Bio
Dr. LisaMarie Wands is an Associate Clinical Professor at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing (NHWSN), and has been on faculty since 2014, teaching prelicensure nursing students in classroom, clinical, and simulation settings.
Dr. Wands’ educational background includes a BSN (2001) from the University of Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, a Master of Science (2008) focused on nursing education from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, Florida, and a Doctor of Philosophy (2011) focused on nursing and caring science from FAU. From 2012 to 2014, she completed a two-year interprofessional postdoctoral fellowship through the Veterans Affairs Quality Scholars program at the Nashville, Tennessee site in partnership with Vanderbilt University. She also completed a research fellowship through the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation & Learning (INACSL) in 2020, the Woodruff Health Educators Academy Fellowship in 2021, and the National League for Nursing’s Leadership Development Program for Simulation Educators in 2023.
Areas of Interest
- Teaching & Learning
Teaching
Dr. Wands is a passionate and dedicated nurse educator who infuses her teaching activities with creativity and opportunity for students to contextualize learning in real-world scenarios. She strives to help students make connections between knowledge learned in the classroom and hands-on patient care.
Research
Dr. Wands' program of scholarship focuses on prelicensure nursing education and the utilization of simulation in diverse healthcare professions. She is recognized as an expert nationally and internationally in these areas through conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications. She has received multiple intramural grants to support her work and was awarded a Nursing Education Research Grant from the National League for Nursing in 2019. She collaborates with interdisciplinary, interprofessional, and international colleagues around the world to advance nursing education and simulation education across healthcare professions.
Publications
Wands, L.M., Forte, K., Garbett, M., Spence, S., & Yeager, C. (2026). Capturing learner perspectives: Development and validation of the skills-based training evaluation tool. Nursing Education Perspectives, 47(4), E33-E39. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000001529
Sinoski, J. A., Hinton, J. E., Moreland, E., Killam, L. A., Campbell, S. H., de la Rocha, A. B., Wands, L.M., Luctkar-Flude, M., Tyerman, J., Butt, A. L., Ehmke, M., & Rogers, B. A. (2026). Simulation-based competency evaluation in undergraduate nursing: A cross-sectional survey of international educator practices. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 113, 101815. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2026.101915
Wands, L.M., & Jarvis, H. (2026). Measuring stress in nursing students before and after multi-patient high-fidelity simulation. Journal of Nursing Education, 65(1), 47-50. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20250624-01
INACSL Standards Committee, DiGregorio, H., Todd, A., Blackwell, B., Brennan, B. A., Repsha, C., Shelton, C. M., Vaughn, J., Wands, L.M., Wruble, E., & Yeager, C. (2025). Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice® Facilitation. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 105, 101776. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2025.101776
INACSL Standards Committee, DiGregorio, H., Todd, A., Brennan, B. A., Repsha, C., Shelton, C. M., Vaughn, J., Wands, L.M., Wruble, E., Yeager, C., Ramakrishnan, S., Persico, L., & Wilson-Keates, B. (2025). The impact of simulation facilitation on learning outcomes – A systematic review. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 101, 101718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2025.101718
Davis, E. N., & Wands, L.M. (2025). The power of choice: Fostering engagement and competence in nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education, 64(8), e120-e123. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20241029-01
Branch, R., Cole, K., Gibbons, W., Clement, D., & Wands, L.M. (2025). Piloting an interdisciplinary simulation-based educational experience with nurse anesthesia, nurse midwifery, and pre-licensure nursing students. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 100, 101690. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2025.101690
Wands, L.M., McDermott, C., Bernard, N., Wolf, R., & Kimble, L. (2025). Implementing cognitive rehearsal training with nursing students to counter incivility in the clinical setting as students and new nurses: A sequential mixed methods study. Nursing Education Perspectives, 46(4), 243-245. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000001325 **This publication received Honorable Mention among all Research Briefs published in the journal in 2025.
Coombe, A., Wands, L.M., Stevenson, S., & Elliott, R. (2024). Evolving licensure examination: Assessing student confidence and accuracy with Next Generation NCLEX. Journal of Nursing Education, 63(4), 252-255. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20240207-10
Kardong-Edgren, S., Wells-Beede, E., & Wands, L.M. (2024). Student abuse in simulation: Causes and solutions. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 19(2), 145-149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2024.02.007
INACSL Standards Committee, DiGregorio, H., Todd, A., Brennan, B. A., Repsha, C., Shelton, C. M., Vaughn, J., Wands, L.M., Wruble, E., & Yeager, C. (2024). The impact of simulation facilitation on learning outcomes – A systematic review protocol. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 101506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2023.101506
Awards & Affiliations
Awards and Recognitions
2025 Academy of Nursing Education Fellow, National League for Nursing, Washington, DC
2024 Emory Williams Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
2024 Nursing Section Service Award, Society for Simulation in Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN
2024 Distinguished Scholar Fellow in Nursing, National Academies of Practice, Lexington, KY
2020 Above and Beyond Award, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
2019 Team Excellence Award (Simulation Team), Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
2018 Excellence in Leadership Award, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
2016 Jean Thomas Award for Creativity in Teaching, Alpha Epsilon Chapter, Sigma, Atlanta, GA