About our authors
Laura Gonzalez, PhD, APRN, CNE, CHSE- A, ANEF, FAAN, is Vice President for Clinical Learning Resources at Sentinel U®. She has over 20 years of experience in academia, teaching both graduate and undergraduate nursing students. In her current position, Dr. Gonzalez focuses on product innovation and forecasting future trends, ensuring that Sentinel U remains at the forefront of simulation education technology. She is an Advanced Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator, a Fellow of the Academy of Nurse Educators and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She is the recipient of the prestigious Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award (SoTL) from the University of Central Florida.
Dr. Gonzalez is such a staunch supporter of simulation that she has focused her professional nursing and academic career on advancing the science of nursing education through the use of simulation and innovative technologies and its impact on learner outcomes. Her specific body of work has resulted in more than 20 data-based manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. Along with Dr. Aebersold, she is one of the authors of Clinical Nursing Skills: Basic to Advanced Skills, 9th Edition, a publication of Pearson Education.
As a seasoned nurse educator with experience teaching across live, hybrid, online and synchronous modalities, Dr. Gonzalez's expertise extends well beyond the classroom and simulation center and into the laboratory. She is privileged to have been on a team of scientists to receive two patents in augmented reality: System for Detecting Sterile Field Events and Related Methods and a Physical-Virtual Patient Bed System.
Dr. Gonzalez began her studies at Hunter College in NYC, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Dr. Gonzalez holds a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of South Florida. While working as a nursing instructor at the University of South Florida, she received her Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Central Florida.
Michelle Aebersold, PhD, RN, CHSE, FAAN, is a clinical professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing and a clinical associate professor in the School of Information. She is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator and a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Aebersold is an XR Faculty Innovator in Residence through the University of Michigan XR Initiative. Dr. Aebersold's leadership experience includes roles in the practice environments, including oversight of nursing intensive care units, acute care units and outpatient specialty clinics. Dr. Aebersold also developed the simulation program for the UM School of Nursing and oversaw the development of the 13,000 square foot simulation center, which opened in 2015.
Dr. Aebersold has been teaching since 2006. She teaches in the areas of leadership, analytics, quality and safety in the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral nursing courses. She often oversees doctoral students for their scholarly projects and participates on dissertation committees.
Dr. Aebersold has extensive experience in using a variety of simulation learning methods, including mannequin-based simulation, virtual and augmented realities and virtual gaming. She has developed numerous case studies, simulations and skill-based resources for use in the undergraduate nursing programs.
Dr. Aebersold has numerous publications, presents on a variety of topics, and is often an invited speaker at international, regional and local conferences. She consults with nursing schools around improving their simulation programs, developing virtual educational assets and other projects. Along with Dr. Gonzalez, Dr. Aebersold is one of the authors of Clinical Nursing Skills: Basic to Advanced Skills, 9th Edition, a publication of Pearson Education.
