Sec. 96.8. Courses of study; standards for approval

(a) The applicant shall provide official documentation acceptable to the board of successful completion of a Baccalaureate or higher level degree from an accredited educational institution acceptable to the board including, or supplemented by, a board approved Administrator-in-Training (AIT) Program of at least 12 months full-time experience based upon the standard definition of full-time utilized in the facility but not less than 1,820 clock hours duration and at least 15 credit hours of required course work acceptable to the board, completed at an accredited post-secondary educational institution in the following five areas:

(1) nursing home facility administration (at least three semester credit-hours) at the course level equivalent to 300 or higher:

(2) health care financial management (at least three semester credit-hours) at the course level equivalent to 300 or higher;

(3) legal issues in health care (at least three semester credit-hours);

(4) gerontology (at least three semester credit-hours); and

(5) personnel management (at least three semester credit-hours).

(b) The applicant also shall provide official documentation acceptable to the board of the successful completion of a structured internship conducted in a qualifying nursing home that meets the following requirements:

(1) The internship program is board approved and is completed in a training site that has a valid operating certificate issued by the New York State Department of Health and shall be under the full-time supervision of a New York State licensed and currently registered nursing home administrator.

(i) The training site shall have at least 80 beds that are certified to participate in the title XVIII (Medicare) and title XIX (Medicaid) programs and meet the definition of a nursing home under Public Health Law article 28.

(ii) The nursing home shall have an acceptable surveillance history for the previous two years and have no formal enforcement action pending or in progress against it.

(iii) The applicant shall have no financial interest in the training site or be related to any person that has a financial interest in the training site.

(iv) The applicant may complete his or her internship at a facility where the applicant is employed. In such case, payment of salary or wages by the facility to the employed applicant is not prohibited.

(2) The internship is conducted under the direct supervision of a preceptor who is the AOR of the nursing home.

(i) The preceptor shall have held a New York State nursing home administrator license for at least two years and shall hold a current registration certificate.

(ii) The preceptor shall have had at least three years of full-time experience as the AOR of a nursing home during the last five years, including at least one year in a New York State nursing home eligible for approval as a training site.

(iii) The preceptor shall not have had his or her nursing home administrator license annulled, suspended, revoked, surrendered or forfeited, nor shall the preceptor have otherwise been disciplined by the board or have any formal disciplinary action pending or in progress against him or her.

(iv) The preceptor shall not be related to the applicant.

(3) The approval of the internship shall be withdrawn if the preceptor relinquishes his or her AOR responsibilities at the training site.

(4) The internship must have been completed within the previous 10 years prior to the applicant's eligibility to take the licensure examination.

(5) The applicant can not accept an appointment as acting administrator of any nursing home (residential health care facility) pursuant to section 415.26(a)(3) of this Title during the period inclusively falling within the dates of the internship. The acceptance of such an appointment will result in the disqualification of the internship.

(6) The internship meets or exceeds the requirements and guidelines for the Administrator-in-Training (AIT) Program established and adopted by the board.

(i) The preceptor shall submit the internship to the board for review and approval in the manner and format specified by the board.

(ii) The internship must be approved by the board prior to commencement unless the internship was completed as part of a degree program where the applicant was awarded such degree. In such case, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the board with all required documentation and information pertaining to the completed internship necessary to conduct the review of the degree program internship.

(7) The applicant may, at the discretion of the board, substitute the internship with two years of verified full-time qualifying field experience in a licensed nursing home.