Professor Debra Nestel is Professor of Surgical Education in the Department of Surgery at the University of Melbourne and Professor of Simulation Education in Healthcare at Monash University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Monash University and a PhD. Her career encompasses leadership in educational programs such as program lead for the Master of Surgical Education, jointly offered by the Department of Surgery and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Simulation. She also leads the national NHET-Sim program for simulation educators and a virtual network in simulated patient methodology.

Nestel's research specializations include healthcare simulation, clinical communication, debriefing, distributed simulation, feedback, medical education, and patient-focused simulation. She has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and edited books including Simulated Patient Methodology (2015), Healthcare Simulation (2017), Surgical Education (late 2017), and Research Methods for Healthcare Simulation (2019). Key publications feature "The impact of stress on surgical performance: a systematic review of the literature" (2010), "Role-play for medical students learning about communication: guidelines for maximising benefits" (2007), "The effects of stress on surgical performance" (2006), "Simulation in clinical teaching and learning" (2012), and "Rating medical emergency teamwork performance: development of the Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM)" (2010). She was Founding Editor-in-Chief of Advances in Simulation and is Editor-in-Chief of BMJ Simulation and Technology Enhanced Learning. In 2021, she was appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to medical education through simulated teaching methods, and holds fellowships including FAcadMEd and FSSH. Her work has substantially impacted simulation-based education in healthcare professions.

Professional Email: Debra.Nestel@monash.edu