The FIU Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences STAR Center is excited to announce a groundbreaking charting initiative in its simulation labs. This innovative program integrates charting—an essential aspect of nursing practice—into clinical simulations, offering students a hands-on opportunity to master this critical skill.  

Charting involves documenting patient assessments, interventions, and outcomes, a vital competency for effective nursing care. Through this initiative, students will refine their clinical decision-making, communication skills, and understanding of the legal and ethical dimensions of healthcare. The program emphasizes accuracy, clarity, and timeliness in documentation, while fostering proficiency with electronic health record systems.  

With guidance and feedback from faculty, participants will develop a systematic approach to charting, reinforcing the critical thinking and professionalism necessary for today’s complex healthcare environments. This initiative reflects the STAR Center’s commitment to preparing nursing students for successful and impactful careers in healthcare.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the latest buzzword in tech, and it's making its mark everywhere - from social media and graphic editors to video apps, smartphones, and even education. It's becoming an integral part of our daily lives, and healthcare simulation is no exception.

At the Diane Ramy Faulconer Simulation Teaching and Research (STAR) Center, right here at the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences (NWCNHS), Al is transforming the way healthcare professionals train. Gaumard Scientific, a leader in healthcare simulation based just a short drive south of the MMC campus, has been developing high-fidelity solutions since 1946. They design patient simulators, task trainers, learning modules, and mixed reality tools that provide safe, effective training across nearly every clinical specialty. Their latest innovation, the HAL S5301 patient simulator, is a game-changer in the field.

HAL is revolutionizing healthcare training by bringing conversational speech into healthcare training. Powered by a cloud-based AI, HAL can automatically respond to medical history questions, follow voice commands, and carry on a conversation without needing prompts from a simulation operator. Since HAL is connected to the cloud, it's also in a constant state of learning, making it more intelligent and adaptable over time.

This technology is helping the STAR Center stay at the forefront of healthcare simulation, pushing the boundaries of how healthcare professionals are trained.

The healthcare simulation industry has always worked toward bridging the gap between real-world experiences and simulated training, and Al is accelerating that progress. With tools like HAL, the STAR Center is creating increasingly realistic clinical scenarios that help learners forget they're using a simulator, making the experience feel more authentic and valuable.

Congratulations to Dr. Miller, who was inducted as a Fellow into the Inaugural 2024 Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing, founded by the National Black Nurses Association. This prestigious honor, awarded on July 25, 2024, recognizes Dr. Miller's outstanding contributions to advancing diversity and inclusion in nursing, and her ongoing dedication to fostering equity within the healthcare community.

Dr. Ana Rodriguez hosted Our Lady of Lourdes Academy Externship with High School Juniors and Seniors. Students had the opportunity to learn about the Occupational Therapy profession and Masters program at FIU. Students had a Q&A session with current OT students. They were able to attend Dr. Rodriguez’s lecture and lab session in the STAR Center.

In October, we came together to support the WOW Center's mission of empowering individuals with developmental disabilities by attending the 16th Annual WOW Experience Fundraiser. As sponsors, every dollar raised will go directly toward programs that provide life-changing resources and opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities. This helps the WOW Center serve over 200 Miami-Dade residents and help them access opportunities and resources for adults with developmental disabilities and the communities that support them.

Our students and administrators joined colleagues from FIU Nursing and The Health Council of South Florida at the Florida Blue Foundation Scholarship and Research Convention in Orlando. The event featured a presentation on our impactful Green Family Foundation NeighborhoodHELP program, proudly supported by Florida Blue to advance health education and community outreach.



Christa is a passionate nursing student at Florida International University, aiming to graduate with a BSN in May 2025. She is involved in the National Society of Leadership and Success, where she is developing leadership skills and connecting with like- minded peers. Her motivation for pursuing nursing comes from a desire to help others, particularly through patient advocacy and research on evidence-based practices. Christa's favorite class has been Fundamentals of Nursing, where she has gained essential skills for patient care. Outside of academics, she enjoys skincare and works at the Diane Ramy Falconer STAR Center, where she gains hands-on experience in a simulated hospital environment. Keep an eye on this inspiring student as she works toward her goals!

Richard Lazarus has been selected as an Outstanding Graduate for Fall 2024, an honor bestowed by his college and endorsed by Provost Elizabeth Bejar. This recognition highlights his dedication, resilience, and exceptional contributions to the FIU community. Through his achievements, whether in research, innovation, awards, global engagement, or overcoming challenges, Richard has set a remarkable example and left a lasting impact on the institution and beyond.

We are pleased to announce that Saber Corum has been appointed as the Interim Assistant Director of the Diane Ramy Faulconer STAR Center. Saber brings an impressive background in simulation education and a deep commitment to enhancing hands-on learning for our students, and we are thrilled to have him lead the STAR Center’s next chapter.

In his previous role as Simulation Education Manager at NWCNHS, Saber played an instrumental role in supporting our faculty and students, overseeing the daily educational operations of the simulation lab. He managed the integration of simulation materials, developed complex scenarios, skills labs, and OSCEs, and coordinated the STAR Center’s extensive simulation sessions. During this time, he ensured that our simulation experiences are of the highest educational standard.

In addition to his experience, Saber is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Operations Specialist (CHSOS) through the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSIH), an accreditation that underscores his expertise in running top-tier simulation programs. He is also ACLS (Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support) Certified and PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) Certified through the American Heart Association, bringing essential skills that elevate our students’ learning in critical care environments.



• Dr. Joanne Christopher-Hines, Dr. Nola Holness, Dr. Ivette Hidalago. An abstract from this work titled "Toward a Smoother Transition for Nurse-Student Clinical Experiences: State of the Science" was accepted on 10/06/24 for poster presentation at the Nurse Consortium of Florida, Inc. Conference scheduled on November 14, 2024. 
• Dr. Rosa Roche and Dr. Francisco Brenes served as guest speakers on the topic, "Call for Greater Focus on End-of-Life Care and Mental Health in the Nursing Curriculum and Beyond" at the Fall 2024 Nursing Consortium of Florida. 
• Drs. Sommer and Alfano presenting with their former master's thesis student, Chantal Murrell at the American Speech-Language Hearing Association in Seattle.

• Alfano, A. R., Reyes, D. B., & Douglas, M. (in press). Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Considerations in Aural Rehabilitation. In Daniel, L. L., & Bharadwaj, S. (Eds.), Video-Based Aural Rehabilitation Guide: Enhancing Listening and Spoken Language in Children and Adults (2nd ed.). Plural Publishing, Inc.
• Hough, M.S., Peraza, J. Sencion, G., & Swartz, M. (2024-in press). Common category organization in bilingual Spanish-English Adults. Journal of Monolingual and Bilingual Speech.
• Medina, A.M., Mead, J., & Moore, S. (2024). Perceptions of and Beliefs about Stuttering in the Hispanic/Latino Community. Journal of Communication Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2024.106456
• Roche, R., Hidalgo, I., Grana, A., & Brenes, F. (2024). The push to infuse mental health education across advanced nursing curricula. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 36(12), 677-679.
• Sommer, C. L., & Wombacher, N. R. (2024). Prenatal to Adulthood: The Responsibility of the Speech-Language Pathologist on the Comprehensive Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Team. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJSLP-24-00230
• Wanzhu Shi, Tina Yeung, Jared Dmello. Published article in Frontiers in Communication titled "Organizational Use of Social Media during a Global Health Crisis".
• Fenkl, E.A. & Purnell, L.D. (Eds.) (2024). Handbook for Culturally Competent Care. Springer: Cham, Switzerland. doi.978-3-031-70492-5.
• FIU faculty including Dr. Fenkl, 2 former PhD students,and 1 current PhD student contributed to this endeavor. They include:
• Dr. Suha Balllout (FIU PhD graduate 2013) - Chapter 8 People of Arab Heritage.
• Dr. Jorge Valdes and Dr. Victor Delgado - Chapter 11 People of Cuban Heritage.
• Cory Salcedo (PhD Student) - Chapter 16 People of Guatemalan Heritage
• Dr. Arvinder Singh (FIU PhD graduate 2022) - Chapter 18 People of Hindu and Sikh Heritage.
• Dr. Francisco Brenes and Dr. Rosa Roche - Chapter 21 People of Irish Heritage.
• Dr. Audrey Miller, Dr. Chanadra Young-Whiting, Dr. Yasmine Campbell, and Dr. Valerie Diaz - Chapter 23 People of Jamaican Heritage (this was a new chapter written from scratch).
• Dr. Ivette Hidalgo and Dr. Carmen Duque - Chapter 24 People of Japanese Heritage.
• Dr. Latisha Barfield and Dr. Nola Holness - Chapter 28 People of Polish Heritage.
• Dr. Maricelli Comellas-Quinones - Chapter 29 People of Puerto Rican Heritage.
• Dr. Tatayana Maltseva - Chapter 30 People of Russian Heritage and Chapter 34 People of Ukrainian Heritage (also new chapter written from scratch).
• Dr. Tamara LaCroix and Dr. Trudy Gaillard - Chapter 31 People of Somali Heritage.

• Nursing Pinning Ceremony​ | December 12, 2024 | BBC WUC

• Doctoral Hooding Ceremony​ | December 13, 2024 | SASC Auditorium



• Fall Commencement Ceremony – | December 17, 2024 | Ocean Bank Arena