La. Admin. Code tit. 48 § I-10021

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section I-10021 - Competency Evaluation

A. Written or oral examinations shall be provided by an entity or organization approved by the department. The examination shall reflect the content and emphasis of the training program and shall be developed in accordance with accepted educational principles.

B. The written evaluation component shall be given in English unless the aide will be working in a facility in which the predominant language is something other than English. In this case, the examination may be taken in the written predominant language used in the facility, dependent upon the availability of a translator who shall maintain the integrity of the examination.

C. A substitute examination, including an oral component, shall be developed for those nurse aides with limited literacy skills. This examination shall contain all of the content that is included in the written examination and shall include a written reading comprehension portion that shall determine competency to read job-related information.

D. Trainees of non-facility based programs shall take the competency evaluation (through skills demonstration and either written or oral examination) within 30 days after completion of the training program.

E. Trainees shall be provided a maximum of three opportunities within one year following completion of the training program to successfully complete the competency evaluation.

F. The evaluation program shall be developed and conducted to ensure that each nurse aide, at a minimum, is able to demonstrate competencies listed in §10015 C

G. For the skills training component of the evaluation program, each nurse aide training program shall develop a performance record of duties/skills taught which shall verify proficiency attained.

1. The performance record shall consist of, at a minimum:

a. a listing of the duties/skills expected to be learned in the program; and

b. space to note satisfactory or unsatisfactory performance of each task including:

i. the date of the performance; and

ii. the name of the instructor supervising the performance.

2. At the completion of the nurse aide training program, the nurse aide and his/her employer shall receive a copy of this record. If the individual did not successfully perform all duties/skills on this performance record, he/she shall receive training for all duties and skills not satisfactorily performed until satisfactory performance is confirmed.

H. The skills demonstration of the competency evaluation program shall consist of a minimum performance of five tasks, all of which are included in the performance record. These five tasks shall be selected for each aide from a pool of evaluation tasks which have been ranked according to degree of difficulty. A random selection of tasks shall be made with at least one task from each degree of difficulty being selected. Such evaluation tasks may include, but are not limited to:

1. making an occupied bed;

2. taking and recording a resident's blood pressure, temperature, pulse and respirations;

3. orienting a new resident to the facility;

4. performing a range of motion exercises;

5. giving a bed bath;

6. positioning a resident on his/her side; and

7. responding to a demented resident who is calling out, yelling or indicating distress or anger.

I. Task-related evaluation items shall be developed to evaluate communication and psychosocial skills. The skills demonstration portion of the competency evaluation may be held in either a nursing facility or in a laboratory equipped for this purpose.

J. In the case of nursing facilities that provide their own training programs, the facility shall contact an approved entity to administer competency evaluation. The clinical portion of the competency evaluation shall be given in a nursing facility, but shall be administered by personnel not associated with the facility. The competency evaluation may be proctored by facility personnel if the competency evaluation is:

1. secured from tampering;

2. standardized;

3. scored by a testing, educational or other organization approved by the state or scored by the state itself; and

4. not administered or scored by facility personnel.

K. The examiner conducting the clinical competency evaluation for any individual trainee shall be approved by the department.

La. Admin. Code tit. 48, § I-10021

Promulgated by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of the Secretary, Bureau of Health Services Financing, LR 32:2077 (November 2006), amended by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Bureau of Health Services Financing, LR 38:1245 (May 2012).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 36:254 and P.L. 100-203.