Pamela R. Jeffries, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, FSSH, is Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and holds the Valere Potter Distinguished Chair in Nursing. Dr. Jeffries is internationally known for her research and work in nursing, simulation, and health care. Throughout the academic community, she is recognized for her scholarly contributions to executive leadership, the development of innovative teaching strategies, experiential learning techniques, new pedagogies, and the delivery of content using technology. As Principal Investigator on grants funded by federal and state agencies and numerous national organizations, including the National League for Nursing (NLN) and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Dr. Jeffries has provided leadership and mentorship on ground-breaking projects impacting both nursing practice and education. With the NLN, Dr. Jeffries developed the major contribution to simulation scholarship, the framework and monograph now known as the NLN Jeffries Simulation Theory. Dr. Jeffries is a sought-after keynote speaker and delivers presentations on nursing leadership and her research nationally and internationally. Her numerous publications, including the recently released second edition of The NLN Jeffries Simulation Theory, cover a wide range of topics pertinent to nursing education, clinical simulations, and health care policy. Dr. Jeffries is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (FSSH), and the Academy of Nurse Educators (ANEF) and an alumna of the Robert Wood Johns Foundation Nurse Executive Fellows program. She has been inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Research Hall of Fame and received the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Excellence Award. Dr. Jeffries is active in a variety of professional organizations and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Global Network of Simulations in Healthcare (GNSH).

Dr. Kim Leighton is the Executive Director of Itqan Clinical Simulation and Innovation Center at Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar, serving the multidisciplinary clinical practitioner community. She moved from emergency nursing to education and simulation over 20 years ago and enjoys facilitating learning with simulation, consulting, and mentoring others. Dr. Leighton is a past president of the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning, where she led the development of the first standards of best practice for simulation. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. Dr. Leighton’s research focuses on development and psychometric analysis of evaluation tools for simulation education, which were disseminated through her website Evaluating Healthcare Simulation to simulationists in 89 countries. The website relocated to HealthySimulation.com in January 2024 and enjoys continued interest from the simulation community. Her current work explores the effectiveness of various clinical education environment. Dr. Leighton is co-editor of the award-winning book Simulation Champions: Fostering Courage, Caring, and Connection.