Ohio Administrative Code
Title 4751 - State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators
Chapter 4751-1 - General Provisions
Section 4751-1-09 - Administrator-in-training program
Universal Citation: OH Admin Code 4751-1-09
Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) Introduction: The board has established the administrator-in-training ("AIT") program as the way for a person who seeks initial licensure as a nursing home administrator to obtain a period of practical training and experience ("internship") in nursing home administration under direct supervision of a licensed nursing home administrator ("preceptor") who is in full-time practice in a nursing home that the board approved as the AIT's training agency ("internship site").
(B) Dates: All internships in the AIT program shall begin on the first day of the first month of the calendar quarter, namely: January 1, April 1, July 1, or October 1.
(C) Registration:
(1) How to register: To register for
internship in the AIT program, an applicant shall submit all of the following
items to the board:
(a) The fee
invoice, preliminary data for AIT program
form, the AIT application, the employment status
form, and the facility survey form having complete and accurate entries of
information.
(b) Certified
transcript(s) of college credits and proof of degree(s), in accordance with
paragraph (A)(4) of rule
4751-1-05 of the Administrative
Code; said transcripts to be sent by the institution directly to the office of
the board.
(c) Certificate or other
specific and adequate documentation of completion of approved course of study
or program of instruction meeting the special academic requirements in the
subject areas specific to health care administration in accordance with
paragraph (A)(5) of rule
4751-1-05 of the Administrative
Code.
(d) Any additional or
supplemental documentation to support data entries on the application form and
to establish any qualifying administrative experience.
(e) The
professional
development plan, with its supporting documentation.
(2) Deadline: The applicant shall submit all
parts of the application to the board so that the application is on file with
the board at least
twenty-one days before the regular board meeting
that precedes the requested beginning date of an internship with the AIT
program.
(3) Board approval: The
board shall only approve an applicant's registration for internship in the AIT
program if the board is satisfied that the applicant meets, or has arranged to
meet, each of the following requirements:
(a)
The applicant is at least twenty-one years of age.
(b) The applicant has good health and is
otherwise suitable to the practice of nursing home administration according to
paragraph (A)(3) of rule
4751-1-05 of the Administrative
Code.
(c) The applicant meets
general education requirements of paragraph (A)(4) of rule
4751-1-05 of the Administrative
Code.
(d) The applicant has
submitted records to the board to verify that he or she meets, or has arranged
to meet, the special academic requirements of paragraph (A)(5) of rule
4751-1-05 of the Administrative
Code.
(e) The applicant has
arranged for an internship at an internship site(s) of which the board
approves, pursuant to paragraph (A)(6) of rule
4751-1-05 of the Administrative
Code.
(f) The internship site(s)
will not employ the applicant in any capacity other than that of an AIT during
the internship hours.
(g) The
applicant does not have a substantial financial interest in any nursing home
that will be the internship site at which he or she would serve a major portion
of his or her internship.
(h) The
applicant successfully completed a background check (BCI and FBI) with the
results sent directly to the board office.
(i) The applicant completed the report of
conviction form, as applicable.
(j)
The board, in accordance with section
9.79 of the Revised Code, has
determined that the results of the background check do not make the individual
ineligible for the license.
(D) Training site:
(1) The training site shall comply with all
the following:
(a) The training site shall be
under the full-time supervision of a licensed nursing home administrator who
qualifies as a preceptor. Full-time is defined as a minimum of thirty-five
hours per week in the nursing facility. If the licensed nursing home
administration splits time between multiple buildings, the AIT shall follow the
preceptor to those sites, and those additional sites shall also be approved.
(b) The training site shall
provide professional nursing care under the full-time supervision of a director
of nursing who is a registered nurse. The director of nursing shall have at
least two years' full-time experience as an RN in a nursing home or
hospital.
(c) The training site
shall be staffed and operated in accordance with all applicable local, state,
and federal laws and rules and be deemed by the board
to provide quality care in a safe environment. The administrator shall be
required to submit copies of all current survey
reports.
(d)
Out-of-state training sites in contiguous states may be
approved at the discretion of the board. The preceptor and AIT remain under the
board's jurisdiction. All Ohio requirements must be met in order to
successfully complete the program.
(2) The internship shall only be served at
the training site(s) approved by the board prior to the beginning of the
program. An alternate training site is allowed on a temporary basis only for
specific purposes (e.g., when such training cannot be provided at the approved
site).
(E) Professional development plan: The professional development plan for internship in the AIT program shall provide documentation that the following requirements have been, or will be, met:
(1) A pre-training
assessment of the applicant's background in terms of educational level,
pertinent experience, maturity, motivation, and initiative has been made
jointly by the applicant and the preceptor.
(2) Based on the pre-training assessment, the
applicant and the preceptor have jointly developed a detailed goal-oriented
professional development plan with adequate supporting
documentation that relates educational objectives, subject areas of the core of
knowledge in nursing home administration, training sites and/or agencies
involved, estimated number of hours needed for mastering each objective, and
total number of hours in the
professional development plan.
The NAB professional development plan form shall be
used. This form is located within the "National Administrator-in-Training
Program Manual, Module 3 - NHA" (2021) at
https://www.nabweb.org.
(3)
Supporting documentation for the
professional development plan shall include
preceptor's qualifications, the qualifications of the nursing director at the
internship site(s), and a description of each internship site and the staff
that is necessary to determine the site's adequacy to meet specific goals in
the
professional development plan.
(4)
Use of the AIT
self-assessment is mandatory. This is necessary to give the AIT and preceptor
an accurate assessment for the AIT's strengths and weaknesses, and a guide to
the hours needed to be spent instructing each domain of
practice.
(F) Waiver requests:
(1)
It is the
responsibility of the AIT and/or preceptor to document any waiver request which
is submitted. Reduction in hour requests must be applied for prior to the AIT
program approval.
(2)
Requests for reduction in internship hours are granted
for two reasons: education and experience. Significant experience in a nursing
facility is required in order to qualify for a three-month/five-hundred-hour
reduction based upon experience. The AIT shall be able to demonstrate mastery
of at least five-hundred-hours' worth of training plan knowledge specific to a
nursing facility setting.
(3)
The board-supplied required training plan must be
used.
(4)
The plan must list in the margin the number of hours
needed for mastering each subject area and objective, and must indicate the
total number of hours in the plan.
(5)
An AIT requesting
a reduction of the internship hours must still submit a training plan for the
maximum number of hours required at his/her education level (in the margin) in
addition to the second column of hours showing the requested
reduction.
(6)
The board's decision on waiver requests is
final.
(G) Training hours:
(1) An internship is approved for a set
number of months and hours. Both the months and the hours apply, i.e., a
nine-month, one-thousand-five-hundred-hour internship shall be completed over
nine months and a total of one thousand five hundred hours. This applies to
internships of all lengths.
(2)
Time spent at the core of knowledge course does not count towards the hours
required for the internship.
(3)
The AIT is expected to serve the internship primarily between the hours of six
a.m and six p.m, Monday to Friday, and serve a minimum of thirty-five hours per
week. This does not preclude the AIT from training on weekends and second and
third shifts. The preceptor is expected to be available to the AIT by phone but
is not expected to work the varying shifts with the AIT.
(4) An AIT may be granted internship credit
for up to ten days of jury duty, but if the days of jury duty exceed that
number, the AIT shall request a leave of absence for the additional days and be
required to make up the time. The board shall not unreasonably deny such
request.
(5)
Normally a
monthly schedule of internship should not exceed one hundred eighty hours. Some
allowance is made for extra hours which are served to make up time spent at the
core of knowledge course during the internship.
(6)
Vacations/leaves
of absence: request for vacations or leaves of absence in excess of two weeks
must be made to the board office, countersigned by the preceptor and the time
must be made up.
(7)
Continuing education programs attended during the
internship will be reported to the board on the monthly report
form.
(8)
Continuing education courses taken prior to licensing
will not count for licensure renewal.
(9)
The AIT shall
attend the board's virtual AIT training course.
(10)
The AIT must be
at the facility at the specified times. In case of illness or other problems,
the AIT must contact the administrator and explain the absence or tardiness as
soon as possible.
(11)
The AIT must comply with facility policy relative to
the treatment of the persons served and communications, dress code, grooming,
etc.
(12)
If the AIT experiences problems at the facility which
cannot be resolved in cooperation with the assigned supervisor, it is the AIT's
responsibility to contact first the preceptor, and if necessary, the board
office.
(H) Evaluation:
(1) Monitoring: During an internship, the
board may monitor the internship and may call for the AIT and preceptor into a
conference with the board.
(2) AIT
reporting:
(a) Each AIT shall file such
periodic and summary reports as required by and in the format prescribed by the
board.
(b) The AIT and the
preceptor shall both sign, then file, each report required in paragraph (E)(1)
of this rule with the board no more than ten days after the end of each
reporting period. If the AIT fails to file reports
promptly, such trainee may be deemed to have abandoned the
administrator-in-training program.
(c) If an AIT fails to report to the board
before the deadline in paragraph (E)(2) of this rule, the board may determine
that the AIT abandoned the AIT program.
(d)
The AIT is
required to keep an accurate daily log of all training hours and subject areas
covered during the internship. This is necessary not only to provide an
accurate tally of hours on the monthly reports to the board, but also as
documentation of day by day activity. This daily log is to be kept throughout
the internship. It must be available for review by the board representative at
the training site at all times.
(3) Board determination: After the AIT
completes an internship, the board shall determine if the AIT received training
that complies with this rule before the board admits the AIT to licensure
examination.
(I) Reciprocity: The board may grant credit towards the AIT program for an AIT's internship in another state's internship program if the AIT registers with the board no later than ninety days after he or she leaves the other state's training program.
(J) Preceptors:
(1) No preceptor shall be related by blood or
marriage to the AIT.
(2) No
preceptor shall have a personal financial interest in the licensure of an
AIT.
(3) A preceptor shall not
train his or her employer or supervisor.
(4) The AIT program is not responsible for
any financial arrangements between an AIT and the preceptor/facility.
(5)
The AIT cannot
serve as the director of nursing while in the administrator-intraining
program.
(6) At the discretion
of the board, a licensed nursing home administrator may be approved by the
board to supervise the practical training and experience of future nursing home
administrators in the board-approved AIT program.
(7) Approval is
temporary and shall be re-applied for prior to the start of each training
program. If the board should determine that a nursing home administrator is
unsatisfactory to serve as a preceptor, the board may withdraw its approval and
deny future approval.
(8)
Preceptors shall attend the board's virtual preceptor
training course for each AIT unless they have attended one in the past
year.
(9) The board shall
base its approval on the following:
(a)
Whether the administrator is in good
standing with the board: has an active license, and any recent disciplinary
action on record.
(b) Whether
the administrator has successfully
completed NAB's online preceptor training course.
(c) Whether the administrator has successfully mentored other AITs.
(d) The manner in which the administrator has
administered the facility as documented by state inspections and certifications
and any recent substandard care citations.
(e) A preceptor shall be a full-time nursing
home administrator who has been licensed in and has practiced full-time in Ohio
for a minimum of two years and shall have a current certificate of
registration.
(10) The preceptor
shall request permission from the board to train more than one AIT
concurrently. There is a limit of two AITs per preceptor at any one time.
Out-of-state preceptors must have been licensed and
practiced full-time for a minimum of two years and have a current certificate
of registration.
(11)
The preceptor should provide adequate orientation to
the trainee before assigning responsibilities. Orientation should include
knowledge of physical layout, personnel policies, goals, objectives, programs,
etc.
(12)
The preceptor should spell out the AIT's
responsibilities, authority and limitations in the student
role.
(13)
The preceptor should provide physical facilities and
equipment needed by the AIT to perform the required tasks.
(14)
The preceptor shall contact the board if problems arise that preclude the
successful completion of the program by the AIT.
(15) The preceptor
shall notify the board of any employment status changes potentially affecting
the AIT's internship program.
(16) If a preceptor
fails to provide the AIT an opportunity to follow and complete the
board-approved
professional development plan while the AIT is
under the preceptor's supervision, the board may disqualify the preceptor from
further service in the preceptor program.
(K) Adverse actions:
(1)
If the AIT
experiences problems at the facility which cannot be resolved in cooperation
with the assigned supervisor, it is the AIT's responsibility to contact first
the preceptor, and if necessary, the board office.
(2) If
an AIT discontinues his or her internship in the approved internship site(s),
the AIT and the preceptor shall report the AIT's discontinuance to the board
before the tenth day after the discontinuance.
(3) The board may
disqualify or disallow all (or part) of an internship period if the board
determines that an AIT fails to serve an internship that complies with this
rule.
(4) The board may
terminate or rearrange all or part of the internship if, during an AIT's
internship, the board determines that the internship is
unsatisfactory.
(5) An AIT shall not
serve in the capacity of a licensed nursing home administrator or assistant
administrator. The board may disqualify the entire internship period of an AIT
who serves in the capacity of a licensed nursing home administrator.
(6) If
a preceptor fails to provide the AIT an opportunity for an adequate internship
while the AIT is under his or her supervision, the board may disqualify the
preceptor from further service in the AIT program.
(7) The board may deny
an AIT admission for examination to become a licensed nursing home
administrator if the AIT falsified or misrepresented facts on an application,
documents that support an application, or in any periodic or summary reports on
an internship.
(8) According to rule
4751-1-12 of the Administrative
Code, the board may suspend or revoke a license if the administrator falsified
or misrepresented facts on an application, documents that support an
application, or in any periodic or summary reports on an internship.
(L) Non-party: Any financial arrangements between preceptor/facility and administrator-in-training are the joint responsibility of the parties involved and are not the responsibility of the board.
(M) Core of knowledge:
(1)
The core of
knowledge course is designed specifically for the administrator-intraining
(AIT) participant. This course meets the special academic requirement set by
BELTSS for qualifying to take the state licensure board
examination.
(2)
The content of the course is designed to provide
information and promote understanding that will lead to more effective
performance in the administration of long-term care. The subject areas covered
have been recommended by the national association of long-term care
administrator boards and endorsed by BELTSS.
(3)
BELTSS expects
you to attend every day of the core of knowledge course. You may be required to
make up time, which may incur an additional fee.
(4)
All those
satisfactorily completing the course will receive a certificate which satisfies
the requirement of the board of executives of long-term services and supports
(BELTSS).
(5)
The BELTSS core code of conduct, available from the
course provider, shall be followed.
(N) Definitions for this rule:
"AIT application" means "'Form AIT' (Rev., January 2023)."
"Employment status form" means "'Employment Status Form' (Rev., January 2023)."
"Facility survey form" means "'Facility Survey Form' (Rev., December 2016)."
"Preliminary data for AIT program" means "'Preliminary Data for AIT Program' (Rev., January 2023)."
"Report of conviction form" means "'Report of Conviction Form' (Rev., March 2020)."
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Ohio may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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