Executive Board Committee:
Beth Hallmark, RN, PhD - Chair
Teresa Britt, MSN, RN
Martin Eason, MD, JD
Chita Farrar, EdD, MSN
Phil Johnston, PharmD
Melinda Klar, RN
Bill Linne
Gloria Richard-Davis, MD, FACOG
John Shatzer, PhD
Tim Smith, PhD, CRNA, APN
Kaye Stewart, RN, BSN, CCRN
Chelle Travis
Gayle Webb, RN, BSN, MBA
Betsy Weiner, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN
Vision
To be the collaborative resource center for all healthcare simulation programs in the state of Tennessee.
Mission
To improve patient safety and quality of care by supporting healthcare simulation programs in Tennessee with shared knowledge, resources, training, education and established partnership with Academia, Government and Industry.
About Us
The Tennessee Simulation Alliance (TNSA) began as a means to provide Tennessee nurse educators a central location for communication, collaboration and sharing. The funding for this project began as a national collaborative initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation grant that was designed for establishing a stable, adequate nursing workforce. The Tennessee Simulation Alliance was begun after the first simulation conference held in 2008 with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation. Annual conferences have continued to be partially funded through HRSA's Faculty Development Program: Integrated Technology into Nursing Education and Practice Initiative (Grant No. U1KHP12906, Elizabeth Weiner, PI).
TNSA now brings the world of simulation to the nurse educators of Tennessee with links to current resources, scenarios, websites, conferences, and an in depth look at what is currently being practiced in nursing education with simulation.
In today's world of healthcare, we have learned simulation provides the learner a place safe from patient harm, helps the learner to increase confidence, and can provide the educator a means to make things happen, unlike clinical experiences. Educators are also learning that simulation education provides a format to teach teamwork. Teamwork among disciplines in where TNSA wants to go. We envision a website designed to embrace all healthcare professionals as we practice and learn to work together for the ultimate benefit of safer patient care.