The standards of practice for a registered nurse and a licensed practical nurse are to:

1. (1) Practice within the legal boundaries for nursing practice authorized in SDCL chapter 36-9 and this article;
2. (2) Accept personal responsibility and be accountable for actions, competence, decisions, and behavior in the course of nursing practice. A nurse does not avoid this responsibility by accepting the orders or directions of another person;
3. (3) Perform only those activities, tasks, or responsibilities that another reasonable and prudent nurse with similar educational preparation and demonstrated clinical competence would perform and that one has determined can be accomplished safely;
4. (4) Perform activities, tasks, or responsibilities only after considering the complexity and frequency of nursing care needed by the client population served;
5. (5) Perform activities, tasks, or responsibilities only after considering if a practice setting allows a nurse to perform the activities, tasks, or responsibilities in the practice setting, provides a sufficient number of qualified personnel within the practice setting, and provides adequate channels of communication that lend support to the types of nursing services offered in the practice setting;
6. (6) Maintain competence through ongoing learning and application of knowledge in current nursing practice;
7. (7) Obtain instruction and supervision when needed in implementing new or unfamiliar nursing techniques or practices;
8. (8) Document nursing care provided, changes in a client’s condition, or relevant information, in an accurate and timely manner;
9. (9) Maintain professional boundaries and therapeutic relationships with clients;
10. (10) Collaborate and consult with, or refer clients to, other health care providers to resolve situations beyond one’s expertise;
11. (11) Practice without discrimination on the basis of age, race, religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, patient diagnosis, or disability;
12. (12) Advocate for the respect, dignity, rights, and property of clients;
13. (13) Take preventive measures to promote an environment that is conducive to health and safety; and

14. (14) Report illegal, substandard, unethical, unsafe, or incompetent nursing practice.

    Declaratory Rulings:

    Instructing a patient on routine measures for taking care of a condition does not constitute the practice of medicine and is not grounds for disciplinary action even if the information and recommendations provided are in excess of, or different from, the information and recommendations given by the patient's physician, so long as the nurse did not, on the nurse's own, treat the symptoms or disease. South Dakota Board of Nursing Declaratory Ruling No. 80-1.

    A nurse must exercise professional judgment when accepting orders through a third party, who may or may not be unlicensed, via telephone or otherwise. If an order is transmitted through a third party, all persons, including the third party, must be identified by name and title before the order may be implemented. South Dakota Board of Nursing Declaratory Ruling 87-1.

    Although registered nurses may administer narcotics, analgesics, sedatives, and tranquilizing medications to patients, registered nurses may not administer any medication for the purpose of inducing general anesthesia. It is not within the authority of the board to determine how or for what purpose a specific drug with multiple uses is being administered at any given time. Institutional or agency protocol must address this. South Dakota Board of Nursing Declaratory Ruling 89-1.

    Homemakers employed by the Department of Social Services or its contractors may provide assistance with the self-administration of medications to clients who are mentally capable of self-directing their care and who reside in their own home or reside in adult foster care or an assisted living center if the homemakers are trained as homemakers, are placed by an agency, and are under the supervision of a professional social worker or nurse as appropriate and if the assistance is limited to reminding the client to take a medication at a prescribed time, opening and closing a medication container, and returning a medication container to the proper storage area. Services provided under the conditions described are not dependent upon licensure in nursing. South Dakota Board of Nursing Declaratory Ruling 92-1.

Source: SL 1975, ch 16, § 1; 3 SDR 35, effective November 11, 1976; 12 SDR 109, effective January 9, 1986; 12 SDR 151, 12 SDR 155, effective July 1, 1986; 22 SDR 23, effective August 29, 1995; 26 SDR 174, effective July 4, 2000; 33 SDR 43, effective September 12, 2006; 41 SDR 12, effective July 31, 2014 ; 50 SDR 69, effective December 10, 2023 .

General Authority: SDCL 36-9-21 (2) .

Law Implemented: SDCL 36-9-1.1 , 36-9-3 (4)(5)(8)(9)(10)(11), 36-9-4 (3)(4)(5)(6)(7) .

Prior versions effective: 2014-07-31, 2006-09-12.