Current through Reg. 49, No. 12; March 22, 2024
(a)
Application. An educational institution accredited by the Texas Workforce
Commission or Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that desires to offer a
training program must file an application for approval on an HHSC form.
Programs sponsored by state agencies for the training and preparation of their
own employees are exempt from the accreditation requirement. An approved
institution may offer the training program and a continuing education program.
(1) All signatures on HHSC forms and
supporting documentation must be originals.
(2) The application must include:
(A) the anticipated dates of the
program;
(B) the location(s) of the
classroom instruction and training course(s);
(C) the name of the coordinator of the
program;
(D) a list that includes
the address and telephone number of each instructor and any other persons
responsible for the conduct of the program; and
(E) an outline of the program content and
curriculum if the curriculum covers more than HHSC established
curricula.
(3) HHSC may
conduct an inspection of the classroom instruction and training site.
(4) HHSC sends notice of approval or proposed
denial of the application to the program within 30 days after receiving a
complete application. If HHSC proposes to deny the application due to
noncompliance with the requirements of Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter
242, Subchapter N, or this chapter, the reasons for denial are given in the
notice.
(5) An applicant may
request in writing a hearing on a proposed denial. The applicant must submit a
request within 15 days after the applicant receives notice of the proposed
denial. The hearing is governed by 1 TAC Chapter 357, Subchapter I (relating
the Hearings under the Administrative Procedure Act); 40 TAC Chapter 91
(relating to Hearings under the Administrative Procedure Act); and Texas
Government Code, Chapter 2001. If no request is made, the applicant has waived
the opportunity for a hearing, and the proposed action may be taken.
(b) Basic training program.
(1) A training program must include the
following instruction and training:
(A)
procedures for preparation and administration of medications;
(B) responsibility, control, accountability,
storage, and safeguarding of medications;
(C) use of reference material;
(D) documentation of medications in
resident's clinical records, including PRN medications;
(E) minimum licensing standards for
facilities covering pharmaceutical service, nursing service, and clinical
records;
(F) federal and state
certification standards for participation under Title XVIII (Medicare) and
Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act pertaining to pharmaceutical
service, nursing service, and clinical records;
(G) lines of authority in the facility,
including facility personnel who are immediate supervisors;
(H) responsibilities and liabilities
associated with the administration and safeguarding of medications;
(I) allowable and prohibited practices of
medication aides in the administration of medication;
(J) drug reactions and side effects of
medications commonly administered to facility residents; and
(K) rules covering the medication aide
program.
(2) The program
must consist of 140 hours in the following sequence: 100 hours of classroom
instruction and training; 20 hours of return skills demonstration laboratory;
10 hours of clinical experience, including clinical observation and skills
demonstration under the direct supervision of a licensed nurse in a facility;
and 10 hours of return skills demonstration laboratory. A classroom instruction
and training or laboratory hour must include 50 minutes of actual classroom
instruction and training or laboratory time.
(A) Class time must not exceed:
(i) four hours in a 24-hour period for a
facility training program; or
(ii)
eight hours in a 24-hour period for a correctional facility training
program.
(B) The
completion date of the program must be:
(i) a
minimum of 60 days and a maximum of 180 days after the starting date of the
facility training program; or
(ii)
a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 180 days after the starting date of a
correctional facility training program.
(3) Each program must follow the curricula
established by HHSC.
(4) Before a
student begins a training program, the program must:
(A) ensure the student meets training
requirements in §557.107(b)(1) - (9) of this chapter (relating to Training
Requirements; Nursing Graduates; Reciprocity);
(B) check the EMR to verify that the student
is not listed as unemployable;
(C)
check the NAR to verify if the student is listed in revoked or suspended
status; and
(D) document the
findings of the criminal history check and employability check in its
records.
(5) At least
seven days before the beginning of a training program, the coordinator must
notify HHSC in writing of the dates and daily hours of the program, and the
projected number of students.
(6) A
change in any information presented by the program in an approved application,
including location, instructors, and content must be approved by HHSC before
the change is implemented.
(7) The
program instructors of the classroom instruction and training hours must be a
registered nurse and registered pharmacist.
(A) The nurse instructor must have:
(i) a minimum of two years of experience in
caring for individuals in a long-term care setting or be an instructor in a
school of nursing, for a facility training program; or
(ii) a minimum of two years of experience
employed in a correctional setting or be an instructor in a school of nursing,
for a correctional facility program.
(B) The pharmacist instructor must have:
(i) a minimum of one year of experience and
be currently employed as a consultant pharmacist in a facility; or
(ii) a minimum of one year of experience
employed as a pharmacist in a correctional setting.
(8) The program coordinator must
provide clearly defined and written policies regarding each student's clinical
experience to the student, the administrator, and the director of nursing in
the facility used for the clinical experience.
(A) The clinical experience must be counted
only when the student is performing functions involving medication
administration and under the direct supervision of a licensed nurse.
(B) The program coordinator must be
responsible for final evaluation of the student's clinical
experience.
(9) Each
program must issue to each student, upon successful completion of the program,
a certificate of completion, which must include the program's name, the
student's name, the date of completion, and the signature of the program
coordinator or administrative official.
(10) Each program must inform HHSC on the
HHSC class roster form of the final grade results for each student within 15
days after the student's completion of the course and prior to scheduling the
exam.
(c) Continuing
education training program.
(1) The program
must consist of at least seven hours of classroom instruction and training or
online instruction.
(2) The
instructors must meet the requirements in subsection (b)(7) of this
section.
(3) Each program must
follow the curricula established by HHSC or the curriculum established by TDCJ
for corrections medication aides, as applicable.
(4) Within 10 days after a medication aide's
completion of the course, each program must inform HHSC on the HHSC class
roster form of the name of each medication aide who has completed the
course.
(d) In
developing a training program for corrections medication aides that complies
with Texas Government Code §
501.1485,
TDCJ may modify, as appropriate, the content of the training program curriculum
originally developed under Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 242, to
produce content suitable for administering medication in a correctional
facility. The training program curriculum must be approved by HHSC.
(e) Subsection (c) of this section applies to
a training program for medication aides and correction medication
aides.