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Fifty years ago, Lois Tschetter had just earned her bachelor’s degree from State and was working as staff nurse at Sioux Valley (now Sanford) Hospital in Sioux Falls. 

In that half century, Tschetter, 72, of Brookings, became recognized as one of the premier nurse educators in the state, especially in the fields of obstetrics and lactation. Five years ago, she retired from a 36-year career at ��«Ӱҵ. 

On Oct. 25, she was honored with the College of Nursing’s Distinguished Service Award at its East River Scholarship banquet. 

Professor Heidi Mennenga, associate dean for academic programs, nominated Tschetter. 

She wrote, “Dr. Tschetter’s career spans decades of dedicated service and leadership in various capacities within the health care profession. Her commitment to excellence and passion for nursing education have significantly impacted the quality of health care delivery and overall well-being of communities in South Dakota.” 

Tschetter said, “It’s hard to put into words. I had a very rewarding career at SDSU. To be recognized by former colleagues was a very gratifying experience. It so fun to see many of those colleagues again, including Carol Peterson who was dean at the time I was hired.” 

SDSU connection begins in 1971 

Tschetter started SDSU nursing classes in fall 1971 as a sophomore transfer student. 

“Even before I completed my degree, I knew that my long-term goal was to continue my education and join the small group of RNs who had a master’s degree in nursing. That was a lofty idea at a time when a graduate degree in nursing was not available in South Dakota. I credit the faculty I had as an undergraduate student for igniting the spark on the value of a Master of Science in Nursing,” Tschetter said. 

It was Carol J. Peterson, who became dean in 1977, who provided the fuel for that spark to expand. 

“I was living in Sioux Falls and teaching at Sioux Valley School of Nursing. Carol came and talked to the nurses that there was going to be a graduate program in South Dakota, and that was a pretty exciting prospect. I thought, I'm going to figure out how to make that work in my life,” said Tschetter, who had not yet married her now-husband of 45 years, Wes. 

The Tschetters married in 1979, the same year the master’s program was offered. They were living in Pierre, where Wes worked with the Legislative Research Council. 

SDSU teaching career dates to 1983 

By the time they moved to Brookings in 1982, Tschetter was a new mom and had begun earning graduate elective course credits that ultimately became part of her transcript. She enrolled in the SDSU program in 1983, accepted an offer from Peterson to join the faculty as a lecturer/teaching assistant in 1983 and received her degree in 1985. 

“The professional satisfaction of working as a faculty member for the College of Nursing led me to seek out the next level of education, and that opportunity was right here with the cohort group of SDSU faculty and administrators who enrolled in the doctorate in education program through the University of South Dakota in the late 1990s,” Tschetter said. 

That degree was received in 2001. Nine years earlier she had earned her second master’s degree from State, this one in parent-child nursing. 

“The College of Nursing was my professional home for almost my entire nursing career, and I had opportunities to be part of many important decisions that have had an impact on nursing education and health care in this state,” said Tschetter, who also served on the South Dakota Board of Nursing from 1993 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2023. 

Was an inspiration to fellow nurses 

Just as Peterson and other colleagues inspired Tschetter, she continued that cycle. 

Mennenga, who had Tschetter for undergraduate and graduate classes, said, “Lois always encouraged me to say yes to opportunities and was one of the first people to encourage me to consider leadership opportunities. When I applied for my current position (associate dean for academic programs), she was a great encourager and expressed her confidence in my abilities, probably before I myself felt confident in them.” 

Expert in maternity matters, lactation 

Tschetter co-taught the maternal newborn nursing class almost all 36 years and until 2001 also taught the clinical sections at the Sanford and Avera hospital maternity wards in Sioux Falls. That means every nursing student who went through the Brookings program would have had Tschetter as an instructor. 

“You get to experience families in the best situation; they’re happy. Plus, seeing the miracle of birth over and over again was awesome,” Tschetter said. 

She became a certified lactation consultant in 1997. 

“I saw it as an opportunity to offer students something additional they could offer the parents. The more information I could give them, the more help they could provide families,” said Tschetter, who was the only lactation consultant in Brookings for many years. That expertise also meant teaching classes to the public at Brookings Hospital for many years. 

“It was not unusual to get phone calls at home from new moms,” Tschetter said. 

While Tschetter may be best known to two generations of SDSU nursing students as the OB instructor, she considers a more recent facet as her legacy. 

Co-creator of Rural Nurse Fellowship 

Tschetter and Nancy Fahrenwald, then associate dean for research, wrote a federal grant to provide new ways to prepare students to practice in rural health care environments. One of the activities the grant created was the Rural Nurse Fellow program, which has continued even though grant funding ended in 2014.    

“I came up with the idea of the program as an opportunity for interested students in their final semester to spend the 120 hours of the senior semester clinical practicum course in a rural hospital setting. The purpose of the Rural Nurse Fellow program is to strengthen the college’s partnership with rural health facilities and equip students with a deep appreciation for the complex role of rural nursing," Tschetter said. 

“Before this program, most students were selecting larger acute-care settings for their clinical practicum experiences. 

“As part of the Rural Nurse Fellow immersion experience, coursework completed in the final semester focuses on the unique aspects of rural health care, and the course assignments have been modified to focus on unique aspects of rural health. This program continues at each of our locations with the students who choose this opportunity. 

“Each Rural Health Fellow student receives a special medallion at the pinning ceremony and is listed in the pinning program along with the rural hospital location,” Tschetter said. 

To date, more than 200 students have completed the Rural Nurse Fellow program. 

The Distinguished Service Award adds to a lengthy list of honors Tschetter has received in the last 40 years, including an Excellence Award from the college at its 80th anniversary gala in April 2015.