Wisconsin Nurse Aide Certificate Update
PDF Version of DQA 08-022
(PDF, 35 KB)
Wisconsin Nurse Aide Certificate Update
The purpose of this memo is to provide clarification regarding nurse aide
requirements for employment eligibility in healthcare provider settings in
Wisconsin, and to explain the rationale for removing the expiration date
from the Nurse Aide Card.
Placement on the Wisconsin Nurse Aide Registry
A nurse aide's name is placed on the Wisconsin Nurse Aide Registry only
after having satisfied the necessary training and testing requirements. The
nurse aide is then eligible to work for a two-year period (from the date
tested) in federally certified healthcare settings.
The expiration date can be extended for another two years as long as the
individual has no substantiated finding of misconduct and if the
nurse aide performed nursing-related duties under the supervision of a nurse
during the previous 24 months. The nurse aide must submit the employment
information on a renewal form, and the healthcare provider that employed the
nurse aide must verify the nurse aide met the employment requirements.
Verifying Employment Eligibility
A healthcare provider, regardless of type, that is a prospective
employer, must verify that each nurse aide hired is eligible to perform
nursing-related duties in the provider's healthcare setting:
Updating Federal Employment Eligibility
Nurse aide with expired federal eligibility who has been working in
last 24 months:
If the nurse aide's status on the Registry indicates the nurse aide's
federal employment eligibility has expired, but there is no substantiated
finding of misconduct in the person's name on the Registry, and the
healthcare provider can confirm the nurse aide has provided nursing-related
duties for pay under the supervision of a nurse in the 24 months prior to
the expiration date; the nurse aide is eligible to work in a
federally-certified healthcare setting.
The healthcare provider must place a copy of the verifying documentation
in the nurse aide's personnel file. The nurse aide must still submit a
Renewal Form to Pearson Vue to have the aide's federal employment
eligibility status updated.
Nurse aide with expired federal eligibility who has not worked in last
24 months:
If the nurse aide does not have a substantiated finding on the Registry
in their name, and did not perform nursing-related duties under the
supervision of a nurse in the previous 24 months, the aide must successfully
pass a nurse aide competency evaluation examination in order to regain the
eligibility to work in a federally-certified facilities.
Once this is accomplished, the nurse aide's status is updated on the
Registry and the aide is eligible to work in a federally-certified
healthcare setting for two years from the date that the aide successfully
passed the competency evaluation examination.
Rationale for Removing Expiration Date from Registry Card
Previously, the Department had included the nurse aide's federal
employment eligibility expiration date on each card issued to a nurse aide.
However, this card only provides information and the status of the nurse
aide at the time the card is printed.
Example:
A nurse aide provides the healthcare provider with a Registry Card with
an expiration date of October 10, 2008.
If a substantiated finding for misconduct were placed on the Registry
in the nurse aide's name on May 12, 2008, the nurse aide's expiration date
would now be May 12, 2008.
The expiration date on the card is incorrect and no longer valid.
The Department has received a number of phone calls from healthcare
providers who have relied on the expiration date on the nurse aide card and
employed a nurse aide with that expiration date in mind, only to find out
later that the nurse aide was not eligible for employment because a
substantiated finding of caregiver misconduct was placed on the Caregiver
Misconduct Registry after the card was issued.
Providers question how a nurse aide can have a Registry Card with an
expiration date in the future and at the same time have a substantiated
finding listed on the Registry. Again, the card is only as current as the
day it is printed.
Therefore, nurse aide cards will no longer include an expiration date. A
healthcare provider must verify a nurse aide's eligibility to work by
checking that aide's status on the nurse aide registry via the website or by
calling Pearson VUE.
Questions
See the website at http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/caregiver/NATD/NrsAidTrgPrgInf.HTM
for more information.
Contact the Office of Caregiver Quality at DHSCaregiverIntake@wisconsin.gov
or (608) 261-8319 with questions.
PDF: The free Acrobat Reader®
software is needed to view and print portable document format (PDF) files. Learn
more.
|
