The University of Tennessee Chattanooga’s nursing simulation program receives endorsement

The University of Tennessee Chattanooga School of Nursing has received recognition via endorsement from the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning. This endorsement will last through 2027, and represents an initial success on the road toward official program accreditation.

According to an article on The University of Tennessee’s website, Chris Smith, who is the School of Nursing Director and UTC Chief Health Affairs Officer, explained how this endorsement can help get the ball rolling on the path toward accreditation, saying, “The ultimate goal is to be an accredited simulation center, and we have achieved the first step—which is endorsement. We have to go through these steps, and when we achieve accreditation, it will be like winning the Olympics … we get the gold medal for accreditation.”

Smith went on to describe the simulations that take place within the School of Nursing. She said, “These simulations enable nursing students to practice and refine their clinical and decision-making skills in a safe, controlled environment without jeopardizing patient safety. Through these exercises, students encounter a variety of medical situations—including emergencies, routine care and complex cases—that foster critical thinking, teamwork and technical proficiency.”

These simulations, which include technologies such as high-fidelity manikins, virtual reality, and actors to portray patients, and set-ups like a hospital, patient room, and operating room, have achieved an endorsement from the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning, which is an organization that is dedicated to improving nursing simulations throughout the world.

Rosebelle Peters, who is a senior lecturer and the simulation program coordinator, explained that she has been actively pursuing accreditation for the program since at least 2018. She said, “I’m very passionate about hands-on learning, and the feedback that I get from students is always, ‘I wish we had more simulations. This was the best experience for this semester. I could not have learned this concept or the skills that we learned if we didn’t practice it today.’” So I just thought to myself, ‘This is so impactful and yet underrated. Nobody talks about it.’ Because of my passion and because I wanted to address students’ wants and needs for additional simulations, I started looking at what we needed to do to grow the use of simulation. Not the space, per se, but just the simulation program itself to be sure that we were addressing our students’ learning needs.”

Peters went on to explain why recognitions like endorsements and accreditation are important: “We have a robust program; we are doing great things and our clinical partners—they know what we do. But how about the bigger area? Being recognized is valuable. They talk about simulation in health care everywhere now, so I feel this endorsement seals the deal for us and also tells us, ‘Hey, you’re doing a great job. Just keep on moving in the right direction.’ Giving us that ribbon lets everyone know that we are committed to excellence through simulations and that we’re committed to developing practice-ready students,” she said.

For Rachel Nall, who is the UTC Simulation Committee Chair and the director of simulation programming for nurse anesthesia students, the endorsement has an additional benefit: telling those in charge that they are on the right track. Nall said, “This endorsement has given us some confidence that we’re doing a lot of great things. Different programs within the School of Nursing tend to work very independently—we have undergraduate programs; we have nurse practitioner programs that are engaging in simulation, acute care and family nurse practitioner; we have nurse anesthesia. So where we were doing things in silos, this gives us an overall picture. This endorsement was more about when you are executing things, are you executing them in a way that emphasizes best practice? Are you executing them in a way that’s known to be effective to our learners? The students, of course, are central to the mission of what we do. So going through this process and receiving the endorsement has been really valuable”

The International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning was formed in 2002 with the mission “To be the global leader in the art and science of healthcare simulation through excellence in nursing education, practice, and research,” according to its website.

The School of Nursing will be moving into its new home, the Dorothy and Jim Kennedy Health Sciences Building, in the fall of 2026.

For more information about The University of Tennessee Chattanooga, visit the school’s website.