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. (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:

   1. (a) Communication and interpersonal skills;
   2. (b) Infection control;
   3. (c) Safety or emergency procedures, including the Heimlich maneuver;
   4. (d) Promoting a client's independence;
   5. (e) Respecting a client's rights; and
   6. (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. (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:

   1. (a) Measuring and recording vital signs, height, and weight;
   2. (b) Caring for a client's environment;
   3. (c) Recognizing abnormal changes in body functioning and reporting changes to a supervisor;
   4. (d) Caring for a client when death is imminent;
   5. (e) Bathing, grooming, and providing mouth care;
   6. (f) Dressing;
   7. (g) Toileting, including providing bowel and bladder training;
   8. (h) Assisting with eating, hydration, and using proper feeding techniques;
   9. (i) Providing skin care;
   10. (j) Transferring, turning and positioning, restorative care, and range of motion;
   11. (k) Aging process and associated developmental tasks;
   12. (l) Responding to a client's mental health and social needs by modifying care provided in response to the client's behavior;
   13. (m) Promoting and allowing a client's right to make personal choices to accommodate the client’s needs and maintain dignity;
   14. (n) Using the client's family as a source of emotional support;
   15. (o) Using techniques for addressing the unique needs and behaviors of a client with dementia or Alzheimer's disease;
   16. (p) Understanding the behavior of and communicating with a cognitively impaired client using appropriate responses to the behavior of the client;
   17. (q) Using methods to reduce the effects of cognitive impairments;
   18. (r) Assisting the client in self-care according to the client's abilities;
   19. (s) Using assistive devices in transferring, ambulation, eating, and dressing;
   20. (t) Using and caring for prosthetic and orthotic devices;
   21. (u) Providing privacy and confidentiality;
   22. (v) Assisting in resolving client grievances and disputes;
   23. (w) Providing a client assistance to participate in activities;
   24. (x) Maintaining care and security of a client's personal possessions; and
   25. (y) Avoiding the need for restraints in accordance with current professional standards; and
3. (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 .

General Authority: SDCL 36-9-21 .

Law Implemented: SDCL 36-9-21 (5) .