Nurse Aide

• At least 16 years of age
• Not been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude that is rationally related to the position of a nurse aide. (Moral turpitude has been defined as an act or behavior that violates accepted moral standards and in legal terms means anything done contrary to justice, honesty, modesty, good morals and with the intent to defraud.)
• Able to speak and understand the English language or a language understood by a substantial portion of the nursing home residents
• Successfully complete a minimum of 75 hours of training approved by the State of Nebraska or a 21-hour basic resident care course for intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled
• Successfully complete one hour of Nebraska-specific abuse/neglect/misappropriation training
• Successfully pass a State of Nebraska approved written/oral exam and clinical/skills competency exam.

Applicant Forms

• Application – there is none for nurse aides
• Fees – there are none for nurse aides  
• Interstate Endorsement – Complete this form if you are a nurse aide in another state, transferring/moving to Nebraska and want to work in Nebraska.
• Employment Verification Form – submit employment information if working at an out-of-state employer.
• Name Change/License Reissue Form – There is no charge for nurse aides changing their name. Attach to the form a copy of the document that proves your name change.
• Address Change

Facility Forms

• Registry Form – To be submitted by the facility employer upon hire of a nurse aide
  
• End of Employment/Termination Form – submitted by employer when nurse aide no longer works for them
• List/roster of nurse aides working for an employer – list of nurse aides presently employed at a specific setting according to the nurse aide registry
  - updated weekly on Friday
  - Search alpha to city, then alpha to employer, than alpha to nurse aide's last name
  - Search and print the individual facility's list carefully, as it is over 1,100 pages
  - May use for submission of end of employment/termination information
• Abuse In-Service training – to be used for documentation by the employer or college of completion of the training for a nurse aide transferring to Nebraska from another state.

Question: Are there certain types of places a nurse aide must be employed in order to stay active on the registry?

Yes. To stay active on the registry, you must have worked as a nurse aide in a paid position within the past two years in an approved employer setting.

Question: Is there a limit to the use of lifts by nurse aides?

Yes, there is an age restriction on the use of lifts by nurse aides. The nurse aide must be at least 18 years of age to use a lift on their own. A nurse aide who is 16 to 17 years of age may assist in the use of a lift. This restriction was established by the Department of Labor.

Source:  Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2011-3
(Posted: 9/21/2018)

Question: Is there anything a nursing home can do when they are prohibited from participating in Nurse Aide Training?

A nursing home may apply for a waiver of the prohibition. (Posted 9/21/2018)

• Approved Nurse Aide Courses
• Approved Textbooks/Supplemental Material/Courses
• Course Notification Form – notification of future Nurse Aide Training dates and times.  Must be submitted at least five days before start of training.
• Nursing homes reimbursement responsibility for nurse aide training – when a nurse aide pays for their own training
• Training Equipment List

Exams: 

• Written/oral exam – consists of 50 multiple-choice questions.
• Passing grade is 70 percent or greater
• Takes approximately three weeks to be made active on registry
• An individual has a total of three opportunities to pass each exam.
• If an individual does not pass the exam after three tries, he/she must retake the 75-hour nurse aide course
• Skills exam – consists of a demonstration of six skills.
• Passing score is 70 percent or greater on each skill.
• Skills may have one or more mandatory steps. These steps must be performed correctly in order to pass that skill.
• If any of the six skills are failed, the individual fails the skills exam.
• The individual has a total of three opportunities to pass the skills exam.
• If the skills exam is not passed after three tries, he or she must retake the 75-hour nurse aide training course. 

To complete the verification section, some states have a verification form you will need to complete and forward to us. Nebraska does not have forms required by other states. Contact that state to obtain their forms. We do not issue physical certificates or licensure cards for nurse aides. You can obtain a verification from the registry. Nebraska does not charge a fee to complete this form. Requests are processed as soon as quickly as possible.

If you are faxing your application to us, make sure it is on white paper. (Colored paper does not fax well—if it is on colored paper, you will need to make a copy and use the white copy when faxing.)  It can be faxed, emailed or sent to dhhs.nursingsupport@nebraska.gov or fax (402) 742-1151. The phone number is (402) 471-4322.

Licensure cards for nurse aides are not issued in Nebraska. You can print one from the registry, here. 

To become registered in Nebraska:

• Complete the Interstate Endorsement form. Note: it may take us up to 30 days to process a completed form.
• All nurse aides coming from another state must complete a minimum one hour of Nebraska Abuse/Neglect/Misappropriation Training, even if similar training was completed as part of another state's requirements.
• Nurse Aide Registry Checks – Nebraska will contact the Nurse Aide Registry in the state in which you received your training and any other states in which you have worked as a nurse aide.

Send your completed form to the address on the form.

License cards for nurse aides are not issued in Nebraska. Please search for your name on the Nurse Aide Registry. When your name comes up, click it. Then click the green button that says Generate Wallet Card to view or print your card.