Section 129.08. Standards for nurse aide competency evaluation programs.

 

(1)   Examiner qualifications. The examiner conducting the clinical competency program of a student shall be an RN with at least one year experience caring for the elderly or chronically ill of any age.

(2)   Written or oral evaluation component.

(a) The RN examiner will give each student instructions for the written or oral evaluation component. After the student's written or oral evaluation has begun, the RN may designate another person to proctor the written or oral evaluation.

(b) The competency evaluation program shall develop a pool of test questions that addresses all 6 content areas and their components under s. DHS 129.07 (1) . The test questions shall include enough questions to form 3 separate and complete examinations.

(c) The competency evaluation program shall develop written and oral examinations from the pool of test questions. The content of the written and oral examinations shall reflect the content and emphasis of the training program approved by the department.

(d) The competency evaluation program shall provide students with written and oral examinations in English. If the student will be working in a provider setting in which the predominant language is other than English, the program may not refuse to test in the language that is predominant in that work setting.

(e) The competency evaluation program may develop an oral examination for nurse aides with limited literacy skills. To do so, the program shall adapt the written examination for oral testing. The oral examination shall cover the same subject areas included in the original written examination adapted for oral testing, and shall include a component to determine the aide's ability to read basic, objective, job-related information, such as reading a client's name band or a client's flow sheet.

(f) A minimum of 50 written or oral questions shall be asked in each examination. The questions shall cover at least the 6 care areas under s. DHS 129.07 (1) and shall be selected randomly from the following areas:

1. A minimum of 4 questions in the area of interpersonal communication and social interaction.

2. A minimum of 7 questions in the area of basic nursing skills. Of these 7 questions, at least one question shall address each of the following areas:

a. Observation, reporting and documentation of changes in client status and services furnished.

b. Recognizing and reporting change of client condition and status to supervisor.

c. Knowledge of emergency procedures.

d. Knowledge of infection control procedures.

e. Maintenance of a clean, safe and healthy environment.

3. A minimum of one question in the area of personal care skills.

4. A minimum of 3 questions in the area of basic restorative services.

5. A minimum of 5 questions in the area of client rights. Of these 5 questions, at least one question shall address each of the following areas:

a. Right to respect.

b. Right to privacy and confidentiality.

c. Right to maintain personal property.

6. A minimum of 5 questions in the area of dementias.

(g) To successfully complete the written or oral portion of the competency evaluation program, the student shall obtain satisfactory scores as identified in par. (f) .

(3)   Demonstration component.

(a) The competency evaluation program shall develop a pool of skill demonstration scenarios. There shall be a sufficient number of skill demonstration scenarios to measure the individual's ability to perform the required job tasks. Skills demonstration scenarios shall be randomly selected from the pool of skills to be demonstrated. The care areas of interpersonal communication and social interaction shall be integrated throughout the skills demonstration scenarios.

(b) The skills demonstration shall consist of a demonstration of at least 5 randomly selected items drawn from a pool consisting of the tasks generally performed by nurse aides. This pool of skills shall include all skills listed in s. DHS 129.07 .

(c) The criteria for successful completion of a competency evaluation program shall include the passing scores in all required skills.

(4)   Examinations. To be included on the registry under s. DHS 129.09 , a student shall successfully pass a Wisconsin-approved nurse aide competency evaluation examination within one year of completing an approved nurse aide training program. If a person fails to pass any component of the competency evaluation examination, the individual need only retake the failed component. The person may retake the component failed as many times as needed within the one-year time period. The competency evaluation program shall ensure that each repeat examination shall differ in content from any examination previously taken by the individual.

(5)   Program operation. The competency evaluation program shall maintain all of the following standards in operating the program:

(a) Reasonable accommodations for students with handicapping conditions.

(b) An adequate number of examiners to provide safe and effective supervision and assistance.

(c) Assurance that examiners do not test students they have trained.

(d) Skills demonstration exercise portions of the examination are conducted at a ratio of one examiner to one student.

(e) Competency evaluation facilities that are adequate to meet the needs of the testing program.

(f) Retention of all records required under this section for a period of at least 3 years.

(g) A system to prevent unauthorized disclosure of the pool of test questions and the results of the individual competency evaluations.

CR 08-042 : cr. register November 2008 No. 635, eff. 12-1-08; correction in (2) (g) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7. , Stats., Register May 2011 No. 665 .