By Dawn R. Warren, Ed.D., MSN, BSN, RN, University of South Dakota Department of Nursing
As a registered nurse (RN) in South Dakota for the past 35 years, I can honestly say that it has been one of the greatest blessings in my life and yet is a profession in dire need of more, especially in our rural areas. According to Klinski (2025), South Dakota is projected to have the third-worst nursing shortage in the United States by 2030, needing an additional 1,900 registered nurses (a 14% deficit). The state faces an estimated 1,000 nursing job openings annually as rural healthcare systems struggle with an aging workforce and geographic challenges.
I have had the honor of working as an RN in South Dakota in a multitude of areas, all with similar, yet different, benefits. I have worked in home health nursing, critical care, progressive care, the emergency department at Monument Health, a small rural critical access hospital, and currently, as a nurse educator at the University of South Dakota. I have been involved in the birth of a newborn baby, the peaceful death of a terminal client dying at home, the tragic deaths of children in the emergency department, the joy of discharging a patient who received life-saving treatments, the sense of pride when my nursing students have graduated and everything in between. Don’t get me wrong- it’s not all good. There are days that are incredibly sad, days that are exhausting, patients that are challenging and days I have left in tears. Fortunately, those days are far and few between compared to the days that are filled with joy and a great sense of accomplishment.
With nursing being such a rewarding career with so many different areas to work in, and with the extreme nursing shortage, it is important to share how people can become a nurse. South Dakota is fortunate to have multiple nursing programs available. People can become a licensed practical nurse (LPN) in approximately one year, with multiple vocational schools in South Dakota offering the degree. A second option is to become a registered nurse (RN) with an associate degree, taking approximately two years to complete, and offered at a number of vocational schools and universities. The third option is to become an RN with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. The BSN degree takes approximately four years to complete, often times opens the doors to more leadership positions, and is offered at many universities in South Dakota.
Living in South Dakota has many benefits and challenges all at the same time. We are blessed to live in beautiful wide open spaces, but with that comes the challenges of sparse healthcare resources and a lack of nurses to staff them. It is not uncommon for a farmer in South Dakota to have to drive two hours one way to get basic healthcare, and further to get advanced care. Despite this challenge, for those who choose to practice as a nurse in rural underserved facilities, it can be extremely rewarding. While working at Dell Rapids hospital, I had the honor of caring for women in labor, pediatrics, medical surgical patients, trauma victims in our ER, patients with mental health needs and more, all while enjoying the culture of a small rural town where everyone truly cared about each other.
It is my overall hope that more people in South Dakota will look into the many benefits of being a nurse, especially rural South Dakota, and that they will choose to get educated at one of the many excellent nursing programs our state offers.
Dawn has had the honor and privilege of being a registered nurse for 35 years. She earned her BSN in 1991, her Master of Science in Nursing Education in 2000, and her Doctor of Education in 2016. Dawn’s areas of expertise as an RN are critical care nursing, emergency nursing and in nurse education at the University of South Dakota. Dawn and her husband have two sons, both of whom are in college studying to become nurses. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Tik Tok. Prairie Doc Programming includes On Call with the Prairie Doc®, a medical Q&A show (most Thursdays at 7pm on YouTube and streaming on Facebook), 2 podcasts, and a Radio program (on SDPB, Sundays at 6am and 1pm).