Chapter 2.5 Article 2

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71828

Administrative Policies and Procedures

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(a) Each nursing facility, agency or public educational institution providing nurse assistant training shall develop and implement written administrative and management policies to govern the administrative and management of the training program, the director of staff development and instructors. Such policies shall be reviewed annually and revised as often as the nursing facility, agency or public educational institution determines necessary. A copy of the written policies shall be made available upon request to the Department.

(b) Policies shall include but not be limited to:(1) Job descriptions detailing qualifications, duties, responsibilities, and limitations for the licensed nurse program director and the instructors.

(2) An organizational chart showing the person in charge of the program, the lines of authority, responsibility, communication, staff assignments, and schedules.

(3) The method of monitoring instructors by the individual responsible for the training program.

(4) The ratio of students to instructor(s) for the clinical training, not to exceed a ratio of one 1 instructor to fifteen 15 students.

(5) How student absenteeism and makeup classes will be handled.

(c) No nursing facility shall permit students to practice their clinical skills training or have contact with patients unless they have been screened and there is no indication they have been convicted of crimes defined in sections 220, 243.4, 261, 264.1, 273a, 288, 289, and 368 of the Penal Code.

(d) No nursing facility, agency, or public institution shall make or disseminate false or misleading statements or advertisements regarding training provided.

(e) No nursing facility, agency, or public institution shall make a claim that completion of their program may lead to a student receiving a nurse assistant certification unless the nursing facility, agency, or public institution provides a nurse assistant training program approved by the Department.

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71829

Director of Staff Development or Instructor

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(a) Each nursing facility, agency or public educational institution providing nurse assistant training shall be responsible for hiring qualified staff and shall submit a resume to the Department reflecting the qualifications of a Director of Staff Development or Instructor who must be approved by the Department. In nursing facilities a licensed nurse who meets the qualifications in this section may provide the training in place of the DSD when the DSD is absent due to illness or vacation or when the DSD has terminated employment. In the latter instance the facility must show evidence of recruitment efforts. A copy of the resume must be kept on file at the facility or agency. The Department shall be notified within 30 calendar days following the employment of a new Director of Staff Development or Instructor.

(1) Submission of a resume shall be deemed to occur on the date the resume is received by the Department.

(2) A resume shall be considered complete when it clearly addresses all the qualifications required by this section.

(b) The Department shall inform the facility, agency or public institution, within 30 calendar days of receipt of the resume that it is complete and accepted or that it is deficient and what specific information or documentation is required to complete the resume.

(c) The Department's maximum time period to approve a resume for an Instructor or Director of Staff Development shall be 60 calendar days, from the receipt of the initial application to the final decision regarding the resume. To prevent delays, the Department may provide telephone approvals whenever possible. Telephone approvals shall be followed by written confirmations.

(d) The nursing facility, agency or public educational institution is responsible for assuring that the Director of Staff Development or Instructor who teaches the certification training program meets either of the following qualification requirements:(1) 1 year of experience as a licensed nurse providing direct patient care in a long term care facility in addition to 1 year of experience planning, implementing and evaluating educational programs in nursing; or(2) 2 years of full time experience as a licensed nurse, at least one year of which must be in the provision of direct patient care in a nursing facility. Within 6 months of employment and prior to teaching a certification program, the Director of Staff Development or Instructor shall obtain a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education courses in planning, implementing and evaluation educational programs in nursing. These must either be courses approved by the Board of Registered Nursing or courses administered by an accredited educational institution. A transcript of successfully completed courses shall be sent to the Department and shall be used as a basis for approval of the qualifications of the Director of Staff Development or Instructor. A copy of the transcript shall be kept on file at the nursing facility, agency or public educational institution.

(e) Depending on the number of beds, nursing facilities which provide only an orientation program and in-service program must employ or contract with a Director of Staff Development according to the minimum number of hours specified in Column A. Nursing facilities which also have a certification program shall employ or contract with a Director of Staff Development according to the minimum number of hours specified in Column B. The Department may require a facility to proved additional staff in accordance with 22 CCR section 72501(g).

Column A:

100 or more beds - 93 hours/month

60-99 beds - 54 hours/month

1-59 beds - 26 hours/month

Column B:

100 or more beds - 40 hours/week

60-99 beds - 30 hours/week

1-59 beds - 20 hours/week

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71831

Program Flexibility

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(a) Although facilities, agencies and public educational institutions are required to comply with sections 71801 through 71853, these requirements shall not prohibit the use of alternate concepts, methods, procedures, techniques or personnel qualifications in the provision of nurse assistant training programs provided such exceptions are carried out without reduction in the quality of nurse assistant training, the quality of patient care in the facility or the ability of the certification training program to prepare nurse assistants for certification. Such exceptions may only be carried out with the prior written approval of the Department which shall provide for the terms and conditions under which the exception is granted. A written request and substantiating evidence supporting the request shall be submitted by the applicant or licensee to the Department.

(b) Submission of a request for program flexibility must be made in the format and on a form developed by the Department. Form DHS 5000, 5/92, is hereby incorporated by reference. Submission of the program flexibility request shall be deemed to occur on the date the request is received by the Department. This form can be obtained by writing to the Department at the address specified in Section 71833(b).

(c) A request is considered complete when the facility, agency or public institution has fully described how it intends to meet the regulatory requirement in an alternate manner.

(d) The Department shall inform the facility, agency, or public institution within 30 calendar days of receipt of a request for flexibility that the request is complete and accepted for consideration or that the request is deficient and what specific information or documentation is required to complete the request.

(e) The Department shall within 60 days of a completed request, notify the facility, agency or public institution in writing, of the Department's decision regarding the request.

(f) The Department's time frames for processing a program flexibility request from the day a complete request is received are as follows:

Minimum 30 days

Median 45 days

Maximum 60 days