Lisa Simmons

Dr Lisa Simmons is a Senior Lecturer in Health Professional Education in the College of Medicine and Dentistry at James Cook University and an Accredited Clinical Exercise Physiologist. She has more than a decade of experience in clinical education, curriculum design, work-integrated learning, student-led healthcare services, and health professional education. Lisa completed her Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science at James Cook University, Master of Health and Human Services Management at Deakin University, and Doctor of Philosophy in Health at James Cook University. Her doctoral research examined the evaluation of clinical placement performance in student-led healthcare services and resulted in the development of the HELP-C Guiding Framework for evaluating learning, service, and cost outcomes in applied clinical education models.

Lisa’s academic career began in Clinical Exercise Physiology, where she contributed to the design, delivery, and evaluation of the Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology program. She led curriculum and assessment development, supported accreditation processes, and embedded flipped learning, simulation, scenario-based inquiry, and authentic assessment to strengthen students’ clinical reasoning and professional capability. From 2014 to 2024, she also contributed to the leadership and operation of the JCU Exercise Physiology Clinic, which supported approximately 460 student placements, delivered more than 30,000 community-based exercise physiology services, generated an estimated $450,000 in clinical revenue, and contributed to multiple clinical, research, and community initiatives.

Lisa has also contributed to the development and translation of student-led and industry-partnered clinical education models across community and hospital settings. Her work included partnerships with Mater Private Hospital Townsville, Townsville Hospital and Health Service, and other clinical and community services, supporting student learning in areas such as cardiac rehabilitation, mental health, renal dialysis, cancer care, and workplace health. Through this work, she helped expand authentic placement opportunities, support regional health service delivery, and demonstrate the role and value of exercise physiology within multidisciplinary healthcare teams.

In her current role in Health Professional Education, Lisa coordinates core subjects in the Graduate Certificate of Health Professional Education, including Clinical Teaching, Innovative Teaching, and Action Research. These subjects support multidisciplinary cohorts of working health professionals across medicine, nursing, allied health, and education. Her teaching focuses on translating educational theory into practice through technology-enhanced learning, inclusive online design, authentic assessment, reflective feedback, and practice-based inquiry. She also contributes to Professionalism, Education and Leadership assessment in the MBBS program, supporting reflective practice, teamwork, and professional values across early-year medical students.

Lisa co-leads the Teaching Excellence and Collaborative Hub, a College-wide initiative focused on building educator capability, strengthening assessment and feedback practice, and supporting engagement with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Her current scholarship examines how structured online discussion boards and community-of-practice approaches can support research confidence, scholarly identity, and capability-building in postgraduate health professional education.

Lisa’s research focuses on evaluating learning environments, student-led healthcare services, clinical placement performance, learner experience, and sustainability. She has published in health professional education and clinical education journals, including Focus on Health Professional Education, Australian Journal of Clinical Education, and JMIR Research Protocols, and has presented her doctoral research through ANZAHPE and national allied health conferences. Across teaching, research, and engagement, Lisa’s academic identity is centred on designing authentic, equitable, and sustainable learning environments that improve learner experience, build educator capability, and prepare health professionals for safe, evidence-informed practice.

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ResearchGate Profile