Nursing
Why Nursing?
Nurses are the heart of healthcare, providing compassionate, skilled care to individuals, families, and communities across the life span. In this program, you’ll learn to assess, plan, and deliver patient-centered care while developing the critical thinking and leadership skills essential in today’s complex healthcare environments. No two days are ever the same, and each patient offers a new opportunity to make a difference.
At Mid-State, you’ll train alongside expert instructors in classroom, lab, and clinical settings that mirror real healthcare environments. Students benefit from hands-on simulation experiences in the Healthcare Simulation Center that enhance and support their clinical training.
Mid-State’s Nursing program was ranked the No. 1 RN program in Wisconsin for 2026 by RegisteredNursing.org, a testament to its quality and student success.
Waiting List
This program may have a waitlist due to limited space and high demand. The waitlist helps ensure a fair and transparent process when there are more applicants than available seats. Waitlist priority is based on the date of application and Wisconsin residency. For more information about the waitlist process, visit Program Waitlists.
In the meantime, we invite you to explore other rewarding options in the School of Nursing—you might find a great fit you hadn’t considered yet.
Program Facts
Program Outcomes
Graduates leave ready to succeed in their careers. Each year, data from Mid-State's Graduate Survey and statewide reports show consistently high satisfaction and strong starting salaries. Here's a snapshot of what success looks like after graduation.
Career Opportunities
Program Details
Take a closer look at what the program offers and what to expect.
Your course plan may vary, and you'll get a recommended sequence once you're enrolled. See below for full course details, see the program information guide, or talk with your advisor.
Meet our full-time instructors.
Berta Debot, MSN, RN
Additional Degrees: ADN, BSN
Berta holds MSN degrees in nursing education and pediatric clinical nurse specialist from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She received her BSN from Viterbo University, and her ADN from Mid-State Technical College. She has been an RN for nearly 30 years working in pediatric ICU, emergency, quality improvement and care management, and school nursing. She has been teaching for 10 years and loves sharing her passion for learning with her students.
Sandra Dieck, MSN, RN
Additional Degrees: BS Biology
Sandra earned her MSN in nursing education from UW–Oshkosh and her BSN from UW–Eau Claire. She has 20 years of nursing experience in critical care, outpatient infusion center, urgent care walk-in, surgical nursing, and access center for patient transfers and admissions. Sandra is a member of the American Nurses Association and the Wisconsin Nurses Association and values the nursing role in shaping the future of health care through legislation and evidence-based practice. She participates in educational offerings as available to maintain her nursing skills and competency.
“My students are my legacy for nursing.”
Leah Eckstein, MSN, RN
Additional Degrees: BSN
Leah earned her MSN in nursing leadership and management from Walden University and her BSN from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. Her over 16 years in nursing includes experience in both public health and education.
“As a nurse it has been my passion to help individuals and communities understand the importance of disease, illness, and injury prevention to live the healthiest life possible. As an educator, it is a joy to experience when students connect the importance of prevention and protective factors to the care they are providing."
Dawn Ede, MSN, RN
Additional Degrees: BSN
Dawn holds an MSN from UW–Eau Claire. She has been a nurse educator at Mid-State for over 20 years. She has also worked for over 30 years as an obstetric nurse with OB patients, including newborns and high-risk populations as well as in the surgical suite settings. She is also a content expert for Ascend/ATI Learning and an ATI Champion for the nursing program.
“I love seeing the students being able to apply classroom theory in the clinical setting. You can see when it starts to make sense to them, and they start thinking like a nurse.”
Tracy Joosten, MSN, RN
Tracy earned her MSN from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. She has over 25 years of experience as a registered nurse and has been a master’s prepared registered nurse since 2009. She is also a certified healthcare simulation educator, earning her certification in 2024. She has experience in CCU, cardiac, pediatrics, SICU, and obstetrics and practiced as a family practice nurse practitioner for eight years before joining Mid-State as a full-time Nursing Instructor.
“My love for nursing and helping the sick heal and the healthy thrive is what led me to teaching at Mid-State. Having an opportunity to educate future nurses to be knowledgeable and passionate about the career is what I strive for with every student encounter.”
Kimberly Keith, PMHNP-BC, MSN, RN
Additional Degrees: ADN, BSN
Kimberly is a proud alumnus of Mid-State Technical College’s Nursing program. She earned her BSN from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and went on to receive her MSN from the University of South Alabama, specializing in psychiatry and mental health. Kimberly is a Board-Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) and is currently advancing her education as a doctoral student at the Medical University of South Carolina, focusing on family practice. She has spent the last five years in mental health and crisis across the lifespan, both inpatient and outpatient. Her clinical experience spans emergency medicine, medical/surgical care, wound care, and psychiatry, providing her with a well-rounded expertise in the healthcare field.
"Nursing has long been regarded as one of the most respected professions. My goal is to educate students on the unique and rewarding opportunity they have to become nurses who are trusted confidants, advocates, and healers of both physical and emotional wounds."
Kristi Lenzo, MSN, RN
Additional Degrees: ADN, BSN
Kristi earned her master of science in nursing education from Rasmussen University. She is a registered nurse with ten years of nursing experience, with clinical backgrounds in NICU, labor and delivery, OB/GYN, and pediatric nursing.
"Being a nurse educator allows me to bring my two passions—nursing and teaching—together as one, to inspire, encourage, guide, and create the best nurses possible to care for patients in our community. "
Sarah Lynch, MSN, RN
Sarah earned her MSN from Capella University. She also holds an associate degree in nursing from Northcentral Technical College and a bachelor's degree from UW–Stevens Point. Sarah has worked in healthcare since 2006 and as a registered nurse since 2016. For her entire healthcare career Sarah has worked with the critical care population with an emphasis on cardiac care.
"I believe my greatest responsibility as an educator is to develop a trusting and welcoming relationship with students, facilitate their education, and give them opportunities to expand their thinking. I understand teaching and learning is a two-way process and believe educational development involves shared decision making between the educator and the learner. This will help enhance the teacher-learner relationship and engage and motivate learners to maximize their learning potential."
Lisa Massen, MSN, RN
Additional Degrees: BSN
Lisa earned her MS in nursing education from Western Governors University in Utah. She taught in Mid-State’s Healthcare Simulation Center prior to becoming a full-time instructor. She began her healthcare career as a nurse's assistant in 2001 and has been a registered nurse since 2011. Her teaching is informed by clinical backgrounds in medical/surgical, emergency room, specialty clinic, family clinic, and home health as well as management backgrounds in emergency room, family clinic, and specialty clinics.
“I am passionate about educating our future nurses and inspiring them to become the best role models and mentors to other nurses. I am an alumnus of Mid-State and had great mentors and educators leading me to succeed in this career pathway.”
Kristi Pilger, MSN, RN
Kristi holds an MSN from UW–Oshkosh and a BSN from UW–Madison. She has been working as a registered nurse since 1999 in the areas of cardiology, obstetrics, community health, and education. She has held the roles of a certified childbirth educator and hospital educator prior to joining the Nursing faculty at Mid-State Technical College in the fall of 2016.
“I love to think that I can have a positive impact on the profession of nursing by working with nursing students who are the future of the profession.”
Jasmine RybickiI, MSN-Ed, RN
Jasmine earned her MSN in nursing education from Chamberlain University, her BSN from Viterbo University, and her ADN from Chippewa Valley Technical College. Over her eight years of nursing she has gained experience in dialysis (inpatient and outpatient), primary care, and hospital staff education. She keeps her skills current as an inpatient dialysis nurse.
“Being a nurse has been such a wonderful experience. The ability to help patients in such a variety of ways is something few career paths can offer. My favorite part of teaching is seeing the lightbulb moment when students understand a difficult concept and connect the dots to clinical practice.”
Carolyn L. Schneebeli, MSN, RN
Additional Degrees: ADN, BSN
Carolyn holds an MSN in nursing education from Excelsior College in Albany, New York. She is also a certified flight nurse and a certified critical care nurse. Her experience includes intensive care units as well as a critical care transport nurse (flight and ground) where she worked with a wide array of patient age groups. She keeps her skills current as a flight nurse for Medevac Air 2 out of Mosinee.
“Being able to transform lives, whether directly as a nurse or indirectly as an instructor, is the greatest accomplishment I have found.”
Crissy Watenpaugh, MSN, RN
Crissy is a nursing professional with an MSN in nursing education and a BSN, both from Chamberlain University. She brings over 26 years of diverse experience in long-term care, home health, and supporting developmentally disabled individuals through the Illinois Department of Human Services. Her clinical background spans geriatric, med-surg, family practice, and palliative/hospice care. She is an ATI Champion for the nursing program, a Wisconsin Open Educational Resource (OER) Champion participating in OER development, and a Peer Evaluator for the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
“"Having found immense fulfillment in caring for others as a nurse, I am now committed to channeling that passion into nursing education. My goal is to prepare Mid-State Technical College graduates to become safe, confident, skilled nurses who share a genuine love for their work and overall health of their community."
Linda Woloschek-Greenberg, DNP, RN
Additional Degrees: AD, BSN, MSN
Linda earned her MSN and RN from Excelsior College. She has over 30 years in the medical field in critical care transport (helicopter/ambulance/intercept), medical/surgical, pediatrics, intensive care units, hemodialysis, and emergency rooms. She is also retired from the Army. Her continuing education includes attending conferences to keep current with her paramedic license and her certified flight registered nurse.
Employers will expect graduates of this program to be able to:
- Integrate professional nursing identity reflecting integrity, responsibility, and nursing.
- Communicate comprehensive information using multiple sources in nursing practice.
- Integrate theoretical knowledge to support decision making.
- Integrate the nursing process into patient care across diverse populations.
- Function as a healthcare team member to provide safe and effective care.
Alongside your career training, you'll develop key workplace strengths. Explore the additional skills you'll build.
To succeed in this program, you'll need to meet certain technical standards. These are the key skills and abilities needed for the program and future career success—with or without reasonable accommodations. Be sure to review them carefully before you apply.
This program prepares you for licensure to work in Wisconsin. If you plan to work in another state, be sure to check that state's licensure requirements—Mid-State's program may not meet them all. If you've applied to the program and have any questions about this information, talk to your advisor.
Explore the resources and next steps below. Your academic advisor will help you know what to complete and when.
Employment Verification Request Form (PDF)
Nursing Program Outcomes and Evidence of Student Learning (PDF)
LPN-to-ADN and Paramedic-to-ADN Pathway
In order to recognize the experience and education of the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and Paramedic, an LPN/Paramedic-to-ADN (Associate Degree Nursing) pathway has been developed. This means that upon successful completion of specified activities and coursework, an LPN or Paramedic would be eligible to enter the ADN program as a third semester student (based on seat availability).
LPN-to-ADN Pathway
Paramedic-to-ADN Pathway
BSN Completion
An agreement between Mid-State Technical College and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point allows students to complete an associate degree in nursing (ADN) at Mid-State and a bachelor of science degree in nursing (BSN) through UW-Stevens Point known as the Partnership Program (1+2+1). This allows students to begin their coursework at either institution by taking general studies courses to meet Mid-State’s ADN admission requirements. For students beginning at Mid-State, the program allows acceptance into UW-Stevens Point RN to BSN completion major as early as the third semester of the Mid-State ADN program. For students beginning at UW-Stevens Point, the agreement also creates a competitive application process to gain entrance into Mid-State’s ADN program each semester, providing an efficient and affordable path to becoming a registered nurse (RN) in central Wisconsin. Following completion of the Partnership Program, students will have earned both an ADN and BSN and successfully achieved licensure as an RN in the state of Wisconsin.
In addition, any graduate from the nursing program can pursue a BSN degree from numerous colleges that have transfer pathway with the college. This allows many credits earned at Mid-State to be accepted by the BSN college.
For more information, talk to your academic advisor at Mid-State or UW-Stevens Point.
Registered Nurse Refresher Series Courses
Are you considering reentering the workforce as a registered nurse after taking time off? Learn more about Registered Nurse Refresher Series at Mid-State.
Quality You Can Trust
Program accreditation means your program meets high-quality standards recognized by employers and industry leaders. It ensures your education is respected, your credits are more likely to transfer, and your credential holds real value in the job market.
The Associate Degree Nursing program at Mid-State Technical College located in Wisconsin Rapids, WI is accredited by the:
Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 • 404-975-5000
The Board of Commissioners granted continuing accreditation to the associate program and scheduled the next evaluation visit for Fall 2030.
Explore Other Options
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