(a)  The 80-hour training specified in Rule .0501 of this Section shall consist of at least 34 hours of classroom instruction or and at least 34 hours of supervised practical experience. Competency evaluation shall be conducted in each of the following areas:

(1)           observation and documentation;

(2)           basic nursing skills, including special health-related tasks;

(3)           personal care skills;

(4)           cognitive, behavioral and social care for all residents and, including interventions to reduce behavioral problems for residents with mental disabilities;

(5)           basic restorative services; and

(6)           residents’ rights as established by G.S. 131D-21.

(b)  The following requirements shall apply to the 80-hour training specified in Rule .0501 of this Section:

(1)           The training shall be conducted by an individual or a team of instructors with a coordinator. The supervisor of practical experience and instructor of content having to do with personal care tasks or basic nursing skills shall be a registered nurse with a current, unencumbered license in North Carolina and with two years of clinical or direct patient care experience working in a health care, home care or long term care setting. The program coordinator and any instructor of content that does not include instruction on personal care tasks or basic nursing skills shall be a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, physician, gerontologist, social worker, psychologist, mental health professional or other health professional with two years of work experience in adult education or in a long term care setting; or a four-year college graduate with four years of experience working in the field of aging or long term care for adults.

(2)           A trainee participating in the classroom instruction and supervised practical experience in the setting of the trainee’s employment shall not be considered on duty and counted in the staff-to-resident ratio.

(3)           Training shall not be offered without an instructor on site.

(4)           Classroom instruction shall include the opportunity for demonstration and practice of skills.

(5)           Supervised practical experience shall be conducted in a licensed adult care home or in a facility or laboratory setting comparable to the work setting in which the trainee will be performing or supervising the personal care skills.

(6)           All skills shall be performed on humans except for intimate care skills, such as perineal and catheter care, which may be conducted on a mannequin.

(7)           There shall be no more than 10 trainees for each instructor for the supervised practical experience.

(8)           A written examination prepared by the instructor shall be used to evaluate the trainee’s knowledge of the content portion of the classroom training. The trainee shall score at least 70 on the written examination. Oral testing shall be provided in the place of a written examination for trainees lacking reading or writing ability.

(9)           The trainee shall satisfactorily perform all of the personal care skills required in the training program. The instructor shall use a skills performance checklist for this competency evaluation. Satisfactory performance of the personal care skills and interpersonal and behavioral intervention skills means that the trainee performed the skill unassisted; explained the procedure to the resident; explained to the instructor, prior to or after the procedure, what was being done and why it was being done in that way; and incorporated the principles of good body mechanics, medical asepsis and resident safety and privacy.

(10)         The training provider shall issue to all trainees who successfully complete the training a certificate, signed by the registered nurse who conducted the skills competency evaluation, stating that the trainee successfully completed the 80-hour training. The trainee’s name shall be on the certificate. The training provider shall maintain copies of the certificates and the skills evaluation checklists for a minimum of five years.

(c)  An individual, agency or organization seeking to provide the 80-hour training and competency evaluation specified in Rule .0501 of this Section shall submit an application which is available at no charge from the Division of Health Service Regulation, Adult Care Licensure Section, 2708 Mail Service Center Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-2708.