In a California skilled nursing facility, the Director of Staff Development is the licensed nurse responsible for the facility's training program — orientation, in-service education, and, in many buildings, the nurse assistant certification program itself. The role is not optional: Health & Safety Code § 1337.4 requires every skilled nursing and intermediate care facility to designate a licensed nurse as its Director of Staff Development.
Becoming one is a defined sequence, not a single exam — and the order matters, because the part you can act on today is not the part most people start with. Here is the whole path.
Step 1 — Hold an active California nursing license
You must be a licensed nurse in good standing. Both licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) and registered nurses (RNs) qualify; the deciding factor is the experience behind the license, not the license type itself. If your license is inactive or lapsed, restore it before you go further, because every later step assumes it — the Department will not approve an application that rests on a license that is not currently active.
Step 2 — Meet the experience requirement
This is where most candidates find out which of two routes they are on. 22 CCR § 71829(d) offers two alternative pathways — you need one, not both. They are genuinely different sizes, so it is worth reading them side by side before you decide which one you are claiming.
| Pathway (d)(1) | Pathway (d)(2) |
|---|---|
| One year as a licensed nurse providing direct patient care in a long-term care facility. | Two years of full-time experience as a licensed nurse, at least one of them in direct patient care in a nursing facility. |
| plus one year planning, implementing and evaluating educational programs in nursing. | plus the 24 hours of education in Step 3 — the pathway that lets you substitute a course for the second year of teaching experience. |
| Best if you have already been doing staff education. | Best if you have bedside years but have not yet run a training program — the education stands in for the teaching year. |
Step 3 — Complete the required education
Pathway (d)(2) requires 24 hours of continuing education in planning, implementing and evaluating educational programs in nursing, completed within six months of employment and before teaching a certification program. This is the step a DSD course exists to satisfy, and it is the piece you can complete on your own initiative, in advance, rather than waiting on a facility.
A course that maps to the role covers adult-learning principles, curriculum and lesson-plan development, competency evaluation, documentation, and the California and federal in-service rules a DSD works under every day. That is exactly what this course's curriculum is built around — ten modules ending in a verifiable certificate you can attach to the application.
Step 4 — Submit the CDPH application
Approval is granted by the Department, not by your employer. The form is CDPH 279 (rev. 11/2022), Instructor or Director of Staff Development (DSD) Application, sent to CDPH's Training Program Review Unit. A program delivered online or by distance learning uses CDPH E279 and goes to the eLearning Review Unit instead. Sending the right form to the right unit is a common, avoidable cause of delay.
- License active and in good standing, with the number to hand.
- The experience for your chosen pathway documented — dates, facility, and role.
- The 24-hour education certificate, if you are on pathway (d)(2).
- A current resume — the facility must keep one on file and the Department expects it.
- The correct form for how the program is delivered: 279 for classroom, E279 for online/distance.
- The right destination unit for that form.
Step 5 — Wait out the Department's review clocks
Section 71829 sets the timeline you should plan around:
- The Department replies within thirty calendar days as to whether your submission is complete or deficient.
- A final decision follows within sixty calendar days.
- Your facility must notify the Department within thirty calendar days of employing a new Director of Staff Development or Instructor, and keep a copy of your resume on file.
How long it really takes. The 30- and 60-day figures are the Department's clocks, not a promise your packet clears on the first pass. If the first submission is returned as deficient, the clock effectively restarts on the corrected one, which is how a "two-month" approval becomes three or four. The way to keep it to two is to submit a clean application the first time — which is what the checklist above is for.
A deficiency is not a denial. If something is missing or unclear, the Department says so within the 30-day window and identifies what it needs; you correct it and resubmit. Treat a deficiency notice as a punch list, not a rejection.
Step 6 — Know the hours the role carries
Once approved, the hours you owe depend on the facility's licensed bed count and whether it runs a certification program — from 20 to 40 hours a week, or 26 to 93 hours a month. The two columns use different units, which is the single easiest thing to get wrong; the bed-count table lays them out in full.
DSD, instructor, or in-service coordinator — which am I?
These three get used interchangeably and they are not the same. The Director of Staff Development is the role California regulation defines and the Department approves. The NATP instructor is the person who teaches the nurse assistant certification program — often the same person, but governed by the two-year experience floor in § 1337.15. "In-service coordinator" is a job title for the function, not a state-approved credential. Our guide to the difference between the DSD and the in-service coordinator untangles which one actually counts on a survey.
The short version
- Hold an active LVN/LPN or RN license.
- Meet one of the two § 71829(d) experience pathways.
- Complete the 24 hours of education (pathway (d)(2)).
- Submit CDPH 279 — or E279 for online programs — to the right unit.
- Clear the Department's 30- and 60-day review.
- Take up the role at the hours your facility's bed count requires.
The one step you can act on today, before any facility is involved, is the education. That is the part this course takes off your plate — 24 contact hours, self-paced, ending in a verifiable certificate.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be an RN to become a DSD in California?
No. Both licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) and registered nurses (RNs) can serve as a Director of Staff Development. What decides eligibility is the experience behind the license under 22 CCR § 71829(d), not the license type. If you also intend to teach the nurse assistant certification program, Health & Safety Code § 1337.15 sets a separate two-year experience floor.
How long does it take to become a DSD?
The education you control — the 24 hours — is self-paced and can be finished in advance. After you submit CDPH 279, the Department has 30 calendar days to tell you whether the application is complete and 60 calendar days to reach a final decision. Plan for roughly two months from a complete submission, and longer if your first packet comes back deficient.
What is the difference between CDPH 279 and CDPH E279?
CDPH 279 is the paper/classroom Instructor or Director of Staff Development application and goes to the Training Program Review Unit. CDPH E279 is for a program delivered online or by distance learning and goes to the eLearning Review Unit. Sending the right form to the right unit is one of the most common avoidable causes of delay.
Does the 24-hour DSD course have to be finished before I apply?
The 24 hours of continuing education in planning, implementing and evaluating educational programs must be completed within six months of employment and before you teach a certification program. Because it is the one step that does not depend on a facility, most people complete it first so the certificate is already in hand when the application goes in.
Who approves a Director of Staff Development — my employer or the state?
The California Department of Public Health approves the individual, not the facility. Your employer designates you and must notify the Department within 30 days of employing a new DSD or instructor, but approval of you in the role is the Department's decision under § 71829.
What happens if the Department finds my application deficient?
A deficiency is not a denial. Within 30 days the Department identifies what is missing or incomplete; you correct it and resubmit. The 60-day decision clock is why a clean first submission — right form, right unit, resume attached, education documented — matters so much.
How many hours does a DSD have to work?
It depends on the facility's licensed bed count and whether it runs a certification program — roughly 20 to 40 hours per week, or 26 to 93 hours per month. The two columns in § 71829 use different units (per week vs. per month), which is the single easiest figure to misread.
Is "Director of Staff Development" a California-only title?
The title is California's. The function — planning and running a skilled nursing facility's in-service and orientation program — exists in every state under the federal floor at 42 CFR § 483.95, where it is called a staff development coordinator, in-service director or nurse educator. Only California defines the DSD role and requires Department approval of the person in it.
Do I need continuing education to keep the role after I qualify?
Yes, but they are separate things: your LVN or RN license carries its own renewal CE, and the DSD role sits on top of that. Our guide to the ongoing requirements walks through what recurs and what does not.
Can I complete the education before I have a DSD job lined up?
Yes — and that is the point of doing it first. The license and experience are yours to build; the 24 hours of education is yours to complete on your own initiative; only the application and the role itself involve a facility. Finishing the education in advance is the one move that shortens the whole timeline.
