Director of the Center for Medical Simulation and Innovative Education at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital

Dr. Rake is the director of the Center for Medical Simulation and Innovative Education at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. She also serves as assistant professor of anesthesia and critical care medicine, and as a pediatric critical care attending physician. She holds the Dr. Jennifer Arnold Endowed Professorship in Medical Simulation and Innovative Education. She joined the hospital staff in 2023.

Dr. Rake was previously medical director of the Las Madrinas Simulation Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. She was a member of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine clinical faculty in pediatrics and an attending physician for the pediatric and cardiothoracic intensive units at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

She earned her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. She completed a pediatric residency at Baystate Medical Center Children’s Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts, and a fellowship in pediatric critical care medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. She completed the health care Leadership Academy at USC/Keck School of Medicine.

Her leadership in medical simulation has included serving as course director, site director and simulation instructor for courses that were an integral training component for many different health care specialties and teams including physician residents and fellows, nurse residents, pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) nurses, transport and ECMO teams. She is a member of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and its INSPIRE Network.

Her research interests focus on teamwork models to improve communication and skills, CPR and simulation-based education and assessment. She received grant support for projects that included development of outcome-based simulation research and multidisciplinary simulation curriculum for trainees; improving teamwork with simulation in the trauma bay; using leaderboards to improve CPR simulation practice among health care professionals; and the use of barrier devices during CPR for COVID

Simulation Administrator

Radka Pieroni, MBA, serves as an administrator for the Education, Innovation and Simulation Center at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. As the administrative leader in a dyad partnership with clinical director Dr. Rake, she helps translate the Center’s clinical and educational vision into effective operations. Radka oversees business planning, budgeting, resource management, policy development and the administrative infrastructure supporting the Center’s programs. She works closely with clinical leaders, educators and hospital partners to align priorities, strengthen processes and promote responsible growth. Her leadership supports the delivery of high-quality educational and simulation experiences while maintaining operational and financial sustainability. Radka brings a disciplined, collaborative approach to advancing the Center’s mission. She values meaningful professional challenges and continually seeks opportunities to expand her capabilities and strengthen the impact of her role.

Simulation Technologist

Becky Beiler, M.S., is a simulation technologist at the Center for Medical Simulation and Innovative Education at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. With more than a decade of experience in healthcare simulation and clinical education, she specializes in simulation technology, standardized patient programs, and immersive learning experiences for healthcare professionals. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins All Children’s, Becky held simulation leadership roles at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. She holds a Master of Science in Higher Education, a Bachelor of Healthcare Administration, and a Healthcare Simulation Certificate. Becky is a member of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

Simulation Technologist

Andrew Bryant, COTA/L, is a simulation technologist. As a practitioner of occupational therapy Andrew has a deep passion for patient outcomes and provider learning. He enjoys bringing that attention to detail and realistic situations to healthcare simulation. Andrew holds degrees from St. Petersburg College, South University in Tampa, and is pursuing a degree in Healthcare Administration. Andrew is a member of SIMGhosts.

Simulation Technologist

Bill Cullis, CHSE, is a simulation technician and a 3D printing lead in the Center for Medical Simulation and Innovative Education at Johns Hopkins All Children’s. He operates and manages the technology, equipment and supplies for mannequin-based simulation in pediatric care and also manages the audio-visual and IT operations for the center. Bill holds a degree in computer engineering technology.

Senior Simulation Education Specialist

Katie Fitzpatrick, M.S., PMP, PMI-ACP, is a simulation education specialist with a passion for curriculum design and technology. Katie (Fitz) comes from Boston with almost a decade of experience in pediatric healthcare simulation delivering on-site and in-situ high fidelity sim. Her work has taken her from the side of a mountain with the Massachusetts DMAT team; to South America and Europe delivering sim and sharing her knowledge and experience. She is particularly passionate about ECMO Simulation and Surgical Simulation. Katie holds a master’s degree in project management and is excited to join the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Team.

Administrative Coordinator

Birgit Graham is administrative coordinator II. She is an experienced administrative professional with many years of supporting leaders, teams, and various work environments. She enjoys creating order, solving problems, and fostering a welcoming environment. She is committed to making each day run a little more smoothly for everyone around her.

Senior Simulation Education Specialist

Laura Patterson, MSN, FNP-C, is a simulation education specialist and a seasoned nursing professional with two decades of service in healthcare. Laura’s background includes medical-surgical, emergency, and advanced practice nursing in cardiology. Over the years of her experience, she became increasingly interested in sharing her knowledge and expertise with others. She subsequently pursued further training and education, ultimately obtaining her master’s degree from the University of South Florida in 2017. She has taught nursing students at the St. Petersburg College of Nursing as well as Simulation Training for nurse residents. Laura believes in the power of education to transform lives and is dedicated to making a positive impact on the current practice and future of healthcare. She is a St. Petersburg native, alumni to SPHS, SPC, USF, and loves spending time with her husband and two daughters.

Simulation Education Coordinator

Jerome Ruffing, B.A., PMD, is the simulation education coordinator. He completed his EMT/Paramedic training at Manatee Technical College, an A.A and A.S. in EMS at Manatee Community College and a B.A. degree in Business Administration from University of South Florida. He retired in 2017 from Manatee County EMS. During his 30 years with E.M.S. he started as a cadet while he was in high school, was hired as an EMT and then promoted through the ranks of Charge Paramedic, Lieutenant, and retired as Deputy Chief of the training division. During his EMS career he also taught for several years at Manatee Technical College in both the EMS and Continuing Education department. He was also an adjunct instructor with the EMS program at St. Petersburg College. He later served as the PSAV EMS Coordinator and Lead Paramedic Instructor at SPC. After retiring from EMS, he worked in the Emergency Department at Johns Hopkins All Children’s before later accepting his current position in the simulation center in 2022. In his current role he manages the RQI program, is the AHA Training Site Coordinator and Co-Lead instructor for the PALS courses, along with many other duties.

Senior Simulation Education Specialist

Nikki Schmitt, P.T., DPT, PCS, CHSE, is a board-certified clinical specialist in pediatric physical therapy and a certified healthcare simulation educator. Her clinical and educational interests include cultivating interpersonal communication, clinical reasoning, evidence gathering, and adaptive thinking skills to improve healthcare value and patient outcomes. Nikki is passionate about mentorship and empowering colleagues and trainees to provide compassionate, evidence-informed, patient and family-centered care, that supports children, their families, and their communities to live healthy and fulfilled lives. She joined Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in 2010 as a physical therapist and transitioned to the role of senior simulation educator in 2021.