Matthews honored with Wilks Award for excellence in simulation education

Jessica Matthews, MSN, RN, CNE, a clinical education assistant professor in the West Virginia University School of Nursing, has been named the 2025 recipient of the David H. Wilks Memorial Award for Excellence in Simulation presented by the WV STEPS David and Jo Ann Shaw Center for Simulation Training and Education Patient Safety.

The award, established in honor of the late Dr. David H. Wilks, celebrates faculty who demonstrate exemplary achievement in teaching innovation, assessment, research, quality and systems at WV STEPS.

“Peers and leaders at the Health Sciences Center nominate individuals each year for their exemplary simulation education,” said Lee Ann Miller, assistant director of education at WV STEPS. “The purpose of the award is not only to acknowledge the dedication of faculty who set high standards in teaching and learning at STEPS, but also to build visibility of simulation and encourage others to pursue innovative training for patient safety.”

Matthews, originally from Parkersburg, West Virginia, serves as course coordinator of the Women’s and Newborn Health course at the Morgantown campus. She said the recognition reflects the collective work of her colleagues.

“The team effort put into this over the past year and a half to two years shows how much we truly care about the type of learning environment we want our students to be a part of,” Matthews said. “The SIM specialists, birthing center staff and my counterpart, professor Kelly Lemon, have been so amazing to work with on this endeavor, and it truly was a team effort.”

Through simulation, Matthews and her colleagues have created new opportunities for students to connect classroom concepts to clinical practice, particularly in women’s health. Tools such as the Anatomage table, which allows students to visualize what happens inside the body during childbirth, have provided unique perspectives.

“The students absolutely love it because it’s a perspective they can’t see any other way,” she said. “The SIM center has so much to offer, and the process of figuring out how to make our thoughts a reality was made so much easier by all of the SIM specialists and their expertise.”

Matthews, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from WVU, began her career at WVU Medicine in the birthing center unit before joining the School of Nursing faculty. She said the award inspires her to continue pushing beyond her initial vision for the program.

“This award has pushed us to continue to improve our course and go beyond what our initial plan was,” Matthews said. “As our school continues to expand and the need for nurses grows nationwide, we need to explore different ways of connecting with our students and allowing them the opportunity to experience things they may otherwise not have been able to in a traditional hospital setting.”

Photo at Top: Jessica Matthews(left) receives the 2025 David H. Wilks Memorial Award for Excellence in Simulation from Dr. Dorian Williams, medical director for the WVU STEPS Center.

-WVU-

cm/10/7/25

MEDIA CONTACT: Christie Matyola
Communications Manager
WVU Health Sciences
732-966-2107; christie.matyola@hsc.wvu.edu