Alabama Administrative Code › Title 620 - ALABAMA BOARD OF EXAMINERS FOR NURSING HOME ADMINISTRATORS › Chapter 620-X-5 - EXAMINATION INFORMATION › Section 620-X-5-.07 - Administrator-In-Training

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
General Information
(1) An Administrator-in-Training is a
			 supervised internship during which the Administrator-in-Training (the AIT)
			 works under the guidance and supervision of a preceptor, a licensed
			 administrator meeting the qualifications set out in the requirements for
			 preceptors. The internship is a unique phase of education consisting of the
			 supervised practice of nursing home administration in the environment of the
			 nursing home, with continued instruction in the skills and are of nursing home
			 administration. In keeping with the philosophy of continued improvement in the
			 quality of professionalism in the field of nursing home administration, the
			 internship is considered an essential part of the education of a Nursing Home
			 Administrator. With this concept in mind, it is evident that the internship can
			 be conducted only in those nursing homes in which the educational benefits to
			 the intern are considered of paramount importance, with the service benefits to
			 the nursing home of secondary importance.
(2) The satisfactory completion of a 1,000
			 hour AIT program will satisfy the experience requirement set forth in rule
			 620-X-5-.02(f).
(3) An applicant for the AIT program must
			 meet those qualifications established by
Code of Ala.
			 1975
, Section
			 34-20-9,
			 which are in effect at the time of application, and pay the application fee as
			 determined by the Board.
(4)
			 Preceptors must submit an outline of their proposed AIT program for review and
			 approval by the Board.
(5) The
			 Board must approve each facility at which the training will take
			 place.
(6) The training must be
			 under the full-time supervision of the preceptor.
(7) The AIT shall serve his/her training in a
			 normal workweek, containing a minimum of 20 hours, with not less than eight
			 hours to be served daily between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., except
			 that during the year a minimum of 40 hours and a maximum of 160 hours are to be
			 served between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
(8) The AIT program shall begin on the first
			 day of the month following the approval of the Board.
(9) The AIT and the Preceptor shall sign an
			 agreement acknowledging to each other and the Board that the training shall be
			 in accordance with these rules. The agreement shall contain any other
			 agreements between the AIT and the Preceptor concerning the training.
(10) The AIT shall be allowed two weeks leave
			 for military training, two weeks leave for vacation, and reasonable sick
			 leave.
(11) The Board may approve a
			 temporary discontinuance of the training for up to one year, but the AIT shall
			 only retain credit for those quarters completed and for which reports have been
			 submitted and approved by a Board representative. If for any reason the
			 approved preceptor is no longer able to supervise the AIT at the facility, the
			 AIT may petition the Board for the appointment of an interim preceptor pending
			 the approval of a new preceptor by the Board.
(12) The Board will approve an interruption
			 of an AIT program for the compulsory service of the AIT in the armed forces of
			 the United States. The AIT may resume his/her training at any time within one
			 year of his/her discharge from active duty.
(13) The AIT and the Preceptor must report
			 any discontinuance of training to the Board within ten (10) days.
(14) A rotation through the various
			 departments and duties in the nursing home are essential to the proper
			 completion of the training. An AIT shall not, during the normal working hours
			 of his/her program, fill a specific, specialized position in the nursing
			 home.
(15) A Board representative
			 may visit a nursing home for the purpose of surveying the AIT program. The
			 Board may require the AIT to do further work toward meeting objectives or
			 training the core of knowledge, or to work with a different Preceptor, if
			 reports and progress in the program are inadequate.
(16) No credit shall be given by the Board
			 for time served by an individual in an unapproved AIT program, or for time
			 served under the supervision of a preceptor who has not been approved by the
			 Board, or for time spent in an approved program under an approved preceptor
			 until such time as the application have been properly filed with the Board.
Preceptor
(1) The
			 Board will approve persons to act as preceptors in AIT programs based on
			 information submitted to the Board. The approval shall be effective for a
			 period of three years, after which the preceptor must reapply. However, the
			 Board may disapprove a preceptor for a training program who has failed to
			 remain in compliance with these requirements. The Board may disapprove a
			 preceptor at any time for good cause.
(2) Each person desiring to be a preceptor
			 must submit an application showing:
(a)
			 his/her name, address, and age;
(b)
			 that he/she has been a licensed and practicing nursing home administrator in
			 Alabama for at least three years, or has been a licensed nursing home
			 administrator for at least two years in another state and has been licensed and
			 practicing in Alabama for at least one year, and that no disciplinary action
			 has been taken against him/her in the last three years;
(c) the states and dates of issuance of all
			 his/her professional licenses, including those as a nursing home administrator;
			 and
(d) the nursing home facilities
			 at which the applicant has been in direct management control as administrator
			 within the last three years.
(3) The preceptor-applicant must show that
			 his/her education, experience, and knowledge qualify him/her to supervise the
			 training of an AIT. The preceptor-applicant must attend a preceptor training
			 seminar approved by the Board prior to becoming a preceptor. The
			 preceptor-applicant's certificate of attendance for the preceptor training
			 program must not be more than one year old before applying to become
			 preceptor.
(4) The preceptor shall
			 be of good moral character.
(5) A
			 preceptor may supervise training of a member of his/her immediate family if
			 they receive Board approval prior to the start of the program.
(6) A preceptor must be in direct management
			 control of the facility or facilities at which the training is to take
			 place.
(7) A person desiring to be
			 preceptor must apply and qualify under the terms of this rule, notwithstanding
			 an approval under previous rules.
Facility At Which Training Takes Place
(1) Each application for approval of a
			 training program shall include an application for approval of each facility at
			 which the training will take place.
(2) The application form will request general
			 information about the facility which will include its address, the names,
			 employment dates, work hours, and the license numbers of registered or licensed
			 professionals which head the various departments, and the licensed bed
			 capacity.
(3) The application must
			 include a copy of the latest survey report and any plans for correction. The
			 survey report must show that the facility is currently licensed by the
			 Department of Health, Division of Licensure and Certification and a nursing
			 facility and has no serious operating deficiencies.
(4) The facility teaching staff shall be
			 composed of personnel whose professional and moral integrity are unquestioned,
			 who are proficient in the field of practice to which they devote themselves,
			 who give careful attention to their duties and who are willing to assume
			 responsibility individually and as a group for providing ample instruction to
			 the AIT and to assist them in their work.
Domains of Practice, Objectives, Reports
The Administrator-in-Training Program shall cover the following
				domains of practice, as established by the National Association of Boards of
				Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators, Inc. (NAB).
(1) The training plan for the program shall
			 be prepared by the preceptor and the trainee prior to the start of the program.
			 This training plan shall include:
(a) An
			 individual schedule showing time allotted for each department of the nursing
			 home facility (i.e., nursing, dietary, housekeeping, business office,
			 management and supervisory techniques, etc.).
(b) Time allotted for the AIT's participation
			 in council meetings, state association meetings, staff meetings, etc.
(2) The preceptor and the trainee
			 must file quarterly reports with the Board. Each report shall be co-signed by
			 the preceptor and the trainee, and should be filed one week after the
			 completion of each 25% segment of the program. The quarterly reports should
			 contain a synopsis of the areas covered in the program and any relevant
			 learning experiences. The reports should show how the trainee used the
			 following methods to further his/her training.
(a) On-the-job experience;
(b) meetings attended;
(c) surveys completed;
(d) written reports;
(e) visits to other facilities; and
(f) educational seminars.
(3) Nothing in this rule is
			 intended to preclude any preceptor from requiring any additional areas in the
			 program, objectives or reports.
(4)
			 At the completion of his/her AIT program, the facility shall furnish the intern
			 with a certificate of service, attesting to the satisfactory completion of
			 his/her training program. A copy of the certificate shall be forwarded to the
			 Board. The nursing home facility may withhold such certificate only if the AIT
			 fails to complete his/her AIT program or if his/her performance has been such
			 as to indicate that he/she is unfit to practice as a nursing home
			 administrator.
(5) It shall be the
			 duty of the AIT to inform the Board of any violation by the facility of any
			 provision of the program approved by the Board or any violation of the laws or
			 rules of the Board governing nursing home administrators. Failure to so inform
			 the Board may result in the disapproval of the AIT's application for licensure
			 as a nursing home administrator.