A. A statewide program for certification of medication aides and approval of medication aide training programs is created under the board.

B. Unless certified as a certified medication aide under the Nursing Practice Act, no person shall:

(1) practice as a certified medication aide; or

(2) use the titles "certified medication aide" or "medication aide" or any other title, abbreviation, letters, figures, signs or devices to indicate or imply that the person is a certified medication aide.

C. The board shall:

(1) maintain a permanent register of all persons certified to practice as a certified medication aide;

(2) adopt rules for certified medication aide education and certification, including standards and curricula;

(3) adopt rules governing the supervision of certified medication aides by licensed nurses, including standards and performance evaluations of certified medication aides;

(4) conduct disciplinary hearings of certified medication aides or on the denial, suspension or revocation of certified medication aide certificates in accordance with the Uniform Licensing Act; and

(5) grant approval to a certified medication aide training program that meets all the requirements set by the board and deny or withdraw approval from medication aide training programs that fail to meet prescribed standards or fail to maintain a current contract.

D. Every applicant for certification as a certified medication aide shall pay the required application fee, submit written evidence of having completed a board-approved training program for certified medication aides and successfully complete a board-approved examination. The board shall issue a certificate to any person who fulfills the requirements for certification.

E. Every certificate issued by the board to practice as a certified medication aide shall be renewed every two years. The certified medication aide seeking renewal shall submit proof of employment as a certified medication aide and proof of having met continuing education requirements adopted by the board.

F. The board shall set the following nonrefundable fees:

(1) for initial certification by initial or subsequent examination, a fee not to exceed sixty dollars ($60.00);

(2) for renewal of certification, a fee not to exceed sixty dollars ($60.00);

(3) for reactivation of a lapsed certificate after failure to renew a certificate or following board action, a fee not to exceed sixty dollars ($60.00);

(4) for initial review and approval of a training program, a fee not to exceed three hundred dollars ($300);

(5) for subsequent review and approval of a training program that has changed, a fee not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200);

(6) for subsequent review and approval of a training program when a change has been required by a change in board policy or rules, a fee not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00); and

(7) for periodic evaluation of a training program, a fee not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200).

History: 1978 Comp., § 61-3-10.2, enacted by Laws 1991, ch. 209, § 1; 1993, ch. 138, § 1; 1995, ch. 118, § 1; 1997, ch. 244, § 8; 2001, ch. 137, § 5; 2003, ch. 276, § 6; 2005, ch. 303, § 1; 2005, ch. 307, § 4.

2005 Multiple Amendments. — Laws 2005, ch. 303, § 1 and Laws 2005, ch. 307, § 4 both enacted amendments to this section. Pursuant to 12-1-8 NMSA 1978, Laws 2005, ch. 307, § 4, as the last act signed by the governor, has been compiled into the NMSA as set out above, and Laws 2005, ch. 303, § 1, while not compiled pursuant to 12-1-8 NMSA 1978, is set out below.

Laws 2005, ch. 307, § 4 [set out above], effective April 7, 2005, amended Subsection A that limited the licensing of medication aids to licensed intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded; deleted Subsection B that provided a definition of "medication aide", relettered former Subsections B, C and D as Subsections C, D and E; amended Subsection B to insert "certified" before "medication aide" in two places; amended Subsection C to insert "certified" before "medication aide" and deleted Subsection C(3) and added Subsection B(5) relating to withdrawal or denial of certification of medication aide training programs that fail to meet standards; deleted former Subsections F, H and I; and added a new Subsection F providing for fees.

Laws 2005, ch. 303, § 1 [set out below], effective April 7, 2005, provided:

"61-3-10.2. Medication aides.

A. A statewide program for certification of medication aides and medication aide training programs is created under the board of nursing.

B. For the purposes of this section, "certified medication aide" means a person who, under the supervision of a licensed nurse is permitted to administer medications according to the standards adopted by the board.

C. Unless certified as a certified medication aide under the Nursing Practice Act, no person shall:

(1) practice as a certified medication aide; or

(2) use the titles "certified medication aide" or "medication aide" or any other title, abbreviation, letters, figures, signs or devices to indicate or imply that the person is a certified medication aide.

D. The board shall:

(1) maintain a permanent register of all persons certified to practice as a certified medication aide;

(2) adopt rules for certified medication aide education and certification, including standards and curricula;

(3) adopt rules governing the supervision of certified medication aides by licensed nurses, including standards and performance evaluations of certified medication aides;

(4) conduct disciplinary hearings of certified medication aides or on the denial, suspension or revocation of a certified medication aide certificate in accordance with the Uniform Licensing Act; and

(5) grant approval to a certified medication aide training program that meets all requirements set by the board and deny or withdraw approval from programs that fail to meet prescribed standards or fail to maintain a current contract with the board.

E. Every applicant for certification as a certified medication aide shall pay the required application fee, submit written evidence of having completed a board-approved program for the certification of certified medication aides and successfully complete a board-approved examination. The board shall issue a certificate to any person who fulfills the requirements for certification.

F. Every certificate issued by the board to practice as a certified medication aide shall be renewed every two years. The certified medication aide seeking renewal shall submit proof of employment as a certified medication aide and proof of having met any continuing education requirements adopted by the board.

G. The board shall set the following nonrefundable fees:

(1) initial certification by examination, not to exceed sixty dollars ($60.00);

(2) renewal of certification, not to exceed sixty dollars ($60.00);

(3) reactivation of a lapsed certificate after failure to renew a certificate or following board action, not to exceed sixty dollars ($60.00);

(4) initial review and approval of a training program not to exceed three hundred dollars ($300);

(5) subsequent review and approval of a training program that has changed, not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200);

(6) subsequent review and approval of a training program when a change has been required by a change in board policy or rules, not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00); and

(7) periodic evaluation of a training program, not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200)."

The 2003 amendment, effective June 20, 2003, added Paragraph D(3) and redesignated former Paragraphs D(3) and (4) as Paragraphs D(4) and (5).

The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, in Paragraph I(2), increased the review fees from $150 to $300 for each initial review or approval, and from $50 to $100 for each subsequent review or approval, and deleted the exception at the end of the paragraph, which read "except where the change or modification has been required by a change in board policy or board rules and regulations, in which case the fee for each review and approval shall not exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00)"; and in Paragraph I(3), increased the educational review fee from $75 to $150.

The 1997 amendment, effective on June 20, 1997, substituted "every two years by the last day of the medication aide's birth month and" for "biennially" in the first sentence of Subsection G.

The 1995 amendment, effective July 1, 1995, in Subsection A, deleted "trial" following "purpose of the" in the second sentence, deleted the former third sentence requiring a report to the forty-second legislature and substituted "continuing" for "initiating" in the last sentence; substituted "supervision of a licensed nurse" for "direction of a registered nurse" in Subsection B; in Subsection D, added Paragraph (3), redesignated former Paragraph (3) as Paragraph (4) and made a minor stylistic change in Paragraph (2).

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, in Subsection A, substituted "shall permit the operation of a" for "is enacted to permit the initiation and operation of a two-year" in the first sentence, added the present second sentence and deleted "at the end of the second full year of implementation" following "evaluated" and substituted "and the necessity of continuing" for "of" and "second session of the forty-second legislature" for "first session of the forty-first legislature" in the present third sentence; in Subsection B, added "For the purposes of this section" to the beginning and substituted "registered" for "licensed"; and in Subsection C, deleted "certified" preceding "medication".