The associate professor is among 10 global healthcare simulationists who will be inducted into the Class of 2023 Fellows in January.
Recognizing her sustained contributions to the field of healthcare simulation, Associate Professor Desiree A. Díaz has been named a Fellow of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare Academy. Díaz is one of only 10 experts worldwide honored in the Class of 2023 Fellows. The class will be inducted in January 2023 at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare conference.
The designation of Fellow is prestigious and important to the healthcare simulation community as one of the fastest growing fields in healthcare education, according to the Society for Simulation in Healthcare – the largest healthcare simulation organization in the world. The work, dedication, and passion of Fellows help shape the current art, science, and practice of healthcare simulation — and its future.
One of the world’s leading healthcare simulation experts, Díaz completed a postdoctoral fellowship in simulation at Johns Hopkins University, holds an advanced certification in healthcare simulation education, and currently serves as a certification and accreditation reviewer for the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and as president-elect of the International Nursing Association for Clinical and Simulation Learning (INACSL).
At UCF, she serves as the undergraduate simulation coordinator at UCF’s internationally renowned STIM Center. The center holds a global accreditation and international endorsement recognizing its high quality of simulation education experiences and evidence-based practices. She is also part of an interdisciplinary UCF team that has a patent pending for a new simulation tool.
Her research, which has been widely published and presented, focuses on improving healthcare disparities through simulation education by fostering more culturally congruent care and shaping providers to have cultural humility to ultimately improve care for underserved patient populations. In 2021, she was honored by INACSL with the Diversity, Inclusivity, and Equity Excellence Award. She also is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Nursing and the Academy of Nursing Education.
To date, 111 healthcare simulation experts from 13 countries have been awarded the Fellow designation from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare Academy. Díaz is the second healthcare simulation expert on faculty at UCF College of Nursing to receive the prestigious honor — Professor Mindi Anderson was inducted as a Fellow last year.
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