Certain certified nursing aides who undertake expanded training and oversight may administer certain medications in Washington state — and they appear to be making a difference, researchers said.
Investigators described the pilot study’s successes in the Annals of Long Term Care. A five-year-old law allows certified medication assistants — MA-Cs — to give skilled nursing residents their meds, as long as it’s under the supervision of a registered nurse.
Since previous research found no significant changes in medication error rates when medication techs were used, this program was designed to examine staffing costs after using medication assistants who had received specialized training through the Geriatric Interest Group of Spokane.
The program improved medication error rates, staff satisfaction, rehospitalization numbers, call light response times and fall rates — all without costing the test home significantly more in salaries, researchers said.
The model was first tested in a 50-bed long term care unit, using nursing assistants who had at least three years of experience, limited absences, emotional maturity and positive attitudes.
Also factoring into the success, observers believe, was the fact that trainees’ pay rose to $16 per hour, which is typically a midway point between the facility’s average rate for CNAs and LPNs.
Each CMA received 104 hours of training before being certified for medication administration.
Based on what it calls “encouraging” findings, the Geriatric Interest Group said it plans to test the pilot at three more nursing homes this year.
From the July 01, 2018 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
