Jennifer Dugger, RN, MSN, CHSE, CNE, is an Instructor at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston and a PhD student at Texas Woman’s University. With a longstanding passion for teaching and learning, Jennifer began her career as a high school biology and chemistry teacher before pursuing nursing. Her bedside nursing experience includes medical/surgical, orthopedics, trauma, and school-based nursing. In 2020, she earned her Master of Science in Nursing Education and joined Cizik School of Nursing as a simulation educator, where she obtained her Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) credential. She later transitioned to the role of undergraduate instructor in 2022.

Jennifer’s professional and scholarly interests center on improving nursing faculty competency and retention, as well as advancing the use of simulation in nursing education. As both a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) and Certified Nurse Educator (CNE), she has led the design and implementation of numerous high-fidelity simulations aimed at enhancing clinical reasoning, student engagement, and competency development. She also serves as a clinical instructor on two Dedicated Education Units (DEUs), where she collaborates closely with staff nurses to bridge academic and practice-based learning and provides students with hands-on learning at the bedside. In addition to her academic responsibilities, Jennifer continues to practice bedside nursing. Jennifer’s long-term goal is to contribute to the development of sustainable, scalable models of nursing education that promote faculty well-being and student success.