Section · Administrative Rules of South Dakota · View on sdlegislature.gov ↗
A nurse aide training program must require students to complete seventy-five hours of theoretical instruction and supervised practical training under the direct supervision of a licensee. The training program's curriculum must use board-approved teaching resources and must: (1) Provide an initial sixteen hours of theoretical and skills instruction, prior to a student having direct contact with a client, on the following topics: (a) Communication and interpersonal skills; (b) Infection control; (c) Safety or emergency procedures, including the Heimlich maneuver; (d) Promoting a client's independence; (e) Respecting a client's rights; and (f) Promoting a client's right to be free from abuse, mistreatment, and neglect and the need to report any instances of such treatment to appropriate facility staff; (2) After the student completes the requirement in subdivision (1), provide forty-three hours of theoretical instruction and supervised practical training in a skills laboratory, a nursing facility, or a comparable nursing practice setting, on the following topics: (a) Measuring and recording vital signs, height, and weight; (b) Caring for a client's environment; (c) Recognizing abnormal changes in body functioning and reporting changes to a supervisor; (d) Caring for a client when death is imminent; (e) Bathing, grooming, and providing mouth care; (f) Dressing; (g) Toileting, including providing bowel and bladder training; (h) Assisting with eating, hydration, and using proper feeding techniques; (i) Providing skin care; (j) Transferring, turning and positioning, restorative care, and range of motion; (k) Aging process and associated developmental tasks; (l) Responding to a client's mental health and social needs by modifying care provided in response to the client's behavior; (m) Promoting and allowing a client's right to make personal choices to accommodate the client’s needs and maintain dignity; (n) Using the client's family as a source of emotional support; (o) Using techniques for addressing the unique needs and behaviors of a client with dementia or Alzheimer's disease; (p) Understanding the behavior of and communicating with a cognitively impaired client using appropriate responses to the behavior of the client; (q) Using methods to reduce the effects of cognitive impairments; (r) Assisting the client in self-care according to the client's abilities; (s) Using assistive devices in transferring, ambulation, eating, and dressing; (t) Using and caring for prosthetic and orthotic devices; (u) Providing privacy and confidentiality; (v) Assisting in resolving client grievances and disputes; (w) Providing a client assistance to participate in activities; (x) Maintaining care and security of a client's personal possessions; and (y) Avoiding the need for restraints in accordance with current professional standards; and (3) Provide sixteen hours of supervised practical training in a nursing facility or a comparable nursing practice setting.
Source: 52 SDR 24, effective September 8, 2025.