(1) A medication assistant certification endorsement training program must:

(a) Be a commission-approved nursing assistant certified training program in good standing, or a commission-approved nursing educational program in good standing; and

(b) Meet the requirements for initial and ongoing approval of nursing assistant training programs in this chapter except for the following differences:

(i) The program must implement as its common curriculum the complete medication assistant-certified model curriculum, as adopted and described in materials from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing;

(ii) The curriculum shall include training on the specific tasks that a medication assistant may and may not perform as listed in WAC 246-841A-589.

(iii) The education and training program may add to the required curriculum as stated in these rules but may not delete any content from the required curriculum.

(2) The program must provide the minimum required training hours designed specifically for medication assistant certification endorsement programs: One hundred hours total, with a minimum of 50 hours of classroom theory, a minimum of 10 hours of skills lab, and a minimum of 40 hours of clinical practicum.

(a) The training program will provide a minimum of 40 hours of directly supervised and progressive clinical experience in the administration of medications to residents in a nursing home.

(b) At no time will the ratio of students to instructor be allowed to exceed 10 students to one instructor during clinical.

(c) Instructional staff for the program must hold an active Washington state license in good standing as a registered nurse.

(d) The training program must include a sample lesson plan for one unit with its application to open a medication assistant certification endorsement program.

(e) The skills lab checklists and competency evaluation activities and documentation shall reflect the medication assistant scope as identified in the National Council of State Boards of Nursing model curriculum and WAC 246-841A-589.

(f) The following options for traditional and alternative training programs described in WAC 246-841A-420 through 246-841A-460 are not applicable for medication assistant certification endorsement programs:

(i) Nursing assistant-registered work pathway;

(ii) A live online teaching modality; or

(iii) Hybrid modalities with asynchronous teaching and learning activities counted as required classroom theory hours.

(g) The program director must attest to the student's successful completion of the course on commission-approved forms or electronic methods designed specifically for medication assistant certification endorsement programs.

(h) The standard to maintain an average annual student pass rate of 80 percent for first-time test-takers on the state's medication assistant competency evaluation applies to a knowledge exam only; psychomotor or skills competency evaluation for medication assistants is addressed by the training program.

(3) In addition to standard equipment and supplies required for nursing assistant training programs as described in WAC 246-841A-450, the program must provide equipment and supplies necessary for students to practice medication administration and prescriber-ordered treatments identified in the National Council of State Boards of Nursing medication assistant curriculum and WAC 246-841A-589. All equipment and supplies should reflect the current standard of nursing home practices. Required equipment and supplies include, but are not limited to:

(a) A medication cart;

(b) Professionally developed placebo medications that simulate actual medications in their appearance and packaging, enabling students to practice medication administration steps in the skills lab;

(c) A glucometer;

(d) A pulse oximeter; and

(e) Materials required to teach oxygen administration.

(4) Be subject to corrective actions for nursing assistant training programs as described in WAC 246-841A-465 through 246-841A-490, when requirements are not met for initial and ongoing approval of nursing assistant training programs (WAC 246-841A-420 through 246-841A-460), including those specific to medication assistant certification endorsement programs (WAC 246-841A-586 through 246-841A-595).