Dr. Michelle Aebersold Will Explore Using Simulation to Prepare for Crisis Response during the 2026 Debra L. Spunt Memorial Lecture at the 2026 NLN Education Summit

Dr. Michelle Aebersold Will Explore Using Simulation to Prepare for Crisis Response during the 2026 Debra L. Spunt Memorial Lecture at the 2026 NLN Education Summit

Building Grit: Using Immersive Resiliency Simulations to Enhance the Capacity to Rescue

Washington, DC — Michelle Aebersold, PhD, RN, CHSE, FSSH, FAAN, a clinical professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan and clinical associate professor and an XR faculty innovator-in-residence in the School of Information, Department of Systems, Populations and Leadership at the University of Michigan, will deliver the Debra L. Spunt Memorial Lecture at the 2026 NLN Education Summit in Washington, DC, on Friday, September 25.

Dr. Aebersold’s Spunt Memorial Lecture, Building Grit: Using Immersive Resiliency Simulations to Enhance the Capacity to Rescue, will focus on helping nurse educators shift their understanding of resilience as an individual trait of ‘toughness’ to one that may be developed as collective, teachable capacities, scalable to respond effectively and flexibly when circumstances demand it. As she explains:

“This lecture will frame resilience as a capacity that is intentionally fostered through the purposeful design of simulation experiences. Nurse educators are in a unique position to create the learning environment to shape the ability of future nurses to not just survive but thrive in a difficult and challenging health care landscape.

Drawing from my extensive experience in developing and facilitating immersive simulation experiences that span the topics of bullying, effective communication and teamwork, clinical decision making, disaster training, and responding to emergencies, this session will provide a scalable roadmap for educators. Through stories and exemplars, I will outline a three-step process to use simulation-based education to develop: 1) Grit (sustained vigilance); 2) Resilience (cognitive recovery); and 3) Moral courage (advocacy and speaking up for safety).

By moving beyond surviving the storm toward thriving, this lecture will challenge nurse educators to intentionally design simulation experiences to reshape resilience and recovery—preparing nurses not only to withstand complexity, but to act decisively and ethically when patient safety depends on it most.”

A Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator and a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, Dr. Aebersold has extensive experience in using a variety of simulation learning methods, including Extended Realities, to improve the care of patients through caregiver education and training. She engages in grant-funded projects using immersive virtual reality for team training, practice readiness, and multidisciplinary collaboration to improve health care.

Dr. Aebersold regularly mentors students and faculty in simulation learning. A frequent guest speaker on a variety of topics at international, regional and local conferences, she has numerous publications and a long list of professional awards to her credit.

“Dr. Aebersold’s multiple roles at the state’s flagship university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, makes her uniquely qualified to talk about the intersection of immersive simulation in nursing education and the use of sophisticated technology to craft effective responses to crises. These can include both clinical settings or non-health care environments where health care professionals may be called upon to aid disaster victims,” said NLN Chair Yolanda VanRiel, PhD, RN, MEDSURG-BC, OCN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, chair of the Department of Nursing, North Carolina Central University and patient placement coordinator at First Health of the Carolinas-Moore Regional Hospital.

“We are delighted to feature Dr. Aebersold at this year’s Spunt Memorial Lecture, bringing Summit attendees the benefit of her expertise and experience in simulation education. She will offer her original thinking in crafting both the capacity to rescue as well as addressing the challenges of teaching disaster response in nursing education,” said NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN.

For more information about the NLN Education Summit, hosted by the National League for Nursing, and to register to attend, visit Summit.NLN.org.

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