Nationwide · All 50 States

Becoming a Staff-Development Leader in Texas

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 Texas — we’ll remember it for you.

Texas

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

Texas has no distinct 'Director of Staff Development' credential you earn from the state. A nurse takes on the role by meeting 26 TAC 556.5 -- an RN (or, for a program instructor, an LVN) with at least two years of nursing experience and a teaching-adults course or equivalent experience, with an RN carrying the required one year of nursing-facility long-term-care experience -- and being named on the program's HHSC approval or designated by the facility. Nurse-aide in-service is the federal 12 hours a year, delivered as 24 hours per two-year certification cycle with mandatory geriatrics and dementia/Alzheimer's content (26 TAC 556.9).

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

Restorative Nurse Assistant ECG/EKG Technician Browse all courses

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

How the role works in Texas — official details

Commonly called
Staff Development Coordinator / In-Service Educator; in a training program, the HHSC-approved NATCEP 'Program Director' (and 'Program Instructor')
State credential
No distinct state credential — the facility designates the role.
Keeping skills current (in-service)
Federal-equivalent 12 hrs/yr, delivered as at least 24 hours of in-service education every 2-year certification cycle (26 TAC 556.9), with Texas-required content in geriatrics and the care of residents with a dementia disorder including Alzheimer's disease -- a topic overlay tied to CNA renewal.
Qualifying for the role
State overlay on 42 CFR 483.152 (26 TAC 556.5): the Program Director must be a Texas RN with >=2 years nursing experience plus a course in (or experience) teaching adults or supervising nurse aides; a Program Instructor may be an LVN or RN with the same 2-year and teaching requirement; and either the director or an RN instructor must have >=1 year of long-term-care experience in a nursing facility (preserving the federal RN-oversight requirement).
State approval & process
No standalone DSD credential. To run or instruct a NATCEP, the program applies to HHSC (via the TULIP portal) for approval and names its Program Director and Program Instructor, who must meet 556.5; any approved NATCEP may also offer in-service after a TULIP change application. Otherwise the facility simply designates an in-service/staff-development coordinator who meets these qualifications.
Where to check the official rules
Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), Long-Term Care Regulation / Nurse Aide Registry, which administers the Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program (NATCEP). Nursing-facility staffing and in-service are under HHSC nursing-facility licensure rules (26 TAC Ch. 554).

General information to help you plan — not legal advice. Requirements can change, so confirm the specifics with your state’s licensing agency.
Sources: 26 TAC Sec. 556.5 · 26 TAC Sec. 556.3 · 26 TAC Sec. 556.9.

Explore another state

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Our Programs

Explore Our Programs

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.

Director of Staff Development (DSD) program On this site
Director of Staff Development (DSD)
Certify for the DSD role in California — 24 CE contact hours, self-paced, sourced to the regulations, ending in a verifiable certificate.
Enroll — $79
Restorative Nurse Assistant (RNA) program Draco Learning
Restorative Nurse Assistant (RNA)
Restorative nursing and MDS Section O documentation — online theory plus in-person clinical, ending in a certificate of completion.
View program
Infection Control & Prevention Nurse program Draco Learning
Infection Control & Prevention Nurse
The infection prevention and control practices every long-term-care facility relies on — built for the nurse who leads them.
View program
MDS Nurse Certification program Draco Learning
MDS Nurse Certification
Master the Minimum Data Set — accurate resident assessments that drive care planning and reimbursement across the facility.
View program
Skin, Wound & Ostomy Care program Draco Learning
Skin, Wound & Ostomy Care
Skin integrity, wound care and ostomy management — high-value, in-demand skills for the long-term-care nurse.
View program