SECTION 557.119. Training Program Requirements

(a) Application. An educational institution accredited by the Texas Workforce Commission or Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that desires to offer a training program must file an application for approval on an HHSC form. Programs sponsored by state agencies for the training and preparation of their own employees are exempt from the accreditation requirement. An approved institution may offer the training program and a continuing education program.

(1) All signatures on HHSC forms and supporting documentation must be originals.

(2) The application must include:

(A) the anticipated dates of the program;

(B) the location(s) of the classroom instruction and training course(s);

(C) the name of the coordinator of the program;

(D) a list that includes the address and telephone number of each instructor and any other persons responsible for the conduct of the program; and

(E) an outline of the program content and curriculum if the curriculum covers more than HHSC established curricula.

(3) HHSC may conduct an inspection of the classroom instruction and training site.

(4) HHSC sends notice of approval or proposed denial of the application to the program within 30 days after receiving a complete application. If HHSC proposes to deny the application due to noncompliance with the requirements of Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 242, Subchapter N, or this chapter, the reasons for denial are given in the notice.

(5) An applicant may request in writing a hearing on a proposed denial. The applicant must submit a request within 15 days after the applicant receives notice of the proposed denial. The hearing is governed by 1 TAC Chapter 357, Subchapter I (relating the Hearings under the Administrative Procedure Act); 40 TAC Chapter 91 (relating to Hearings under the Administrative Procedure Act); and Texas Government Code, Chapter 2001. If no request is made, the applicant has waived the opportunity for a hearing, and the proposed action may be taken.

(b) Basic training program.

(1) A training program must include the following instruction and training:

(A) procedures for preparation and administration of medications;

(B) responsibility, control, accountability, storage, and safeguarding of medications;

(C) use of reference material;

(D) documentation of medications in resident's clinical records, including PRN medications;

(E) minimum licensing standards for facilities covering pharmaceutical service, nursing service, and clinical records;

(F) federal and state certification standards for participation under Title XVIII (Medicare) and Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act pertaining to pharmaceutical service, nursing service, and clinical records;

(G) lines of authority in the facility, including facility personnel who are immediate supervisors;

(H) responsibilities and liabilities associated with the administration and safeguarding of medications;

(I) allowable and prohibited practices of medication aides in the administration of medication;

(J) drug reactions and side effects of medications commonly administered to facility residents; and

(K) rules covering the medication aide program.

(2) The program must consist of 140 hours in the following sequence: 100 hours of classroom instruction and training; 20 hours of return skills demonstration laboratory; 10 hours of clinical experience, including clinical observation and skills demonstration under the direct supervision of a licensed nurse in a facility; and 10 hours of return skills demonstration laboratory. A classroom instruction and training or laboratory hour must include 50 minutes of actual classroom instruction and training or laboratory time.

(A) Class time must not exceed:

(i) four hours in a 24-hour period for a facility training program; or

(ii) eight hours in a 24-hour period for a correctional facility training program.

(B) The completion date of the program must be:

(i) a minimum of 60 days and a maximum of 180 days after the starting date of the facility training program; or

(ii) a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 180 days after the starting date of a correctional facility training program.

(3) Each program must follow the curricula established by HHSC.

(4) Before a student begins a training program, the program must:

(A) ensure the student meets training requirements in §557.107(b)(1) - (9) of this chapter (relating to Training Requirements; Nursing Graduates; Reciprocity);

(B) check the EMR to verify that the student is not listed as unemployable;

(C) check the NAR to verify if the student is listed in revoked or suspended status; and

(D) document the findings of the criminal history check and employability check in its records.

(5) At least seven days before the beginning of a training program, the coordinator must notify HHSC in writing of the dates and daily hours of the program, and the projected number of students.

(6) A change in any information presented by the program in an approved application, including location, instructors, and content must be approved by HHSC before the change is implemented.

(7) The program instructors of the classroom instruction and training hours must be a registered nurse and registered pharmacist.

(A) The nurse instructor must have:

(i) a minimum of two years of experience in caring for individuals in a long-term care setting or be an instructor in a school of nursing, for a facility training program; or

(ii) a minimum of two years of experience employed in a correctional setting or be an instructor in a school of nursing, for a correctional facility program.

(B) The pharmacist instructor must have:

(i) a minimum of one year of experience and be currently employed as a consultant pharmacist in a facility; or

(ii) a minimum of one year of experience employed as a pharmacist in a correctional setting.

(8) The program coordinator must provide clearly defined and written policies regarding each student's clinical experience to the student, the administrator, and the director of nursing in the facility used for the clinical experience.

(A) The clinical experience must be counted only when the student is performing functions involving medication administration and under the direct supervision of a licensed nurse.

(B) The program coordinator must be responsible for final evaluation of the student's clinical experience.

(9) Each program must issue to each student, upon successful completion of the program, a certificate of completion, which must include the program's name, the student's name, the date of completion, and the signature of the program coordinator or administrative official.

(10) Each program must inform HHSC on the HHSC class roster form of the final grade results for each student within 15 days after the student's completion of the course and prior to scheduling the exam.

(c) Continuing education training program.

(1) The program must consist of at least seven hours of classroom instruction and training or online instruction.

(2) The instructors must meet the requirements in subsection (b)(7) of this section.

(3) Each program must follow the curricula established by HHSC or the curriculum established by TDCJ for corrections medication aides, as applicable.

(4) Within 10 days after a medication aide's completion of the course, each program must inform HHSC on the HHSC class roster form of the name of each medication aide who has completed the course.

(d) In developing a training program for corrections medication aides that complies with Texas Government Code §501.1485, TDCJ may modify, as appropriate, the content of the training program curriculum originally developed under Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 242, to produce content suitable for administering medication in a correctional facility. The training program curriculum must be approved by HHSC.

(e) Subsection (c) of this section applies to a training program for medication aides and correction medication aides.

Source Note: The provisions of this §557.119 adopted to be effective September 24, 2018, 43 TexReg 6328; amended to be effective December 26, 2021, 46 TexReg 9054