Current through Register Vol. 24-18, September 15, 2024
The commission approves home care aide-certified
alternative training programs that meet approval requirements. These programs
may enroll individuals credentialed as home care aides-certified under chapter
18.88B RCW. Successful completion allows them to apply to take the state exam
evaluating competency for nursing assistant certification.
(1) An alternative program shall:
(a) Meet the requirements for initial and
ongoing approval of nursing assistant training programs in this chapter except
for the following differences:
(i) The program
must implement the common curriculum designed specifically for home care
aide-certified alternative programs, as developed and described in materials
provided by the commission in accordance with the transition timelines
established by the commission in WAC
246-841A-440 (1)(a) through
(c).
(ii) The program must provide the minimum
required training hours designed specifically for home care aide-certified
alternative programs.
(A) The minimum required
training hours are: Sixty-eight hours total, with a minimum of 49 hours of
classroom theory, a minimum of 13 hours of skills lab, and a minimum of six
hours of clinical training.
(B) The
minimum program hours include 32 hours of classroom theory training on the
specialty topics of: Developmental disabilities (16 hours); mental health
(eight hours); and dementia (eight hours).
(b) Be subject to corrective actions for
nursing assistant training programs as described in WAC
246-841A-465 through
246-841A-490, when requirements
are not met for initial and ongoing approval of nursing assistant training
programs (WAC
246-841A-420 through
246-841A-460), including those
specific to home care aide-certified alternative programs (WAC
246-841A-530 through
246-841A-555).
(c) Provide a subset of the content for
traditional nursing assistant programs as identified in the common curriculum
for the alternative program and reflecting the following competency areas found
in WAC 246-841A-400:
(i) The nursing assistant role and knowledge
of rules and regulations;
(ii)
Resident rights and promotion of independence;
(iii) Communication and interpersonal
skills;
(iv) Infection
control;
(v) Safety and emergency
procedures;
(vi) Basic nursing
skills;
(vii) Basic restorative
services;
(viii) Personal
care;
(ix) Life
transitions;
(x) Care of clients or
residents with developmental disabilities (specialty curriculum);
(xi) Mental health and social service needs
(specialty curriculum);
(xii) Care
of clients or residents with cognitive impairment (specialty
curriculum).
(2) The common curriculum for home care
aide-certified alternative programs includes the complete specialty curricula
on the topics of developmental disabilities, mental health, and dementia
developed by the department of social and health services.
(a) For students who have not already taken
the specialty classes, the training program must provide them as part of the
class.
(b) For students who have
already taken one or more of the specialty topics, the training program may
excuse them from repeating the topic(s) when they provide documentation of
successful completion.
(i) Only the specialty
classes developed specifically by the department of social and health services
qualify for acceptable training to excuse students from specialty
topic(s).
(ii) For students who are
excused, programs must retain a copy of documentation of a student's previous
specialty training in the student's file.
(3) Training to orient the student to the
health care facility and facility policies and procedures is required, but is
not included in the minimum clinical training hours required.
