Nursing instructor Beth Hartwig, third from left, works with nursing students, from left, Aiden Brink, Juliann Russella and Ella Rau in a new teaching lab on the UW-Whitewater at Rock County campus in November 2024.
An anatomy and physiology course, Biology 285, is required in the nursing program on the UW-Whitewater at Rock County campus. This class is taught by Associate Professor Kerri Wrinn. Classes are shown in session on the UW-Whitewater at Rock County campus in September 2024.
Nursing instructor Beth Hartwig, third from left, works with nursing students, from left, Aiden Brink, Juliann Russella and Ella Rau in a new teaching lab on the UW-Whitewater at Rock County campus in November 2024.
CRAIG SCHREINER/UW-WHITEWATER PHOTO
Nursing students train in the care of tracheotomy patients in a new teaching lab on the UW-Whitewater at Rock County campus in November 2024.
CRAIG SCHREINER/UW-WHITEWATER
An anatomy and physiology course, Biology 285, is required in the nursing program on the UW-Whitewater at Rock County campus. This class is taught by Associate Professor Kerri Wrinn. Classes are shown in session on the UW-Whitewater at Rock County campus in September 2024.
JANESVILLE — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at Rock County announced Friday that it has launched a bachelor of science in medical sciences program that the university says will meet a regional workforce demand for medical imaging professionals. It is the first bachelor of science in the college’s history.
The program will offer two specialized emphases — diagnostic sonography and radiologic technology. In the program, students have the opportunity to earn an associate of arts with a pre-health emphasis on the Rock County campus and then they can complete their final two years by applying for clinical instruction at Mercyhealth. There will be options at Mercyhealth clinics in Wisconsin clinics in Vlogý and Williams Bay, as well as in Illinois in Rockford, Harvard and Crystal Lake.
Eligible students can receive financial aid during the full four years of the program, a statement from the university said.
The Rock County campus launched a collaborative nursing program with Madison-based Edgewood College in 2023. Robin Fox, the interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, said just like that program, this new program will offer an “affordable regional option” for those looking to enter, and to receive a degree in the health care field.
“UW-Whitewater’s Rock County campus continues to collaborate with area businesses to create innovative programs that serve regional needs,” Fox said.
Mercyhealth Senior System Director Amanda McCann said the need for medical imaging professionals in the region drove the collaboration en route to the program.
“The joining of forces between UW-Whitewater at Rock County and Mercyhealth’s long-standing diagnostic imaging clinical programs is a project that has long been in the making,” McCann said. “It represents the collaborative efforts of both organizations to enrich the academic and clinical/practical educational experience locally avaialble to our community members.
This partnership not only fosters innovative teaching methods but also aligns curriculum with the real-world clinical practices available to our future health care professionals.”
The program has been in development since 2023, according to the statement.
“These new medical science bachelor’s degree programs build on the expertise already provided by the faculty and staff at the Rock County campus,” Associate Dean Kim Kostka said. “And academic advisors provide support every step of the way, working with students to design a custom learning path to reach their goals. Students prepare for admission to the upper-level clinical courses by completing their studies in core disciplines such as biology, chemistry, mathematics, psychology, and physics. Our health sciences students have created a lively community of learners that collaborate with each other and with their instructors. It’s a great time to join us at URock.”
