Rutgers Professor to be Inducted as a Fellow of the National League for Nursing Academy of Nursing Education

Christine Repsha, associate dean for simulation and clinical learning and associate professor at Rutgers School of Nursing, has been selected to become a fellow of the National League for Nursing Academy of Nursing Education.

Repsha will be inducted Sept. 25 during the honors convocation at the 2026 National League for Nursing Education Summit in Washington, D.C. With the addition of the 2026 class, the academy will number 473 fellows.

Candidates for fellowship undergo a rigorous review of their contributions to teaching and learning, nursing education research, faculty development, academic leadership, education policy or academic and community partnerships. Those who meet the Academy’s standards are recommended for induction by the National League for Nursing Board of Governors.

“Dr. Repsha’s selection for the Academy reflects the impact of her work as an educator, innovator, scholar, and leader,” said Angela Starkweather, dean and professor at Rutgers School of Nursing. “Her expertise is strengthening how we prepare students for clinical practice, while her scholarship, faculty development and collaborative work are helping advance simulation education well beyond Rutgers. We are proud to see her contributions recognized with this prestigious honor.”

At Rutgers, Repsha has played a central role in expanding simulation and clinical learning for students preparing for both entry-level and advanced nursing practice.

Soon after joining the School of Nursing in 2023, she headed the effort to create the Division of Simulation and Clinical Learning, established in 2024 as the school’s fourth academic division. At the time, it was one of only a few such divisions at nursing schools nationwide.

As the division’s founding leader, Repsha oversees the clinical education enterprise at Rutgers School of Nursing, including on-campus and off-campus clinical experiences. The division includes skills labs and high-fidelity simulation labs at the school’s campuses in Newark, New Brunswick and Blackwood.

She also leads the integration of new technologies and curriculum enhancements to prepare students for evolving care models. A partnership with the Caregility organization is introducing technology and training to prepare undergraduate students to provide virtual care.

Repsha founded Simulation Training for Assessment, Technology and Evaluation, or STATE, a two-day microcredential program that prepares educators to use simulation and debriefing effectively. In three years, STATE has credentialed 38 educators throughout the tri-state area and is being expanded to an online format.

She co-chairs the Standards Committee of the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning’s Healthcare Simulation, where she served on the Standards of Best Practice Facilitation Subcommittee from 2021 to 2025.

Repsha was a contributing author of the 2025 Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice: Facilitation and the systematic review supporting the standard.

In collaboration with the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, Repsha helped develop a competency-based assessment tool for nurse practitioner students and contributed research evaluating its reliability and validity.

With a focus on advancing interprofessional collaboration, her collaborative leadership spans disciplines and institutions. Repsha is a leader atSCARLET – the Simulation Collaborative Advancing Research, Learning, Education and Technology. The collaborative unites Rutgers faculty and staff from nursing, pharmacy, medicine and other health professions, as well as partners from other education and healthcare institutions, to share expertise, resources and scholarship.

Her career milestones also include international work, such as playing a leadership role in establishing a new nursing school at St. John’s College in Belize.

Repsha is a certified family nurse practitioner and certified health care simulation educator. She earned a bachelor degree in nursing from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s degree in the family nurse practitioner track from the University of Massachusetts Boston. She earned a doctoral degree in nursing with a concentration in health promotion from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.