Lonnie Hodges, part of the teaching faculty in the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program at Florida State University Panama City, has been recognized as a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

The designation places him in elite company, as only about 2,300 persons have attained the certification worldwide.

"I could not be more proud that Dr. Hodges has earned the CHSE certification,” said Stacey VanDyke, director of the DNAP program. “This accomplishment solidifies what the faculty and students already recognize about his exceptional skills in simulation. Dr. Hodges has directly impacted our FSU NAP students, leading to improved performance in the clinical setting."

Hodges, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, oversees the anesthesia simulation lab at FSU Panama City—a space his students have affectionately dubbed “Hodges’ House of Pain.”  The assistant DNAP program director, Hodges said intelligence is shaped by experience, and structured simulations can be tailored to the student's stage of progression through the curriculum.

“Adults are motivated to learn new concepts when presented with a situation where they need to know it,” he said. “Simulation allows the adult student to integrate theory and practice, then reflect back on their performance with the intent of identifying underlying rationales for decisions and improving future performance and hopefully patient safety.”  

Hodges earned his bachelor’s in nursing from the University of Tennessee in 1998, and his master’s in nursing from the U.S. Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, in association with Northeastern University in Boston, Mass., in 2009. Hodges received his Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of North Florida in 2017.

He has served as the Clinical Site Director for Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County and at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. He holds numerous awards and medals for his military service, including the U.S. Army Commendation Medals, USAF Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

In exam situations, students in the simulation lab may have to face one of five complications that commonly occur in the operating room, Hodges said. The computer-controlled mannequin and related machines in the simulation room are designed to prepare students for clinical training at hospitals and outpatient clinics.

“We do everything we can to make it as realistic as the normal O.R., so they get the feel of being in the O.R. and training the way they’re going to when they get to the hospital,” Hodges said.