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Becoming a Staff-Development Leader in Alaska

Every skilled nursing facility needs a nurse to lead its orientation and in-service education, and the core skills are the same across the country. We help you build them — with professional, certificate-bearing online courses available to nurses and care staff in all 50 states. In California the role is called Director of Staff Development; elsewhere it’s a Staff Development Coordinator, In-Service Coordinator or Nurse Educator.

Looking for the in-service training requirements rather than the role? See our nursing-home in-service requirements by state.

Showing Alaska — we’ll remember it for you.

Alaska

In Alaska, the nurse who leads staff education and training is commonly known as a Staff Development Coordinator / In-Service Coordinator. It’s a valued, higher-responsibility role — and we can help you prepare for it and grow your long-term-care career.

Alaska has no distinct 'staff development director' credential. A nurse takes on the role by facility designation (usually the DON or a qualified RN), operating under the federal in-service floor of at least 12 hours/year. Where Alaska is stricter is CNA training itself: the Board of Nursing requires a 140-hour program (12 AAC 44.835) and must approve the primary instructor (12 AAC 44.840) — an RN or LPN with at least 2 years' experience including 1 year in long-term care plus adult-teaching qualifications, with the DON barred from doing the actual teaching. So the closest thing to a staff-development 'credential' is Board approval as a CNA-program primary instructor, not a DSD license.

Study from Alaska today — nationwide training that travels with you

Through our sister platform Draco Learning, you can build practical skills and earn a professional certificate of completion from Alaska — our online courses are open to nurses and care staff in all 50 states:

Restorative Nurse Assistant ECG/EKG Technician Browse all courses

Whatever Alaska asks you to teach, it’s already written

The in-service topics a surveyor expects are set by federal law, so they are the same in Alaska as everywhere else. Our in-service library covers all of them — 186 ready-to-teach lessons, each with a lesson plan, handout, quiz, speaker notes and slides — for $99.

See the lesson library Free compliance checklist Alaska in-service rules
Available in all 50 states Certificate of completion 100% online & self-paced

How the role works in Alaska — official details

Commonly called
Staff Development Coordinator / In-Service Coordinator (facility-designated); for CNA training the state-approved role is 'Primary Instructor')
State credential
No distinct state credential — the facility designates the role.
Keeping skills current (in-service)
Follows federal 12 hrs/yr (42 CFR 483.95) for annual facility in-service. Alaska's overlay is on INITIAL training, not annual in-service: 12 AAC 44.835 requires a 140-hour CNA program (well above the 75-hour federal floor).
Qualifying for the role
State overlay (12 AAC 44.840): the primary instructor must be an RN or practical nurse licensed under AS 08.68 with >=2 years nursing experience, at least 1 year in a long-term care facility, plus adult-teaching qualifications, and must be Board-approved and on-site to directly supervise clinicals. The Director of Nursing is prohibited from performing the actual training. (Broadly tracks the federal RN-2yr/1yr-LTC standard, with RN general supervision expected.)
State approval & process
No separate state approval to hold a 'staff development director' role and no such distinct credential. The SNF designates its in-service/staff-development coordinator. The one state-approved role adjacent to staff development is the CNA-program primary instructor, which the Alaska Board of Nursing must approve (12 AAC 44.840), along with the training program itself.
Where to check the official rules
Alaska Board of Nursing (Dept. of Commerce, Community & Economic Development — Division of Corporations, Business & Professional Licensing) governs CNA certification and approval of CNA training programs/instructors under 12 AAC 44.800–.895 and AS 08.68; Alaska DOH Health Facilities Licensing & Certification governs nursing-facility operation.

General information to help you plan — not legal advice. Requirements can change, so confirm the specifics with your state’s licensing agency.
Sources: 12 AAC 44.835 · 12 AAC 44.840 · 42 CFR 483.95.

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Advance your long-term-care career with our growing family of professional programs — the DSD certification here on DSD Certify, plus more through our platform Draco Learning.

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