Medication Administration in
Nursing Homes
PDF Version
of BQA 01-055 (PDF, 10 KB)
Date: December 28, 2001 -- DSL-BQA-01-055
Supersedes BQC-89-055
To: Nurse
Aide Training Programs NATP 20, Nursing Homes NH
32
From: Jan Eakins, Chief, Provider Regulation and Quality
Improvement
Via: Susan Schroeder, Director, Bureau of Quality
Assurance
This memorandum clarifies and updates the requirements that must be
followed by unlicensed personnel who are allowed to administer medication
to residents in nursing homes. It also supersedes BQC-89-055, a memorandum
issued in 1989 by the Bureau of Quality Compliance.
The following administrative rule directly addresses medication
administration in a nursing home.
Section
DHS 132.60(5)(d)1. and 2., Wisconsin Administrative
Code (exit DHFS). Administration
of medications.
-
Personnel who may administer medications.
In a nursing home, medication may be administered only by a nurse, a
practitioner as defined in s. 450.07(1)(d), Stats., or a person who
has completed training in a drug administration course approved by the
department.
Responsibility for administration. Policies and procedures
designed to provide safe and accurate administration of medications shall
be developed by the facility and shall be followed by personnel assigned
to prepare and administer medications and to record their administration.
In addition, please refer to Bureau of Quality Assurance (BQA)
memorandum BQA-01-021 relating to
training and testing requirements for nurse aides, including "nurse
technicians" and student nurses.
"Nurse technicians" who administer medications are subject to
the following:
-
"Nurse technicians" are nurse
aides and must comply with the training and testing requirements for
nurse aides who work in health care facilities. (BQA-01-021)
-
A nurse aide who has graduated from an
accredited nursing school but has been unsuccessful on the nursing
license exam and does not hold a temporary permit may continue to
administer medications for a period of one year after graduation. The
person must become a licensed nurse or pass the medication aide
challenge exam within that one-year period in order to continue
administering medications.
-
A nurse aide who is designated by a nursing home as a "nurse
technician," because the person is currently enrolled in a
nursing program, must be actively taking nursing courses.
"Actively taking nursing courses" means there is no break of
more than one year between nursing courses. This nurse aide must have
passed the medication administration course of an accredited school of
nursing in order to administer medications in the nursing home. The
nursing home must have a record indicating this nurse aide has taken
and passed a medication administration course. If this nurse aide is
not actively taking nursing courses, the nurse aide must become a
medication aide in order to continue to administer medications in a
nursing home.
Medication Aide/Nurse Aide: Requirements to maintain status
BQA memorandum BQA-00-059
addressed and updated Medication Aide/Nurse Aide (MA/NA) status
maintenance requirements. Please note the following in regard to those
requirements:
-
MA/NAs must maintain their status on the
Wisconsin Nurse Aide Directory.
-
MA/NAs must work a minimum of 100 hours annually as a medication
aide to maintain MA/NA status. The MA/NA is responsible for keeping
records of the annual number of medication administration hours for
rolling 3–year- periods. This requirement takes effect January 1,
2002.
Medication Aide/Nurse Aide Supervision
Nursing homes and the registered nurses who work in nursing homes
should be aware that MA/NAs are performing delegated nursing acts and must
be supervised in accordance with the standards of section N 6.02,
Wisconsin Administrative Code (exit DHFS).
Also, the BQA has received questions about the scope of duties for
MA/NAs and what requirements apply to unlicensed persons administering
medication in other settings. The BQA is developing a document to address
these questions across health care settings and plans to provide it during
the first quarter of 2002.
For questions about the medication aide program, please contact Doug
Englebert at 608-266-5388.
For questions about nurse aide training, please contact Cindy Hintze at (608)
261-8328
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