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Becoming a Staff-Development Leader in Illinois

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 Illinois — we’ll remember it for you.

Illinois

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

Illinois has NO distinct DSD-style credential. The staff-education job is a facility designation (commonly 'Staff Development Coordinator'); the person who teaches the Basic Nursing Assistant Training Program must be an IDPH-approved Instructor — an RN with an active, unencumbered Illinois license, 2 years of nursing experience plus 1 year in teaching/geriatric/LTC, who has completed an IDPH-approved evaluator course (BSN+ exempt) (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.160/.162/.165). Annual in-service follows the federal 12 hrs/yr (42 CFR 483.95); Illinois adds no separate CNA CE-hour mandate. A qualifying RN gets IDPH instructor/coordinator approval and the facility designates them — there is no standalone state 'staff development' certificate.

Study from Illinois 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 Illinois — our online courses are open to nurses and care staff in all 50 states:

Restorative Nurse Assistant ECG/EKG Technician Browse all courses

Whatever Illinois 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 Illinois 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 Illinois in-service rules
Available in all 50 states Certificate of completion 100% online & self-paced

How the role works in Illinois — official details

Commonly called
Staff Development Coordinator (facility job title); NATCEP 'Program Coordinator' and 'Instructor'/'Approved Evaluator' for the Basic Nursing Assistant Training Program (BNATP)
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). 77 Ill. Adm. Code 300.660 requires competency review and in-service targeted to deficiencies found on inspection, but adds no separate annual CE-hour mandate for CNAs (aides keep active status by working within 24 months).
Qualifying for the role
State overlay on 42 CFR 483.152. Instructor must be an RN with an active, unencumbered Illinois license, at least 2 years of nursing experience PLUS 1 year in teaching, care of the elderly, or long-term care, and must complete an IDPH-approved evaluator course (RNs with a BSN or higher are exempt) (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.160/.162). The Program Coordinator is an RN meeting the same standards (395.165). The BNATP is a minimum 120 hours.
State approval & process
No separate DSD credential. RN instructors and the Program Coordinator must be approved by IDPH (submit qualifications; complete the IDPH evaluator course unless BSN+). The facility designates the staff-development role itself.
Where to check the official rules
Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) — Health Care Regulation, Long-Term Care, and the Health Care Worker Registry

General information to help you plan — not legal advice. Requirements can change, so confirm the specifics with your state’s licensing agency.
Sources: 77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.160 · 77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.162 · 77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.165.

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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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Certify for the DSD role in California — 24 CE contact hours, self-paced, sourced to the regulations, ending in a verifiable certificate.
Enroll — $79
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