Subject of Possible Rule Making: WAC 246-840-010, 246-840-840, 246-840-850, 246-840-860, and 246-840-905, nursing technicians, the nursing care quality assurance commission (NCQAC) is considering amendments to nursing technician rules to provide practice opportunities to licensed practical nurse (LPN) students.

Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: The NCQAC's legislative panel recently completed a review of the benefits of apprenticeship programs and opportunities to improve transition into the workforce for LPN students. After the review, the panel reported to the NCQAC its suggestion to open the rules to grant LPN students the same opportunity as registered nurse (RN) students to obtain a nursing technician credential. The NCQAC felt that granting the same opportunity to LPN students could provide a positive impact on the students and allow for a better transition into the workforce by creating opportunities for valuable judgment and knowledge gains through expanded work opportunities. The NCQAC is also considering making amendments to WAC 246-840-860 to eliminate the requirement for nursing technician applicants to complete seven clock hours of AIDS education. This training is no longer required per ESHB 1551 (chapter 76, Laws of 2020). Amendments may also address staffing shortages resulting from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other public health emergencies.

Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Brandon Williams, P.O. Box 47864, Olympia, WA 98504, phone 360-236-4239, fax 360-236-4738, TTY 711, email brandon.williams@doh.wa.gov, website https://www.doh.wa.gov/LicensesPermitsandCertificates/NursingCommission.

Additional comments: By joining the NCQAC's GovDelivery distribution system, interested parties can stay up to date with news, alerts and rule-making activities from the NCQAC, https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WADOH/subscriber/new.