Aimme McCauley, DNP, RN, CNE, CHSE - Director of the Nursing Skills and Technology Center / Simulation Faculty

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Dr. Aimme Jo McCauley, DNP, MSN, RN, CNE, CHSE, serves as the Director of the Nursing Skills and Technology Center (NSTC) and an Instructor at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing in New Orleans. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2002, followed by a Master of Science in Nursing with a specialization in Nursing Informatics, a post graduate certificate in Nursing Education, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Healthcare Systems Leadership from Chamberlain University in 2020. Dr. McCauley maintains certification as a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) and Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE), reflecting her commitment to excellence in instructional practice and simulation-based learning.

With more than 20 years of clinical nursing experience across adult critical care, cardiac, medical, surgical, neurological, rehabilitation, and home health environments, Dr. McCauley has been educating nursing students since 2017 in classroom, online, clinical, and simulation settings. As Director of the NSTC, she leads all simulation operations, faculty development, accreditation readiness, and strategic planning for the Center. She also coordinates NURS 4120: Beginning Spanish for Nursing, an innovative elective integrating Spanish language communication, cultural humility, and standardized patient simulation. At the graduate level, she serves as both lead and team faculty for scholarly inquiry and practice change projects, guiding students in evidence based improvements to nursing care and organizational processes.

Dr. McCauley’s professional service reflects strong institutional and statewide leadership. She has served as Chair of the School of Nursing Faculty Organization, representing faculty in the Administrative Council, and previously served as President of the LSU Health New Orleans Faculty Senate. At the system level, she serves as the LSU System Representative to the Louisiana Healthworks Commission’s Simulation Medical Education and Technology Council. Nationally and internationally, she is the Governance Chair for Sigma Theta Tau International’s Epsilon Nu at Large Chapter and a member of the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning, the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, the National League for Nursing, and the Transcultural Nursing Society. Her past roles include serving as Secretary for the New Orleans District Nurses Association from 2019–2022.

A dedicated scholar, Dr. McCauley is published in Nursing Education Perspectives and Critical Care Nursing Clinics, with work addressing simulation integration, cultural competence, new graduate nurse transition during the COVID 19 pandemic, and fall prevention in critical care. Her scholarly interests include healthcare simulation, rapid cycle quality improvement, transcultural nursing, cultural humility, and the optimization of workflow and well being in nursing education and practice environments. In 2024, she earned the Sister Henrietta Guyot Research Award for her study, The Use of Standardized Patients to Measure Baccalaureate Nursing Student Satisfaction and Self Confidence in the Use of Spanish Language for the Provision of Nursing Care. Her excellence in teaching and service has been recognized with The DAISY Faculty Award (2020), the LSU Health School of Nursing Caring Award for Faculty (2021), and the LSU Health New Orleans Chancellor’s Excellence Award (2023).

Mina Hogan, MS, CHSOS - Simulation Operations Specialist / Simulation Faculty

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Ms. Mina Hogan, MS, CHSOS is a Simulation Operations Specialist in the Nursing Skills and Technology Center (NSTC) and an Instructor at the LSU Health Sciences Center-New Orleans School of Nursing (LSUHSC-NO SON). She began her current role in 2023 and earned her Certified Healthcare Simulation Operations Specialist (CHSOS) certification in 2024.

Before transitioning into post-secondary health sciences education, Ms. Hogan worked for seven years in secondary science education after earning her teaching certification. Since joining LSUHSC-NO, she has developed, evaluated, refined, and improved a variety of interprofessional education curricula. She also co-teaches the Beginning Spanish for Nursing elective, which incorporates simulation-based learning to strengthen student fluency and confidence when caring for patients with Limited English Proficiency.

Her research interests include simulation, student engagement and skills-based education, interprofessional education, and teaching and learning in both secondary and post-secondary settings.

Ms. Hogan is an active member of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH), where she serves as a peer reviewer for STORM Magazine and actively participates in the Simulation Operations Technology Section (SOTS) and the SOTS Nominations Workgroup. Within the School of Nursing, she serves as Chair of the Bylaws, Nominations, and Elections Committee and as Faculty Organization Parliamentarian. In the community, she serves as Vice-Chair of the JCFA School Board.

Her contributions have been recognized with the LSUHSC Chancellor’s Excellence Award in 2024 and the SSH SOTS Horizon Award in 2026.

Kimberly Reed, DNP, MSN, RN - Simulation Faculty

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Dr. Kimberly Reed is an Instructor of Clinical Nursing at LSU Health Sciences Center, where she has taught since 2020. She holds a BSN from Auburn University at Montgomery, an MSN from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Educational Leadership from Chamberlain University.

Dr. Reed is passionate about creating dynamic, hands-on learning experiences through lab and simulation-based education. She believes these immersive environments are essential for building confidence, critical thinking, and clinical competence in future nurses. Her dedication to innovative teaching strategies ensures students are practice-ready and prepared to deliver safe, high-quality patient care.

Beyond the classroom, Dr. Reed is committed to service and outreach, volunteering with organizations such as Church of the Highlands, Geaux Girl Giving Collective, and Franklin Street Church of Christ. Recognized for excellence in education, she has received honors including The Daisy Award for Faculty (2022, 2024), Great 100 Nurses (2023), and the Allen Copping Excellence in Teaching Award (2024).

Jen Bernard, DNP, FNP-BC, MPH - Simulation Faculty

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Dr. Jennifer R. Bernard, DNP, MPH, RN, FNP C, serves as an Instructor of Nursing Skills and Technology Center faculty at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing at OCIS Baton Rouge. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans in 1995, followed by a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Lund University in Sweden in 2014. She later completed her Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degrees at Southeastern Louisiana University in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Dr. Bernard maintains certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), reflecting her commitment to advanced clinical practice and evidence-based care.

With more than 31 years of nursing experience, including 15 years in adult critical care in predominantly leadership charge nurse roles, Dr. Bernard brings extensive and diverse clinical, academic, and global health expertise to her role. Her professional background includes service with the United Nations Mine Action Team in Gaza, where she provided medical care during field operations and instructed emergency response personnel, and with the International Federation of Red Cross in Haiti, where she led clinical care delivery in a post-earthquake disaster setting. She also contributed to public health preparedness as a training instructor for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the U.S. 2014 Ebola response.

Dr. Bernard has prior experience in nursing education as a Nursing Instructor in the LPN program at Baton Rouge Community College, where she supported student learning in both didactic and clinical settings. She also served as a Registered Nurse Compliance Officer with the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, investigating complex cases involving alleged violations of the Louisiana Nurse Practice Act among RNs and APRNs.

In her current faculty role within the Nursing Skills and Technology Center at OCIS Baton Rouge, Dr. Bernard supports simulation-based education, clinical skills development, and student learning across nursing programs. Her academic and professional interests include global health, disaster response, public health preparedness, regulatory practice, and simulation-enhanced nursing education.

Dr. Jennifer Badeaux CRNA, DNP - Nurse Anesthesia Program Simulation Faculty

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Dr. Jennifer Badeaux is an associate professor at the Louisiana State University Health Science Center: School of Nurse Anesthesia. She graduated from University of Texas at Austin in 1996 with a Bachelor in Nursing. She continued in advanced practice and received a master in nursing with specialization in nurse anesthesia in 2004. She then completed her Doctorate in Nursing Practice at Texas Christian University in 2013.

She has been a nurse for 20 years and practiced nurse anesthesia for the past 12 years. She is currently the assistant program director of the Nurse anesthesia program at LSUHSC and a staff member as a certified nurse anesthetist at the University Medical Center New Orleans. Dr. Badeaux has been teaching for the past 7 years and continues to integrated interfprofessional simulation throughout her courses. She has been involved in interprofessional simulation for the past 3 years, involving medicine, nurse anesthesia, and other allied health students. Dr. Badeaux is currently member of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists the Louisiana State Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

Dr. Leanne Fowler, DNP, MBA, CCRN, CNE - Graduate Program Simulation Faculty

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Dr. Leanne H. Fowler is a graduate of the University of South Alabama's College of Nursing with a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree (DNP) in July 2015 and post-Master's certificate as an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) December of 2013. The DNP project successfully implemented within a 430-bed community hospital was titled Preventing Oversedation in the Mechanically Ventilated Critically Ill Adult via a Multiprofessional Implementation of the RASS Tool. Since earning an AGACNP certificate, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) license, and board certification via the American Nurses Credentialing Center, she has completed six months of training in Infectious Diseases under the guidance of M. Faith Joubert, MD - Board Certified in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine; and primarily works in Hospital and Emergency Medicine within a community hospital in Louisiana. Dr. Fowler also earned the Masters of Business Administration and Master of Science in Nursing degrees from the University of Phoenix in July 2006 concentrated in finance and economics and healthcare management. She then pursued a career as a Nursing Educator at the Louisiana State University Health - New Orleans (LSUHNO) School of Nursing (SON) in which has served as faculty since 2008 and earned the Certificate of Nursing Educator (CNE) December 2013. Also during this time, Leanne was awarded with the student-nominated 2014 Nurse Caring award, a Daisy award nomination in 2013, was a Daisy award recipient in 2012, and recognized as a Great 100 nurse in the class of 2012. As a Nursing Educator, Leanne has served on multiple committees with the SON and LSUHNO Health Sciences Center in multiple leadership roles. She has served as the Coordinator for the Critical Care Theory and Simulation courses for a number of years within the Baccalaureate nursing program and currently serves as the AGACNP concentration Coordinator for the DNP program.

Prior to her advanced nursing endeavors, Dr. Fowler earned the Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and graduated with high honor from Southern University and A&M College May of the year 2000. Since earning a Registered Nurse license in the state of Louisiana June 2000, Leanne has served and specialized in the adult critically ill population within the Baton Rouge and New Orleans metropolitan areas of Louisiana. She earned the Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) certification via the American Association of Critical-care Nurses (AACN) in 2007 identifying her as a nursing specialist and expert in this area.

She is an active member in several professional organizations including the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty, American Association of Critical-care Nurses, Society of Critical Care Medicine, Society of Hospital Medicine, National League of Nursing, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and the Epsilon Nu chapter of Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society for Nursing. At the local and national levels, she serves and leads within the Speaker and Health Policy committees for the Louisiana Association of Nurse Practitioners; and as the Poster Chair for the planning committee of the Southern Regional Educational Board.

Susan E. Lee, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC - Undergraduate Program Simulation Faculty

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TBA

Dr. Jennifer Martin, CRNA, DNP - Nurse Anesthesia Program Simulation Faculty

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Dr. Martin has academic teaching experience since May of 2013 and has served as a full-time instructor in the Nurse Anesthesia Program at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing (SON). Throughout her three years at LSUHSC, Dr. Martin has served on several committees and currently serves as Chair of the Faculty Life Committee. In this position she has championed the development of several initiatives including the development and implementation of a formal faculty mentorship program (CPRIDE), which is now in its second year; development and implementation of an undergraduate nursing Honors program, Mentoring Undergraduate Students for Excellence in Scholarship (MUSES); coordination of SON organizational culture book clubs leading up to a faculty retreat to strengthen the School of Nursing community; securing nationally known speaker on Emotional Intelligence, Dr. Korrel Kannoy; and coordination of numerous faculty development speakers.
Dr. Martin also serves as the program coordinator for a HRSA-funded grant entitled TTIPS, which is in Year Two. In this role she helps enhance program elements related to professional communication, patient-centered care, and curriculum development. She provides annual workshops to assist students in the application and interview process while discussing strategies for academic and professional success. Dr. Martin also works to connect students with experienced CRNA mentors and continues to expand program activities such as journal club, Grand Rounds, and high-fidelity simulation to include an interprofessional education focus. In addition to the above duties, Dr. Martin teaches a full faculty teaching load in the graduate (BSN to DNP) nursing program.

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Dr. Demetrice Smith is an instructor of clinical nursing and currently serves as the Assistant Program Director of Nurse Midwifery at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSUHSC-NO). She is dually trained as a Certified Nurse Midwife and Family Nurse Practitioner. Demetrice completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice with a specialization in Educational Leadership from American Sentinel University College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Post University. She is also a wife and a mother with lived experience in pregnancy loss, preterm birth, and infant loss. Dr. Smith has extensive experience in women’s health and has been engaged in community teaching for many years. She is the founder of Melanated Midwife, a platform focused on providing education and support for individuals during pregnancy and childbirth, where she guides women to take an active role in their pregnancy and health journey. Demetrice works to address infant and maternal mortality within Louisiana and serves as a committee member of the Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review (PAMR) for Louisiana, a steering committee member of the New Orleans Regional Partnership Grant’s Interagency Coordinating Council, an organizational lead for Healthy Start New Orleans, a representative for the Louisiana State Nurses Association Taskforce Resolution 20, and an Evidence Based Birth Certified Instructor. Dr. Smith teaches in the graduate and undergraduate nursing programs in women’s health and nurse midwifery at LSUHSC-NO and serves as the student faculty advisor for professional development initiatives in the School of Nursing.