Speakers

George Tarwater, DNP, RN, CHSE
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Kansas School of Nursing

Dr. George Tarwater is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas School of Nursing. He brings extensive experience in undergraduate nursing education, clinical instruction, and healthcare simulation, with a particular focus on active learning, simulation design, and faculty development.

Dr. Tarwater holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Educational Leadership, a Master of Science in Nurse Education, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. He is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator and an active member of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, and the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning, where he serves on the INCLUDE Committee. His scholarly and teaching interests include the use of scaffolded, multimodal simulation strategies to enhance learner outcomes, managing cognitive load in complex simulation experiences, and supporting novice clinical faculty development. Dr. Tarwater has presented nationally and internationally on simulation-based education and faculty self-efficacy and is key personnel on an AACN-funded grant focused on simulation-supported transition-to-practice initiatives. With a background in pediatric and adult critical care nursing, Dr. Tarwater integrates clinical expertise with evidence-based educational strategies to advance nursing education and support the preparation of practice-ready graduates.  
 

Megan Turner, MSN, RN, CHSE
Clinical Instructor
University of Kansas School of Nursing

Megan Turner is a clinical instructor at the University of Kansas School of Nursing. With over 10 years of experience as a registered nurse, she has cared fo r adult patients across the acute care spectrum, including within inpatient rehabilitation and hospice, medical-surgical, progressive care, and intensive care settings. As a nurse educator she has developed and facilitated numerous lab and simulation experiences, including multi-patient simulation experiences, for both undergraduate nursing students and novice nurses.

In addition to her interests in experiential learning, Ms. Turner is passionate about incorporating education related to lifestyle considerations into nursing education. She also has experience as an affiliate faculty with the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where she facilitated simulation experiences for new graduate nurses within the Post-Baccalaureate Registered Nurse Residency Program. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing at the University of Kansas, focused on how undergraduate nursing students transfer learning from multi-patient simulation experiences to clinical practice as novice nurses. 

Speakers

Rebecca Dodmead, MSN, RN
Administrative Nursing Supervisor
Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital

Rebecca Domead is a dedicated nurse with over 17 years of experience in various healthcare settings. Rebecca's journey in nursing has taken her through the fast-paced environment of the Emergency Room, Med-Surg, Telemetry, ICU, Hospital Clinical Education. With a passion for teaching and mentoring, she has also served as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor. Currently, Rebecca serves as an Administrative Nursing Supervisor at Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Rebecca holds a Master's degree in Nursing Education and is part of the inaugural class of the 2025 Doctor of Nursing Education program at The Ohio State University.

Recently, Rebecca pursued additional education in Biomedical Visualization from the University of Glasgow, where she gained valuable insights into the intersection of healthcare and technology. She also completed a Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Certificate program from Massachusetts Institute of Technology XPRO. With her diverse background, advanced education, and unwavering dedication to understanding the intersection of healthcare and technology, Rebecca continues to make significant contributions to the field of nursing and healthcare education.

Speakers

Rebecca Dodmead, MSN, RN
Administrative Nursing Supervisor
Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital

Rebecca Dodmead is a dedicated nurse with over 17 years of experience in various healthcare settings. Rebecca's journey in nursing has taken her through the fast-paced environment of the Emergency Room, Med-Surg, Telemetry, ICU, Hospital Clinical Education. With a passion for teaching and mentoring, she has also served as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor. Currently, Rebecca serves as an Administrative Nursing Supervisor at Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Rebecca holds a Master's degree in Nursing Education and is part of the inaugural class of the 2025 Doctor of Nursing Education program at The Ohio State University.

Recently, Rebecca pursued additional education in Biomedical Visualization from the University of Glasgow, where she gained valuable insights into the intersection of healthcare and technology. She also completed a Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Certificate program from Massachusetts Institute of Technology XPRO. With her diverse background, advanced education, and unwavering dedication to understanding the intersection of healthcare and technology, Rebecca continues to make significant contributions to the field of nursing and healthcare education.

Speakers

Laurie Kennedy-Malone, PhD, GNP-BC, FAANP, FGSA, FAAN
Professor of Nursing
University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Laurie Kennedy-Malone has been a certified gerontological nurse practitioner since 1982 and a professor of nursing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) since 1990. She was the 2007 recipient of the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing Faculty Champion and the National Conference of Gerontological Nurse Practitioners' Excellence in Education Award in 2006. In November 2018, she was awarded a Certificate of Recognition for Excellence as a Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing by the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence. She coauthored Integrating Gerontological Content into Advanced Practice Nursing Education and Advanced Practice Nursing in the Care of Older Adults. Both books received AJN Book of the Year Awards. She has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications. A former president of the National Conference of Gerontological Nurse Practitioners, she later served as a Director at Large of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA). In 2020, Dr. Kennedy-Malone received the Excellence in Leadership Award from GAPNA and, in 2021, the Excellence in Creativity & Innovation, Edith Moore Copeland Founders Award from Sigma Theta Tau International. Dr. Kennedy-Malone is a recent recipient of the AACN Faculty Scholars Grant Program for her work on Enhancing Nurse Practitioner Competency-Based Education and Assessment with Innovative Video Simulations.

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Panelists

Georges Benjamin, MD, MACP, FACEP(E), FNAPA, Hon FRSPH, Hon FFPH
Executive Director
American Public Health Association

Dr. Benjamin is known as one of the nation’s most influential physician leaders because he speaks passionately and eloquently about the health issues having the most impact on our nation today. From his firsthand experience as a physician, he knows what happens when preventive care is not available and when the healthy choice is not the easy choice. As executive director of APHA since 2002, he is leading the Association’s push to make America the healthiest nation in one generation.

At APHA, Benjamin also serves as publisher of the nonprofit's monthly publication, The Nation's Health, the association's official newspaper, and the American Journal of Public Health, the profession’s premier scientific publication. He is the author of more than 100 scientific articles and book chapters. His recent book The Quest for Health Reform: A Satirical History is an exposé of the nearly 100-year quest to ensure quality affordable health coverage for all through the use of political cartoons. Benjamin is a member of the National Academy of Medicine (Formally the Institute of Medicine) of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine and also serves on the boards for many organizations including Research!America and the Reagan-Udall Foundation. In 2008, 2014 and 2016 he was named one of the top 25 minority executives in health care by Modern Healthcare Magazine, in addition to being voted among the 100 most influential people in health care from 2007-2017.

Deborah Trautman, PhD, RN, FAAN
President and Chief Executive Officer
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Dr. Deborah Trautman assumed the role of AACN’s President and C hief Executive Officer in June 2014. Formerly the Executive Director of the Center for Health Policy and Healthcare Transformation at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Trautman has held clinical and administrative leadership positions at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. She also served as the Vice President of Patient Care Services for Howard County General Hospital and as Director of Nursing for Emergency Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Since her appointment at AACN, Deb has been asked to join a number of high-profile boards and advisory groups. The Secretary of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Special Medical Advisory Group (SMAG), which advises the VA Secretary on matters related to healthcare delivery, research, education, training of healthcare staff and planning on shared care issues facing VA and the Department of Defense. In addition, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) named her program director of the New Careers in Nursing project, and her colleagues with the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) elected her to serve as Chair as of 2019. She also serves on the Joint Commission’s Chief Nurse Executive Council.