NKU's online nursing programs in South Dakota

NKU's two table copies match on South Dakota, so nothing needs reconciling. The NP limit comes from the separate admission list on NKU's graduate admission page, not from the state table, which is why the non-NP programs remain available.

Out-of-state schools receive no approval from South Dakota's Board of Nursing. Its guidance for those programs (revised 06-2020) treats a direct-care placement as an arrangement between the school and the South Dakota preceptor or agency. The board does expect the school to have someone on its faculty who can practice in South Dakota, through a state license or a privilege to practice, at the students' level: RN to oversee RN students, APRN to oversee APRN students. ARSD 20:48:07:49 carries the same idea into distance education.

The part of NKU's Nursing Education track most likely to involve patients is MSN 614L, with at least 50 direct-care hours in physical assessment. Ask NKU how it meets the faculty expectation for South Dakota before that course; the Nursing Education page covers the rest of the track.

The state's three big systems are Monument Health, Avera Health and Sanford Health. Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Aberdeen are the main population centers. Hospital education departments suit an MSN 670 capstone with an academic or educational preceptor, and a nurse manager or director could supervise the 100-hour MSN 631L capstone for Nurse Executive Leadership.

By AANP's reading, full practice arrives in South Dakota after an NP logs 1,040 hours under a written collaborative arrangement (with a physician, certified nurse midwife or certified NP). That matters to NP students more than to you, but it tells you the state's NPs work with wide authority.

Compact licensing in South Dakota dates from January 19, 2018. Your NKU application needs an unencumbered RN license, current and issued where you hold licensure and practice. On February 5, 2024, South Dakota became an APRN Compact state on paper, one of five so far; that compact switches on only after seven states sign, and it concerns NP licenses, not your coursework.

If an NP track is your real goal, study NKU's admission states before any move; NKU cautions that relocating mid-program can change your standing.

For Nursing Education, a placement advisor looks for master's-prepared nurse educators in schools of nursing and hospital education departments; for Nurse Executive Leadership, for nurse leaders ready to guide a capstone. We gather each preceptor's signed Preceptor Responsibilities form, license and resume, plus a site contact for any affiliation agreement, so your Medatrax self-placement request reaches NKU complete and early.