Becoming a Staff-Development Leader in South Dakota
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.
South Dakota
In South Dakota, the nurse who leads staff education and training is commonly known as a NATP Program Director, and South Dakota recognizes a distinct Nurse Aide Training Program (NATP) Program Director — an RN role individually approved by the SD Board of Nursing via the 'NATP Program Director Request Form.' This is a genuine state role-approval, but it is NOT a portable California-style 'DSD' certificate and is specific to directing the facility's nurse-aide training program. credential. It’s a valued, higher-responsibility role — and we can help you prepare for it and grow your long-term-care career.
South Dakota does not have a California-style 'Director of Staff Development' certificate, but it is the standout of these five: as of September 8, 2025 the Board of Nursing (which took over CNA regulation from the Department of Health) must individually approve the facility's Nurse Aide Training Program Director. To take on the role you (an RN with at least 1 year of clinical RN experience) are selected by the facility administrator, who submits the NATP Program Director Request Form to the Board for approval before students can enroll. That approval is a genuine state sign-off on the person, though it is not a portable credential — it attaches to running that program, and the Program Director in turn verifies the primary instructors (RN/LPN, 2 yrs clinical incl. 1 yr in a nursing facility, not the DON). In-service is the federal 12 hours per year, with South Dakota additionally requiring dementia and abuse content.
Study from South Dakota 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 South Dakota — our online courses are open to nurses and care staff in all 50 states:
Restorative Nurse Assistant ECG/EKG Technician Browse all coursesWhatever South Dakota 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 South Dakota 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.
How the role works in South Dakota — official details
General information to help you plan — not legal advice. Requirements can change, so
confirm the specifics with your state’s licensing agency.
Sources: ARSD ch. 20:48:18 · ARSD ch. 20:48:16 · SDBON Memo, Sept 5, 2025.
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