Delegation of Medication Administration
A licensed nurse may delegate the following medication administration tasks to a nursing assistant who meets the requirements in Section 2. A nurse is accountable to follow the delegation and supervision requirements in ARSD 20:48:04.01:01 and 20:48:04.01:02.
Medication tasks that a nurse may delegate, pursuant to ARSD 20:48:04.01:09.01:
- Administering scheduled medications by the following routes: oral, sublingual, eye, ear, nasal, rectal, topical, transdermal, vaginal, and inhalation;
- Measurement of a prescribed amount of liquid medication or crushing a tablet for administration, if a licensed nurse, physician, or pharmacist has calculated the dose; and
- Administration of schedule II controlled substances that are prescribed and labeled in a container for a specific client.
Medication aides who administer medications in a skilled nursing facility, assisted living center, or hospital must be registered with the Board.
Medication Aide Requirements
The Nursing Assistant must meet the following requirements, pursuant to ARSD 20:48:04.01:09:
- Have a minimum of a high school education or the equivalent (GED);
- Completed an approved 20-hour Medication Aide Training Program (MATP) consisting of 16 hours of theory, 4 hours of clinical/lab instruction, skills competency evaluation, and passing the training program's final exam.
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- A nursing student, or an RN/LPN who is not actively licensed, may request approval by the SDBON to opt out of the 16-hour theory portion of the program: Equivalency of Education
- Successfully complete an annual skills competency evaluation using the Clinical Skills Checklist or a facility checklist.
Nurses are accountable to ensure that a medication aide has met the requirements and employers are accountable to maintain documentation on file.