Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) will host a large-scale interdisciplinary simulation on Monday, April 13th, 2026, recreating the aftermath of a drunk driving crash as part of an immersive learning experience for students across multiple programs.
The event, led by Dr. Adrienne Wilk in Austin Peay State University’s School of Nursing, will involve approximately 250 people — students, faculty and actors — across three simulation cycles.
“This has been months in the making,” Wilk said. “We wanted to build an experience that reflects what students may face in the real world, while also helping them understand how much patient care depends on communication, collaboration and trust across disciplines.”
Because the exercise will include an active crash scene, emergency-style response activity and visible movement around the Health Professions Building, community members in the area should be aware that this is a planned simulation. There is no active emergency and no threat to campus or the public.
The simulation will guide students through the events following a serious impaired-driving incident, from first response to hospital treatment, family notification and post-event communication. Students from seven APSU disciplines will participate: communication media, criminal justice, EMS, nursing, medical laboratory science, radiologic technology and social work.
The day will begin with a pre-briefing focused on safety and expectations before students move into the crash-site response. From there, the simulation will continue inside APSU’s Health Professions Building, with students working through trauma care, imaging, lab testing and family support.
For Wilk, the event reflects a broader push to expand simulation-based education at Austin Peay, especially in ways that bring disciplines together.
“What makes this kind of learning so valuable is that students are not just practicing isolated skills,” she said. “They are learning how to work with other professions, communicate in high-pressure moments and care for people in complex situations.”
That emphasis is central to the university’s growing simulation efforts in the new Health Professions Building, where students learn in realistic, team-based settings before entering the workforce.
The emotional stakes of the April 13 exercise are intentional.
According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving Tennessee, the state recorded 332 drunk driving deaths in 2024, and nearly 1 in 3 traffic deaths in Tennessee is caused by impaired driving. In Clarksville-Montgomery County, 2,501 alcohol-related crashes have occurred since 2014.
“This is not abstract,” said Melissa Hardison, victim service specialist with MADD Tennessee. “These are preventable tragedies that change families and futures in an instant.”
The simulation also gives students room to make mistakes, reflect and improve in a controlled environment before facing similar situations professionally.
For Jorge Haro, an APSU undergraduate social work student and Air Force veteran, that preparation is deeply personal.
“This kind of training prepares us for the what-if,” Haro said. “It gives us a chance to learn, make mistakes here and get feedback before we step into the real world. For me, it also hits close to home because I’ve lost friends to a drunk driver.”
As the day unfolds, the goal remains the same: to move beyond the classroom and into something students can feel, navigate and carry into their careers. It is a reflection of the educational value behind the university’s most ambitious collaborative simulation exercises to date.
