Virginia Chris Simmons

Virginia “Chris” Simmons, DNP, CRNA, CHSE-A, ANEF, FAANA, FAAN is a Clinical Professor at the School of Nursing. In the Nurse Anesthesia Program (DUNAP), Dr. Simmons served as the Clinical Education Coordinator (CEC) from 2011-2018, the Assistant Program Director from 2018-2019, and the Program Director from 2019-2024.

After serving on active duty in the United States Air Force, Dr. Simmons earned a BSN at Auburn University Montgomery (AUM). She completed a MSN at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro/Raleigh School of Nurse Anesthesia and joined the staff of Duke Regional Hospital (DRH) in 2002. During her time at DRH, she served as a clinical preceptor and clinical associate for DUNAP students, held CRNA managerial and staff positions, and served on multiple nursing and hospital committees.

Dr. Simmons earned her DNP degree from Duke University School of Nursing in 2011 with “Focused Anesthesia Interview Resources (FAIR) to Improve Efficiency and Quality” as her DNP project. Her scholarly interests include simulation, suspension of disbelief, the evaluation of educational preparation of registered nurses for preoperative anesthesia, day-of-surgery cancellations and delays, and the use and effect of perioperative oral and intravenous acetaminophen. She is a member of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, North Carolina American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Sigma Theta Tau, American Nurses Association, North Carolina Nurses Association, the International Nurses Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL), and the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH).  She was the first CRNA to complete the National League for Nursing's (NLN) Simulation Leader Program, has taught simulation in the US, Ghana, and Norway and introduced transgender simulation in the DUNAP.  Dr. Simmons was a 2019 Duke Clinical Leaders Program Fellow and was competitively selected among 55,000 CRNAs as recommended by the AANA to participate in a federally funded simulation study involving a 12-member simulation expert panel. Dr. Simmons currently serves on the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) and is an Associate Editor with Clinical Simulation in Nursing journal.