practice as a registered or licensed practical nurse in good standing; and (b) Have a minimum of one year experience within the past three years in caring for the elderly or chronically ill of any age.
(3) Instructional staff may assist the program director in development of curricula, teaching modalities, and evaluation. The instructor must be under the supervision of the program director at all times.
(4) A guest lecturer or individual with expertise in a specific course unit may be used in the classroom setting for teaching without commission approval, following the program director's review of the currency of content. The guest lecturer, where applicable, must hold a license, certificate or registration in good standing in their field of expertise.
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(1) Development and use of a curriculum which:
(a) Meets the requirements of WAC 246-841-545; or
(b) Meets the requirements of WAC 246-841-550.
(2) Ensuring compliance with the requirements of WAC 246-841-500 and 246-841-510.
(3) Verifying home care aides-certified have a valid certification before admission to the alternative program.
(4) Verifying medical assistants-certified have certification before admission to the alternative program.
(5) Direct supervision of all students during clinical experience. Direct supervision means an approved program director or instructor observes students performing tasks.
(6) Ensuring the clinical instructor has no concurrent duties during the time he or she is instructing students.
(7) Maintaining an environment acceptable to teaching and learning.
(8) Supervising all instructors involved in the course. This includes clinical instructors and guest lecturers.
(9) Ensuring students are not asked to, or allowed to perform any clinical skill with patients or clients until the students have demonstrated the skill satisfactorily to an instructor in a practice setting.
(10) Evaluating knowledge and skills of students before verifying completion of the course.
(11) Providing students a verification of completion when requirements of the course have been satisfied.
(12) Providing adequate time for students to complete the objectives of the course. The time may vary with skills of the learners and teaching or learning variables.
(13) Establishing an evaluation process to assess mastery of competencies.
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(a) Program objectives;
(b) Required curriculum and content.
(2) The commission shall comply with WAC 246-841-430 when denying or withdrawing an approval of an alternative program.
(3) An alternative program that has been denied or had an approval withdrawn shall have the right to a hearing to appeal the commission's decision according to the provisions of chapters 18.88A and 34.05 RCW, the Administrative Procedure Act, Parts IV and V.
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Competency evaluation means the measurement of an individual's knowledge and skills as related to safe, competent performance as a nursing assistant-certified.
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(1) Be currently credentialed as a home care aide-certified; or
(2) Be a medical assistant-certified as defined in WAC 246-841-535;
(3) Have completed a cardiopulmonary resuscitation course;
(4) Have completed seven hours of AIDS education and training as required in chapter 246-12 WAC, part 8; and
(5) Have successfully completed the competency evaluation.
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(a) A completed application for nursing assistant-certified.
(b) A copy of certificate of completion from an approved alternative program for home care aides-certified.
(c) Documentation verifying current certification as a home care aide.
(d) Evidence of completion of a cardiopulmonary resuscitation course.
(e) Evidence of completion of seven hours of AIDS education and training.
(f) Applicable fees as required in WAC 246-841-990.
(2) An applicant for nursing assistant-certified who successfully completed an approved alternative program as a medical assistant-certified must submit to the department:
(a) A completed application for nursing assistant-certified;
(b) A copy of certificate of completion from approved alternative program for medical assistant-certified;
(c) An official transcript from the nationally accredited medical assistant program;
(d) Evidence of completion of an adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation course;
(e) Evidence of completion of seven hours of AIDS education and training; and
(f) Applicable fees as required in WAC 246-841-990.
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