(1) A medication assistant working in a nursing home shall only accept direction to perform medication administration and prescriber-ordered treatments from a designated registered nurse. A medication assistant may only administer medications or perform prescriber-ordered treatments that fall within the medication assistant's scope of practice, education, and demonstrated competency.

(2) It is the responsibility of the designated registered nurse to assess the individual needs of each resident and determine that the direction of medication administration or selected treatment tasks poses minimal risks to each resident. The designated registered nurse determines the frequency of resident assessments and decides the number and types of medications to be administered.

(3) The medication assistant under the direct supervision of a registered nurse in a nursing home, may:

(a) Administer over-the-counter medications;

(b) Administer legend drugs, except for chemotherapeutic agents and experimental drugs;

(c) Administer schedule IV and V medications orally, topically, and through inhalation;

(d) Perform simple prescriber-ordered treatments which include blood glucose monitoring, noncomplex clean dressing changes, pulse oximetry readings, and oxygen administration.

(4) The medication assistant shall accurately document the administration of medication and performance of treatments into the resident's medical records on facility-approved forms or format (e.g., electronic record).

(5) Performance of the tasks identified in subsection (1) of this section will be the sole work assignment to the medication assistant.

(6) A medication assistant may not perform the following tasks:

(a) Assessment of resident need for, or response to medication;

(b) Acceptance of telephone or verbal orders from prescribers;

(c) Conversion or calculation of drug dosages;

(d) Injection of any medications;

(e) Administration of chemotherapeutic agents and experimental drugs;

(f) Performance of any sterile task or treatment;

(g) Medication administration through a tube;

(h) Administration or participation in the handling, including counting or disposal of any schedule I, II, or III controlled substances;

(i) Participation in any handling, including counting or disposal of schedule IV and V controlled substances other than when administering these substances as authorized by subsection (3)(c) of this section;

(j) Performance of any task requiring nursing judgment, such as administration of as necessary or as needed (prn) medications.