Current through Register Vol. 24-18, September 15, 2024
The commission approves medical assistant-certified
alternative training programs that meet approval requirements. These programs
serve individuals credentialed as medical assistants-certified as defined in
WAC 246-841A-535(2).
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 medical
assistant-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 medical assistant-certified
alternative programs.
(A) The minimum required
training hours are: Sixty-eight hours total, with a minimum of 48 hours of
classroom theory, a minimum of 14 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 medical assistant-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 medical
assistant-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) Training programs must
follow the regulations in WAC
246-841A-430 and
246-841A-440 for incorporating
and teaching specialty curricula.
(c) 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.
