Section 4.03 - Criteria for Acceptance(1) A Nursing Home Administrator may earn continuing education contact hours for any of the following activities: (a) Attending a graduate or undergraduate course at an institution accredited by the United States Department of Education or other organization approved by the Board;(b) Teaching a graduate or undergraduate course or seminar;(c) Publishing a paper in a juried professional journal;(d) Attending a course, program, seminar, conference, workshop, or similar educational event outside Massachusetts that has been approved for continuing education credit by NAB;(e) Attending a course, program, seminar, conference, workshop, or similar educational event within Massachusetts presented, sponsored or approved by: 1. a state or federal agency that regulates the operation of nursing homes or oversees the provision of long term care services;2. an education institution or professional organization that has been granted "approved" status by the Board pursuant to 245 CMR 4.03(4); or(2)Content and Program Administration Requirements. Continuing education contact hours shall be granted for a continuing education activity only if it meets the content requirements of 245 CMR 4.03. (a)Content Requirements. Continuing education contact hours shall be granted for mandatory training that satisfies M.G.L. c. 112, § 264 and 245 CMR 3.05: Mandatory Training as a Condition of Licensure, and for any continuing education activity that: 1. contributes to the professional competence of nursing home administrators or improves their ability to carry out their professional responsibilities; and2. covers a subject matter that pertains to one of the following domains of practice as a nursing home administrator: a. Resident care management;d. Environmental management; or(b)Program Administration Requirements. 1.Courses, Seminars, Conferences, Workshops and Similar Events. Continuing education contact hours shall be granted for a course, seminar, program, conference, workshop or similar event only if: a. The course, seminar, program, conference or workshop is open and available to any and all licensed nursing home administrators. Programs which are offered only to specific individual facilities, companies or entities are not eligible for continuing education contact hours;b. The educational institution or professional organization sponsoring or presenting the event has sufficient expertise in the subject matter or in adult education;c. Each member of the faculty for the course, seminar, program, conference or workshop has sufficient experience and/or educational background in the subject matter he or she will be presenting;d. The learning objectives for the course, seminar, program, conference or workshop are clearly defined in writing;e. The teaching methods used in presenting the subject matter are suitable for both the audience and the subject matter;f. Attendance at the course, seminar, program, conference or workshop is monitored and certificates or other written evidence of completion of the continuing education activity are distributed only to those licensees who attend the entire course or program;g. Courses or seminars for which academic credit is offered are considered successfully completed only if the attendee receives a passing grade for the course or seminar;h. The course, seminar, program, conference or workshop has a program evaluation component, the results of which shall be made available to the Board upon request; i. The number of continuing education contact hours awarded to an attendee does not exceed the actual time of instruction; andj. The responsibility for approval of a particular course, seminar, program, conference or workshop rests with an appropriately qualified long term care professional or professional educator.2.Self-study Programs. Continuing education contact hours shall be granted for a self-study program only if: a. The self-study program is in any appropriate medium;b. The self-study program contains both a pre-test and a post-test;c. A certificate of completion of the self-study program is awarded to a licensee only if he or she obtains a passing score of 75% or better on the post-test; andd. The self-study program materials adequately describe the number of study hours required for successful completion of the program.(3)"Approved" Status for Educational and Professional Organizations. Applicant organizations must meet the following requirements in order to obtain "Approved " status: (a) The applicant organization files a written application for "Approved" status with the Board;(b) The applicant organization agrees in writing to ensure all continuing education activities presented, sponsored or approved by that organization meet all applicable program content and administration requirements of 245 CMR 4.03(2);(c) The applicant organization provides the Board with a written list of all continuing education activities presented, sponsored or approved by that organization; and(d) The applicant organization establishes and maintains written records of who attendsed each continuing education activity presented, sponsored or approved by that organization, and provides a copy of such records to the Board. The Board may, by majority vote, rescind the "approved" status of any Massachusetts health care or educational organization at any time for failure to comply with any applicable requirement of 245 CMR 4.03(2) or (4) or for other good cause shown.
(4)Approval of Individual Continuing Education Activities by Board. A Nursing Home Administrator may obtain approval directly from the Board for a continuing education activity. Such approval shall be granted only if the Nursing Home Administrator submits written documentation satisfactory to the Board that the continuing education activity in question meets all applicable program content and program administration requirements of 245 CMR 4.03.(5)Verification of Continuing Education. (a) Each Nursing Home Administrator shall maintain a record of all continuing education activities he or she has completed for a period of not less than four consecutive licensure periods, inclusive of the licensure period during which the course or program was completed.(b) Upon written request by the Board, a Nursing Home Administrator shall furnish to the Board such information as the Board may reasonably require regarding all continuing education activities completed by him or her. A Nursing Home Administrator who is requested to submit such verification of his or her continuing education activities shall submit written verification of all of the following: 1. The name or title of the continuing education activity in question;2. The date(s) on which the continuing education activity in question was presented and completed;3. A copy of the certificate of completion or other written evidence of completion of the continuing education activity in question;4. The number of continuing education contact hours awarded for the activity in question; and5. The name of the agency, educational institution or professional organization which authorized the award of continuing education contact hours for the activity in question. Failure or refusal to provide timely proof of completion of the number of continuing education contact hours required by 245 CMR 4.03 upon the request of the Board shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action by the Board, including but not limited to refusal to renew the license.
Adopted by Mass Register Issue 1329, eff. 12/30/2016.