This medication aide course is a 20 hour course. There are 16 hours of class (or didactic) and 4 hours of clinical. The MA program does not have a federal requirement for the amount of course hours. Every state does not have a medication aide program. After you successfully complete this course and clinical time, you will be able to pass meds in the state of South Dakota.
South Dakota's Nurse Practice Act allows nurses in nursing homes and other settings to delegate some of their nursing tasks to "unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)”. Administering medication is one of these tasks. The regulations require the nurse to supervise the UAP and specify the tasks that may be delegated. The regulations also set standards for approval of medication administration programs, which must provide 16 hours of classroom instruction and four hours of clinical or laboratory instruction as well as a series of tests (S.D. Codified Laws, §§ 20:48:04.01:10 et seq.).
South Dakota Medication Aides are allowed to administer oral medications and treatments to clients and maintain medication records to ensure accurate dispensing of medications under the direction of a licensed nurse.
Ethics are a standard of what is right or wrong, and reflect a person’s morality. An ethical person will always try to do what is right and not only what can result in personal gain. Ethics are a system of moral values that guide and influence our actions. Laws, on the other hand, tell us in black and white what we have to do. Laws may have their roots in ethical standards and are established to ensure security and order in society.
Laws are essential in the health care setting. They have been developed to protect the patients as well as healthcare workers. All healthcare workers must know the laws that they are to uphold. These four principles should guide your everyday actions:
Be honest
Do not steal or tell a lie under any circumstances.
Communicate honestly with healthcare workers.
It is very important that the MA understand the importance of his/her responsibilities. Confidentiality can be one of easiest rules to break. If the person you are speaking to is not involved in the resident's care then you cannot share any information about the resident.
Each facility may have its own Code of Ethics. Be sure to read, understand, and remember your code of ethics. These codes are created to ensure employees conduct themselves in a professional manner and have a high standard of practice.
Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable,
or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.
~Francesca Reigler
As members of the healthcare field, we all need to strive to make the system work by working with one another for the sake of our residents. One of the major contributing factors to this is attitude.
Attitude makes all the difference in staff/resident interactions. Your attitude sets the tone for all interactions and determines whether residents are accepting of you and if they will take their medications. How you react in your daily interactions is crucial.
South Dakota's Nurse Practice Act allows nurses in nursing homes and other settings to delegate some of their nursing tasks to "unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)”. Administering medication is one of these tasks. The regulations require the nurse to supervise the UAP and specify the tasks that may be delegated. The regulations also set standards for approval of medication administration programs, which must provide 16 hours of classroom instruction and four hours of clinical or laboratory instruction as well as a series of tests (S.D. Codified Laws, §§ 20:48:04.01:10 et seq.).
Each facility may have its own Code of Ethics. Be sure to read, understand, and remember your code of ethics. These codes are created to ensure employees conduct themselves in a professional manner and have a high standard of practice.