Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Each applicant for a permit issued under
this chapter must complete a training program unless the applicant meets the
requirements of subsection (c) or (e) of this section.
(b) Before submitting an application for a
permit under this chapter, an applicant must:
(1) be able to read, write, speak, and
understand English;
(2) be at least
18 years of age;
(3) be free of
communicable diseases and in suitable physical and emotional health to safely
administer medications;
(4) be a
high school graduate or have proof of successfully passing a general
educational development test;
(5)
if a home health medication aide, have satisfactorily completed a home health
aide training and competency evaluation program or a competency evaluation
program under §
558.701 of this title (relating to
Home Health Aides);
(6) be employed
in a facility or home health agency, as a nurse aide or nonlicensed direct care
staff person on the first official day of the applicant's medication aide
training program;
(7) have been
employed:
(A) as a nurse aide in a
Medicare-skilled nursing facility or a Medicaid nursing facility; or
(B) in a facility or by a home health agency,
for 90 days as a nonlicensed direct care staff person during the 12-month
period before the first official day of the applicant's medication aide
training program;
(8) not
have a criminal history that HHSC determines is a basis for denying the permit
under §
557.121 of this chapter (relating
to Permitting of Persons with Criminal Backgrounds);
(9) not be listed as unemployable on the EMR;
and
(10) not be listed with a
revoked or suspended status on the NAR.
(c) A person who is attending or has attended
an accredited school of nursing and who does not hold a license to practice
professional or vocational nursing meets the training requirement for issuance
of a permit under this chapter if the person:
(1) attended the nursing school no earlier
than January 1 of the year immediately preceding the year of application for a
permit under this chapter;
(2)
successfully completed courses at the nursing school that covered the HHSC
curriculum for a medication aide training program;
(3) submits a statement, with the application
for a permit and combined permit application and examination fee as provided in
§
557.109 of this chapter (relating
to Application Procedures), on the form provided by HHSC, signed by the nursing
school's administrator or other authorized individual, certifying that the
person completed the courses specified in paragraph (2) of this subsection;
and
(4) complies with subsection
(e)(5) and (6) of this section.
(d) The administrator or other authorized
individual referred to in subsection (c)(3) of this section is responsible for
determining that the nursing school courses cover HHSC curriculum.
(e) A person who is a graduate of an
accredited school of nursing and who does not hold a license to practice
professional or vocational nursing meets the training requirement for issuance
of a permit under this chapter if the date of graduation from the nursing
school was no earlier than January 1 of the year immediately preceding the year
of application for a permit under this chapter.
(1) The applicant must submit an official
application form to HHSC through the online portal. The applicant must meet the
requirements of subsection (b)(1) - (4), (8), and (9) of this
section.
(2) The application must
be accompanied by the combined permit application and examination fee as set
out in §
557.109(c) of
this chapter.
(3) The applicant
must include an official transcript documenting graduation from an accredited
school of nursing.
(4) HHSC
acknowledges receipt of the application by sending the applicant a copy of this
chapter and the HHSC open book examination.
(5) The applicant must complete the open book
examination and return it to HHSC via email by the date given in the
examination notice.
(6) The
applicant must complete the HHSC written examination. HHSC denies the
application of an applicant who fails to schedule and take the written
examination by the date given in the examination notice.
(7) The open-book or written examination may
not be retaken if the applicant fails the examination.
(8) Upon successful completion of the
open-book and written examinations, HHSC evaluates all application documents
submitted by the applicant.
(9)
HHSC notifies the applicant of the examination results through the online
portal.
(f) A person who
holds a valid license, registration, certificate, or permit as a medication
aide issued by another state whose minimum standards or requirements are
substantially equivalent to or exceed the requirements of this chapter that is
in effect at the time of application, may request a waiver of the training
program requirement as follows:
(1) The
applicant must submit an official application form to HHSC through the online
portal. The applicant must meet the requirements of subsection (b)(1) - (4),
(8), and (9) of this section.
(2)
The application must be accompanied by the combined permit application and
examination fee required in §
557.109(c) of
this chapter.
(3) The application
must include a current copy of the rules of the other state governing its
licensing and regulation of medication aides, a copy of the legal authority
(law, act, code, or other) for the state's licensing program, and a certified
copy of the license or certificate for which the reciprocal permit is
requested.
(4) HHSC acknowledges
receipt of the application by sending the applicant a copy of this chapter and
the HHSC open book examination.
(5)
HHSC may contact the issuing agency to verify the applicant's status with the
agency.
(6) The applicant must
complete the HHSC open-book examination and return it to HHSC via email by the
date given in the examination notice.
(7) The applicant must complete the HHSC
written examination. The site of the examination is determined by HHSC. HHSC
denies the application of an applicant failing to schedule and take the
examination by the date given in the examination notice.
(8) An open-book or written examination may
not be retaken if the applicant fails the examination.
(9) Upon successful completion of the two
examinations, HHSC evaluates all application documents submitted by the
applicant.
(10) HHSC notifies the
applicant of the examination results through the online
portal.
