Information About The Minnesota Nursing Assistant Registry
Who
Can Work as a Nursing Assistant?
- A person who has completed a training and competency evaluation program or competency evaluation program approved by Minnesota and is on the Registry.
Persons working for a temporary agency must be on the Registry before they are eligible to work in a nursing facility.
- A person who can prove completion of a nursing assistant training and competency evaluation program or competency evaluation program approved by Minnesota but is not yet on the Registry. Persons may provide the fax back score reports from the testing site to indicate the individual passed both the written and skills competency evaluation. It may take up to 4 weeks to be placed on the Registry.
The facility cannot assume the nursing assistant will be placed on the Registry based on the fax back score report. The facility must verify placement on the Registry.
Persons opting to challenge the written and skills competency evaluation without having taken an approved nursing assistant training program MAY NOT WORK AS A NURSING ASSISTANT UNTIL THEY HAVE PASSED BOTH THE WRITTEN AND SKILLS COMPETENCY EVALUATION.
- An individual not on the Registry can be hired as a nursing assistant if they are immediately enrolled in an approved nursing assistant training course at the time of hire, complete the course and competency test and placed on the Minnesota Registry within 4 months. The facility must assure that the person is competent to provide cares to residents. This is explained in the Interpretive Guidelines of federal regulation F495 and DHS Bulletin 94-65B.
Below is the link to federal nursing home regulations. The DHS bulletin is not available online.
How to Be Placed on The Nursing Assistant Registry
- Successfully complete an approved nursing assistant training and competency evaluation program in Minnesota. or
- Successfully pass the Minnesota approved competency test for nursing assistants. or
- Currently be in good standing on the nursing assistant Registry in another state and have worked a minimum of 8 hours as a nursing assistant in that state in the past 24 months
Interstate Endorsement Forms
IF YOU ARE TRANSFERRING
TO MINNESOTA FROM ANOTHER STATE YOU MUST BE ON THE MINNESOTA NURSING ASSISTANT
REGISTRY BEFORE YOU CAN WORK AS A NURSING ASSISTANT IN MINNESOTA.
Complete the Interstate
Endorsement Forms if you wish to transfer your certificate to the Minnesota
Nursing Assistant Registry from another state. Please read and follow the directions
on the form(s) carefully. Incomplete forms will delay your transfer to the Minnesota
Registry and will be returned to you.
Interstate Endorsement Forms
Interstate Endorsement Forms can now be submitted electronically. Please Note: Only Interstate Endorsement Forms will be processed from this site.
Instructions to Upload Files for Interstate Endorsement to NA Registry
There is NO
PROCESSING FEE for the Minnesota Registry.
Between the hours of 9:00a.m. and 3:00p.m., Monday thru Friday
Telephone: (651) 215-8705
Toll Free, Greater Minnesota 1-800-397-6124
Nursing Assistant Registry
P.O.Box 64501
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0501
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How
to Stay on the Minnesota Nursing Assistant Registry
Nursing assistants
must report their nursing assistant employment. You must perform independently at least 8 hours
of paid nursing assistant duties every 24 months to stay on the Registry. (A
lapse in employment over 24 months will result in an inactive status on the
Registry). Tasks must be similar to those performed in a nursing home. Orientation and training will not be accepted.
ATTACH A COPY OF YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION FROM YOUR EMPLOYER IF YOU ARE NOT WORKING AT A NURSING HOME OR CERTIFIED HOME HEALTH AGENCY.
You must attach a copy of a recent pay stub from the employer.
PLEASE ALLOW AT LEAST 30 BUSINESS DAYS FOR PROCESSING. Back To Top
Inservice
There is no inservice
requirement specifically related to the Nursing Assistant Registry. The Registry
does not monitor inservice and inservice is not required to stay on the Registry.
Nursing homes or boarding care homes must follow state and federal
regulations. Back
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Registration
Number
Minnesota uses the
nursing assistant's social security number as the certificate number. Back
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Duplicate Nursing Assistant Certificates
The Registry does
not maintain copies of nursing assistant certificates. You can only order a duplicate certificate if you have tested within the past 24 months. There will be a charge for the duplicate certificate. Please contact Pearson Vue at 1-800-274-0504 for details.
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Name or Address Change
Name changes must
be reported to the Registry by sending a copy of your marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order that changed
your name. Include your social security number and address on this document.
You can call the Registry to make an address change. Back To Top
Nursing Assistant Registry Update Form
Complete the Nursing Assistant
Registry Update Form if you are currently on the Registry and need to change
or add information to your file.
Nursing Assistant Registry Update Form. Back To Top
Nursing Assistant Training and Testing
Federal regulations have specific training and testing requirements for nursing assistants in long term care facilities. The training program must be a minimum of 75 hours of training.
Minnesota has 2 approved curriculums.
- Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MNSCU), 2009. This curriculum is free and provided by web link when the program is approved.
- American Red Cross, 3rd Edition. This curriculum is purchased through the American Red Cross.
In addition to nursing assistant training, some training sites offer home health aide training.
Purchase of an approved curriculum alone does not mean a training program is approved. Approved training programs must complete an approval process through the Minnesota Nursing Assistant Registry.
Training and Testing Program Sites
A list of approved
training and test sites can be found at: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fpc/directory/natrainingsites.cfm
Test data is provided quarterly by the vendor to the Nursing Assistant Registry and the report is published to the Training Program Test Data website for the public's research and review.
Study Materials For the TestA candidate handbook which gives an overview of the test, including skills that may be tested, is available through an approved test site. This handbook and a sample written test are also available at: http://www.asisvcs.com/indhome_fs.asp?CPCAT=0624NURSE Back To Top
Prohibition of Charges
A nursing assistant
who is employed by or has received an offer of employment from a certified nursing home or boarding care home as a nursing assistant prior
to beginning a nursing assistant training and competency evaluation program
may not be charged for any portion of the training program and the compentence evaluation.
The cost of training and testing varies by training sites. Please contact the training site for the cost of their training and testing programs. Back To Top
Reimbursable Expenses
Nursing assistants
who pay for the cost of their training and testing prior to employment are eligible
for reimbursement. The nursing assistant has 1 year from completion of the test
to turn in receipts requesting reimbursement. The facility has 90 days to reimburse
the nursing assistant. If the nursing assistant does not remain employed as
a nursing assistant for 90 days, the nursing home is under no obligation to
reimburse the nursing assistant. The first nursing home the nursing assistant
stays at for at least 90 days would then be responsible to reimburse the nursing
assistant if it has been 1 year or less since completion of the test. Only certified
nursing homes or boarding care homes are required to reimburse a nursing assistant. Back To Top
Findings of Abuse, Neglect or Misappropriation of Property
Complaints about
a nursing assistant must be called into the Office of Health Facility Complaints
(OHFC) at (651) 201-4201 or 1-800-369-7994. An investigation must be completed
before a finding can be substantiated and entered onto the Registry.
If a person has
a finding of maltreatment on the Registry and someone calls to verify if a nursing
assistant is on the Registry, the caller will be automatically transferred to
a Registry representative.
If there is a finding of maltreatment on the Registry, the nursing assistant
is prohibited from working in a nursing facility. Back To Top
How
to Start a Nursing Assistant Training Program
- Contact Bonnie Wendt at the Nursing Assistant Registry (651) 201-4127 for application form.
- Qualifications of a qualified instructor must be submitted before an application form is sent out. The application form for an approved nursing assistant training program is not available online.
A qualified instructor is a registered nurse currently licensed in Minnesota with a minimum of two years of nursing experience in the U.S. The instructor must have at least one year nursing experience in provision of long term care facility services in the U.S.
The instructor must attend Train the Trainer if the training program is nursing home based or independent. Train the Trainer is offered through Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Please call Loretta at 612-659-6504 or Loretta.Anderson@minneapolis.edu for dates of training and registration form.
- A nursing home must be available for the clinical portion of the training. This includes nursing homes that have not had an extended or partial extended survey; have not operated with a waiver of the 8 hour per day registered nurse requirement; have not been assessed a civil money penalty of $5000 or more; or have not had a denial of payment enforced within the past 2 years.
- The training program must have an agreement with a college to provide testing for the student completing training.
- Send completed application including all required information and agreements to Bonnie Wendt. Back To Top
Criminal Background Check
The Registry does
not maintain records of background checks. Questions regarding a background
check should be directed to The Department of Human Services, Background Studies
and Investigation Section at (651) 296-3971.
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NA Registry Information for LPN and/or RN Students
- If you do not work as a paid nursing assistant, your certificate is only valid for 24 months from date of issue.
- There is no waiver process for a NA certificate to extend beyond 24 months.
- You cannot receive a duplicate certificate if you have tested in Minnesota over 24 months ago.
- If you have current status on the MN NA Registry, you can request a letter that indicates current status and expiration date. This can be done by following the verbal prompts of the Registry at (651) 215-8705.
