Mobile Sim Staff Spotlight: Bonny Joly, D.N.P., M.S.N., R.N.

This month, UAB Mobile Simulation is proud to highlight Bonny Joly, D.N.P., M.S.N., R.N., a senior simulation coordinator whose work strengthens the connection between mobile and virtual learning across the health system.

Joly’s clinical background is primarily in critical care, with specific interests and experience in cardiopulmonary care. She began her career at UAB in 2012 and served as an educator in the Medical ICU before joining UAB Clinical Simulation in October 2021.

“As both the mobile and virtual simulation programs have grown, our work has increasingly overlapped,” Joly said. “In 2023, I began focusing more intentionally on virtual simulation development, and over the past two years, virtual simulation has expanded significantly as a learning resource. Together, this growth has created meaningful and natural opportunities for collaboration.”

Today, Joly supports the mobile simulation team by designing and developing virtual simulations that complement mobile initiatives.

“My work focuses on translating clinical priorities and patient safety goals into interactive, screen-based learning experiences that learners can access before or after mobile simulation events,” she said.

For Joly, one of the program’s greatest strengths is the way mobile and virtual simulation work together to increase access.

“What I enjoy most about mobile simulation is how well it pairs with virtual simulation,” she said. “Together, mobile and virtual simulation help us meet learners where they are — whether that means geographic distance from an academic simulation center or the realities of busy clinical and personal schedules.”

Some of her most meaningful moments, she said, come after a simulation has ended.

“One of the most memorable learning moments for me has come from reading learner feedback after simulations are completed,” Joly said. “Much of that feedback was unexpected—learners sharing specific takeaways, describing how the experience changed the way they think about patient care, or explaining how they plan to apply what they learned in clinical practice. It’s encouraging to see how learners connect the simulation directly to their day-to-day clinical work.”

Through intentional design and close collaboration with the mobile team, Joly continues to help expand access to simulation-based education, ensuring that wherever care happens, meaningful learning can happen there, too.

UAB Medicine’s Clinical Simulation program offers opportunities for individuals and teams across UAB Medicine and beyond to practice before they deliver care. We encourage all who provide and support patient care to “Sim First.” Together, we can put our patients’ safety first.