South Dakota Nurse Practitioner Programs
Health care is a crucial commodity in South Dakota, but it’s not always easy to come by. In fact, many residents go without the care they need due to cost, geographic restrictions, or a lack of providers. If you’re ready to take the next step in your nursing career, you may want to become a nurse practitioner (NP) and help the people of South Dakota get the health care they deserve.
You can find NP programs in South Dakota listed on our site. Contact those you are interested in, including online NP programs, to learn more about your options.
As an advanced nursing student, you can take advantage of some of the most technologically advanced nursing equipment available in the country. The state recently introduced a mobile nursing lab, which allows students to advance their skills on lifelike mannequins and iStan simulators.
One benefit of working in South Dakota is the relative freedom of practice enjoyed by nurse practitioners. The American Association of Nurse Practitioners notes that NPs in this state have many of the same practice rights as medical doctors, giving them the freedom to treat patients as they see fit.
You may be able to make use of networking resources as an advanced nursing professional. The Nurse Practitioner Association of South Dakota unites nurse practitioners from all over the state, promoting freedom of practice and establishing the importance of advanced practice nurses in South Dakota. Find out more about this educational path now to see if it’s right for you.
Nurse Practitioner Program Curriculum in South Dakota
To become a nurse practitioner in South Dakota, you must earn a master’s degree or a doctoral degree in nursing. You can earn about 30 to 40 credits as a master’s degree student and about 60 credits as a doctoral (DNP) student. In both of these options, clinical practice is extremely important. Upon completion of a graduate program, you should have 600 or more clinical hours. Doctoral programs typically require well over 1,000 hours.
These two degree options tend to have quite a few courses in common. Some of the classes you may take as a nurse practitioner student include Cultural Competence in Healthcare, Pathophysiology Across the Lifespan, Advanced Practice Nursing: Roles and Issues, and Health Promotion & Disease Prevention. You may work with patients of many different ages and medical needs as you proceed through your curriculum.
You may have access to a variety of financial aid options as an advanced nursing student. Once you have been accepted to a program, you can look at the financial aid opportunities offered by the South Dakota Center for Nursing. Options include grants, scholarship, and loan repayment programs. Some scholarships are school-specific, like the Nurse Faculty Loan Program and the Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship Fund. You may qualify for more types of financial aid if you’re willing to work in an underserved rural area after graduation.
Working as a Nurse Practitioner in South Dakota
Through the South Dakota Board of Nursing, you can get your nurse practitioner license. This requires you to maintain a valid registered nursing license and submit a copy of your transcript to the Board of Nursing. You must also pass a comprehensive advanced nursing exam.
The job outlook in South Dakota is excellent for nurse practitioners. From 2012 to 2022, O*Net hopes to see a 20 percent increase in nurse practitioner jobs. The average salary for a South Dakota nurse practitioner is $87,000 per year (O*Net, 2013).
If you’re ready to put your bachelor’s degree in nursing to good use, look into becoming a nurse practitioner. You can start by contacting nurse practitioner programs in South Dakota directly from our site.