198.082. Nursing assistant training programs--training incomplete, special requirements and supervision for assistant beginning duties. - Missouri Statutes

Nursing assistant training programs--training incomplete, specialrequirements and supervision for assistant beginning duties.

198.082. 1. Each nursing assistant hired to work in a skilled nursingor intermediate care facility after January 1, 1980, shall have successfullycompleted a nursing assistant training program approved by the department orshall enroll in and begin the first available approved training program whichis scheduled to commence within ninety days of the date of the nursingassistant's employment and which shall be completed within four months ofemployment. Training programs shall be offered at any facility licensed orapproved by the department of health and senior services which is mostreasonably accessible to the enrollees in each class. The program may beestablished by the skilled nursing or intermediate care facility, by aprofessional organization, or by the department, and training shall be givenby the personnel of the facility, by a professional organization, by thedepartment, by any community college or by the vocational education departmentof any high school.

2. As used in this section the term "nursing assistant" means anemployee, including a nurse's aide or an orderly, who is assigned by a skillednursing or intermediate care facility to provide or assist in the provision ofdirect resident health care services under the supervision of a nurse licensedunder the nursing practice law, chapter 335, RSMo. This section shall notapply to any person otherwise licensed to perform health care services underthe laws of this state. It shall not apply to volunteers or to members ofreligious or fraternal orders which operate and administer the facility, ifsuch volunteers or members work without compensation.

3. The training program after January 1, 1989, shall consist of at leastthe following:

(1) A training program consisting of at least seventy-five classroomhours of training on basic nursing skills, clinical practice, resident safetyand rights, the social and psychological problems of residents, and themethods of handling and caring for mentally confused residents such as thosewith Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, and one hundred hourssupervised and on-the-job training. The one hundred hours shall be completedwithin four months of employment and may consist of normal employment as nurseassistants under the supervision of a licensed nurse; and

(2) Continuing in-service training to assure continuing competency inexisting and new nursing skills. All nursing assistants trained prior toJanuary 1, 1989, shall attend, by August 31, 1989, an entire specialretraining program established by rule or regulation of the department whichshall contain information on methods of handling mentally confused residentsand which may be offered on premises by the employing facility.

4. Nursing assistants who have not successfully completed the nursingassistant training program prior to employment may begin duties as a nursingassistant only after completing an initial twelve hours of basic orientationapproved by the department and may provide direct resident care only if underthe general supervision of a licensed nurse prior to completion of theseventy-five classroom hours of the training program.

(L. 1979 S.B. 328, et al. § 27, A.L. 1988 S.B. 602, A.L. 2003 S.B. 556 & 311)