Ensure Staff is Trained to Provide Medication Assistance Services

MEDICATION ASSISTANCE TRAINING IN ASSISTED LIVING

WHCA’s Vicki McNealley has been passionate about medication safety in assisted living for the past 25 years.  Vicki first designed a medication assistance training class for WHCA in 2007; the class has seen many iterations and, in its most recent form, has been a 10-hour course approved for continuing education and taught in-house by qualified facility trainers.

Last year, WHCA contracted with a company to move that program into an online format, where students can access a self-paced learning class while testing their knowledge along the way.  This program is now approved through DSHS for three hours of continuing education and serves as the starting point for any caregiver new to medication services.

WHAT IS A MED AIDE?

An assisted living caregiver who assists with medications (often referred to as a “med aide” or “med tech”) is an essential role.  This employee generally has an eye for detail and can organize and prioritize multiple expectations and duties.  In an ideal scenario, the new med aide learns the role by working alongside a seasoned worker who knows the facility’s layout, the residents, policies and procedures, as well as the facility’s medication systems and software.

A med aide who is delegated to administer medications must meet training standards including completion of required nurse delegation courses. There is no standardized training requirement for med aides who are assisting with medications; however, the assisted living is required to ensure that staff are trained to furnish the services and care needed by each resident and that staff have the experience and qualifications necessary to do so.  The two levels of medication service – assistance and administration via delegation – often go hand-in-hand, and most med aides have completed their delegation training.

THE MED AIDE TRAINING SOLUTION

WHCA’s new online Medication Assistance for Assisted Living Caregivers is a three-hour introductory class that covers topics including:

• Commonly-used acronyms and abbreviations
• Reading a medication label
• The five (or six or seven) rights to medication delivery along with the three standard checks to confirm accurate medication management
• Handling scheduled medications
• Common medication side effects
• Proper medication storage techniques
• Proper assistance techniques for oral, topical, eye/ear/nose, inhaled, rectal, and vaginal medications
• Altering medications
• Managing medication errors
• Medication documentation

This class includes a pre-test to measure understanding of the basics, as well as knowledge checkpoints throughout the course and a final exam.

The class is available on demand; you can register a caregiver individually for only $49 or consider pre-purchasing multiple seats at a group discount; to learn more, visit here.

For facility trainers interested in teaching the 10-hour version of this class in-person, the toolkit can be purchased here.

For questions about the course, or medication assistance regulations, email Vicki McNealley or call her at 360-352-3304 extension 107.