Lesson 1
Assist with self-administration; never administer
On every medication pass you decide what kind of help you give. You may help a resident take her own medication. You may not give it to her the way a nurse would. This lesson shows where that line is, and what to do when a resident says no.
- Help the resident take it; do not give it
- Physician-authorized, or temporary and minor per the physician
- Never force, hide or trick
- A refusal is a right: follow the refusal procedure and report
- No injections unless the law allows
Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/medication-help-and-health-condition-limits#lesson-assist-not-administer
Lesson 2
The training a medication helper must have
Before a new hire helps any resident with a medication, someone has to check her training. Section 1569.69 sets hours, shadowing, nine topics, an exam and a yearly refresh. This lesson prepares you to answer one question: may she help today?
- Find the licensed size: sixteen or more, or fifteen or fewer
- Sixteen or more: twenty-four hours, sixteen of them shadowing first
- Fifteen or fewer: ten hours, six of them shadowing first
- Exam on the nine topics, then eight hours of in-service every twelve months
- Repeat after more than 180 days away, or at a new licensee
Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/medication-help-and-health-condition-limits#lesson-medication-helper-training
Lesson 3
PRN orders, central storage and the records behind them
A resident asks for her as-needed medication. Before you help, you check the order, the label and what she can tell you. This lesson shows what a PRN order must carry, what changes with each resident, and which records you keep.
- Symptoms that call for it
- Exact dose
- Minimum hours between doses
- Maximum doses in 24 hours
- Resident can only describe symptoms: the order says when to stop and when to reassess
- Resident can do neither: call the physician before each dose
Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/medication-help-and-health-condition-limits#lesson-prn-orders-and-records
Lesson 4
Allowable, restricted, prohibited
A referral names a health condition. Three lists decide whether the person can live in an RCFE, and what the home owes first. This lesson helps you place a condition on the right list, so nobody says yes to a move the rules do not allow.
- Allowable: physician documents stability, services, method and who performs it
- Restricted: talk with other providers and train staff first, by a licensed professional
- Prohibited: not admitted or kept, whatever the training
- Stage 1 and 2 pressure injuries restricted; stage 3 and 4 prohibited
- Four hours before direct care, then four each year (section 1569.696)
Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/medication-help-and-health-condition-limits#lesson-allowable-restricted-prohibited
Lesson 5
Hospice residents: the waiver, the plan and the limits on staff
A resident on hospice gets care from two teams: the hospice and your home. On shift you decide which tasks are yours. This lesson covers the waiver, who signs with the hospice, what the plan says, the tasks staff may not take on, and what to report.
- Hospice care waiver from the Department first
- The resident or her surrogate contracts the hospice
- The hospice writes the plan; licensee and resident agree before services begin
- No professional-only procedures for facility staff
- Hospice training records kept three years
- Stop other than death: phone within one working day, writing within five
Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/medication-help-and-health-condition-limits#lesson-hospice-residents
