SPEAR Research Collaborative

The SPEAR Research Collaborative is open to Augusta University health professions faculty who are interested in conducting simulation research. The collaborative is supervised by Dr. A.J. Kleinheksel, SPEAR Director. The collaborative facilitates processes, leverages resources, and yields innovative and productive scholarship. Please contact Dr. Kleinheksel for more information about joining at akleinheksel@augusta.edu.

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Simulation Scholarship

Scholarship from the SPEAR team has been presented in regional, national, and international venues, and have been published in interdisciplinary journals. The selected publications and presentations below represent recent avenues of investigation.

Selected Publications & Presentations

Published Articles

Patel, D., Beller, S., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2024). Promoting patient care ownership through statewide simulations. Journal ofRegional Medical Campuses, 7(3).

Smith, L., Kleinheksel, A. J., & Tews, M. (2025). Evaluating facilitator adherence to a newly adopted simulation debriefing framework. Canadian Medical Education Journal, 16(1), 71-76.

Guimbarda, N., Boghani, F., Tews, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2024). A comparison of two debriefing rubrics to assess facilitator adherence to the PEARLS debriefing framework. Simulation in Healthcare, 19(6), 358-366.

Seehusen, D., Kleinheksel, A. J., Huang, H., Harrison, Z., & Ledford, C. (2023). The power of one word to paint a halo or a horn: Demonstrating the halo effect in learner handover and subsequent evaluation. Academic Medicine, 98(9), 929-933.

Etheridge, R., Hernlen, K., Tews, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2022). Leveraging medical simulation for faculty development in interprofessional education. Journal of Allied Health, 50(1), 3-8.

McNutt, R., Tews, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2021). Student performance during simulated patient encounter has no impact on debriefer adherence to PEARLS debriefing model. Medical Science Educator, 31, 1141-1148.

Wyatt, T. R., Kleinheksel, A. J., & Tews, M. (2021). Linking patient ownership and professional identity formation through simulation. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 33(2).

Kleinheksel, A. J., & Tews, M. (2020). Teaching an educational simulation elective outside the simulation center. Canadian Medical Education Journal, 11(5), e134-e135.

Tien, L., Wyatt, T. R., Tews, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2019). Simulation as a tool to promote professional identity formation and patient ownership in medical students. Simulation and Gaming, 50(6), 711-724.

 

National Presentations

Boghani, F., Guimbarda, N., Tews, M., &Kleinheksel, A. J. (2024, November). A refined instrument to assess facilitator adherence to the PEARLS debriefing model. Poster presented at the Association of American Medical Colleges Learn Serve Lead Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Bakshi, B., Sehgal, S., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2024, November). Exploring the relationship between medical simulation scenario realism and learners’ self-directed learning. Poster presented at the Association of American Medical Colleges Learn Serve Lead Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Blyden, K., Dubey, Xiong, A., Tews, M., & Sturgis, L., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2024, November). Examining case presentation behaviors in clinical simulations. Poster presented at the Association of American Medical Colleges Learn Serve Lead Conference, Atlanta, GA. 

Moon, H. C., Chen, M., Cushman, L., Lakhani, F., Lezaj, S., Mahaffey, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2023, November). Development and validation of a measure of medical student leadership in team-based simulations. Oral presentation at the Association of American Medical Colleges Learn Serve Lead Conference, Seattle, WA.

Kleinheksel, A. J., Harper, M., Agabin, E. (2023, June). Simulation design model for statewide, formative, longitudinal assessments of the AAMC Core EPAs. Oral presentation at the Association of American Medical Colleges Regional Medical Campus Conference, Savannah, GA.

Huang, H., Harrison, Z., Seehusen, D., Kleinheksel, A. J., & Ledford, C. (2023, April). The power of one word to paint a halo or a horn: Demonstrating the halo effect in learner handover and subsequent evaluation. Student poster presented at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Spring Conference, Tampa, FL.

Kleinheksel, A. J., Kornegay, K., Cunningham, M., Jones, C., & Lyon, M. (2022, June). Statewide, standardized, synchronous simulations: They're not impossible! Oral presentation at the Association of American Medical Colleges Regional Medical Campus Conference, Washington, DC.

Chen, M., Lakhani, F., Lezaj, S., Cushman, L., Mahaffey, M., Tews, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2022, November). Design and implementation of a leadership assessment instrument to evaluate medical student leadership in team-based simulations. Poster presented at the Association of American Medical Colleges Learn Serve Lead Conference, Nashville, TN.

Wyatt, T. R., Kleinheksel, A. J., & Tews, M. (2020, November). Peering into the black box: Linking

patient ownership with professional identity formation. Poster presented at the Association of American Medical Colleges Learn Serve Lead Conference: The Virtual Experience.

Hernlen, K., Etheridge, R., Tews, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2020, November). An evaluation of faculty perceptions and knowledge of interprofessional education after a faculty training course using medical simulation. Oral presentation at the American Association for Respiratory Care Congress virtual forum.

Hernlen, K., Etheridge, R., Tews, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2020, November). The development of an interprofessional education faculty training course using medical simulations. Oral presentation at the American Association for Respiratory Care Congress virtual forum.

Tien, L., Wyatt, T. R., Tews, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2019, November). Exploring third-year medical students' professional identity formation after clinical simulation. Oral presentation at the Association of American Medical Colleges Learn Serve Lead Conference, Phoenix, AZ.

 

International Presentations

Aldaher, Z., Dunn, K., Moore, G., Jones, C., Lyon, M., Kleinheksel, A. J., & Mabes, E. S. (2025, February). Needs assessment to develop an interactive trauma simulation curriculum for the rural trauma team. Oral presentation at the Annual Academic Surgical Congress, Las Vegas, NV. 

Kleinheksel, A. J., MacKenna, V., Talor, N., Katz, D., & Loo, M. (2025, January). SSH Technology Committee presents: Development and application of the TIMMI cognitive aid. Workshop conducted at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, Orlando, FL.

Sehgal, S., Bakshi, B., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2025, January). Promoting post-simulation learning: Analyzing learner perceptions and intentions through the lens of Kolb’s experiential learning cycle. Poster presented at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, Orlando, FL.

Fernicola, J, Broughton, R., Jones, C., Kleinheksel, A. J., Kaminstein, D., Lyon, M, & Guven, A. (2025, January). Comparing SOAP presentation progression using telemedicine curriculum with simulated and real patients during pre-clerkship. Poster presented at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, Orlando, FL.

Lattimore, N., Cunningham, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2025, January). Development of an interactive inventory databased to improve simulation planning and development. Oral presentation at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, Orlando, FL.

Harper, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2025, January). Development and implementation of a peer observation program. Oral presentation at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, Orlando, FL. 

Cunningham, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2025, January). Operations considerations for integrated simulation curricula: Developing longitudinal procedures for successful event management. Oral presentation at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, Orlando, FL.

 

Regional Presentations

Beller, S., Patel, D., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2024, April). Promoting patient care ownership in medical students through standardized simulations. Poster presented at the Southern Group on Educational Affairs annual meeting, Houston, TX. 

Harper, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2024, April). Simulation facilitator self-assessment tool: An adapted self-assessment instrument to serve as both an incentive to motivate enrollment in a faculty development course and to conduct peer observations. Poster presented at the Southern Group on Educational Affairs annual meeting, Houston, TX. 

Boghani, F., Guimbarda, N., Tews, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2024, April). A refined instrument to assess facilitator adherence to the PEARLS debriefing model. Oral presentation at the Southern Group on Educational Affairs annual meeting, Houston, TX.

Sehgal, S., Bakshi, B., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2024, April). The effect of simulation realism on self-directed learning. Oral presentation at the Southern Group on Educational Affairs annual meeting, Houston, TX.

Baer Ellington, C., Ellis, J., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2024, April). Assessing a learner’s developmental trajectory longitudinally through both undergraduate and graduate medical training. Oral presentation at the Southern Group on Educational Affairs annual meeting, Houston, TX. 

Kleinheksel, A. J., Jones, C., Cunningham, M., Agabin, E., Harper, M., Kornegay, D., & Lyon, M. (2023, March). Designing and implementing standardized, synchronous simulations across geographically-dispersed campuses. Oral presentation at the Southern Group on Educational Affairs annual meeting, Nashville, TN.  

Kleinheksel, A. J., Harper, M., Tews, M., & Cunningham, M. (2023, March). Tele-simulation for remote participation in team-based simulation: Lessons from and advances since the COVID shutdown. Workshop conducted at the Southern Group on Educational Affairs annual meeting, Nashville, TN.  

Cushman, L., Lakhani, F., Chen, M., Lezaj, S., Mahaffey, M. & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2022, March). Design and implementation of a leadership assessment instrument to evaluate medical student leadership in team-based simulations. Poster presented at the Southern Group on Educational Affairs virtual annual meeting.

Guimbarda, N., Kleinheksel, A. J., Tews, M. (2021, February). Comparing two facilitator debriefing rubrics to assess post-simulation debriefings. Poster presented at Virtual Southern Regional Meeting of the American Federation for Medical Research.

Tien, L., Wyatt, T. R., Tews, M., & Kleinheksel, A. J. (2019, March). Exploring third-year medical students' professional identity formation after clinical simulation. Oral presentation at the Southern Group on Educational Affairs annual meeting, Orlando, FL.

Kleinheksel, A. J., Waller, J., & Tews, M. (2019, March). Formative assessment of clinical reasoning skills through simulation. Poster presented at the Southern Group on Educational Affairs annual meeting, Orlando, FL.