James is the Director for the Center for Simulation Innovation (CSI). He continues to teach in the undergraduate nursing programs. He came to UT Health following his retirement from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel after nearly 28 years of combined military service. He first joined the Army as an enlisted soldier, trained as an Environmental Health Specialist and Emergency Medical Technician, serving 1982 thru 1985. With use of his GI Bill, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and graduated with a BSN in 1989. James returned to active duty as an Army Nurse Corps Officer. He specialized in Emergency and Trauma Nursing, earning his Certification in Emergency Nursing (CEN). Served in both the Gulf War and Operation Joint Endeavor. In 1997, James became the Nursing Director for the Dwight David Eisenhower Medical Center ED, at Ft. Gordon, Georgia. During that time, he became a member of a national research consortium (civilian and military membership) developing and verifying the congressionally funded project "MedTeams.s This successful program has since been implemented as AHRQ`s Team STEPPS, in which he is a Master Trainer. In 1999, James become a team member of a Department of Defense initiative, the Joint Trauma Training Center located at Ben Taub Medical Center, Houston, Texas. This medical/nursing trauma team taught trauma care and conducted research. The team published their findings (2002) on the use of high-fidelity patient simulation (HFPS) as an innovative teaching strategy for military surgical teams. In 2002, the Army Nurse Corps sent James to the Medical College of Georgia for his graduate studies. He graduated in 2004 with an MSN as an Acute Care, Clinical Nurse Specialist in emergency and trauma nursing. Afterward, James was the Director for the Army`s Phase 1 (practical nurse) program at the Academy of Health Sciences, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, 2004-2006. James' last assignment was the Chief of Emergency Nursing Services, Emergency and Trauma Department, Brooke Army Medical Center, 2006-2009. Jim concurrently served as the Surgeon General`s Emergency and Trauma Nursing Consultant for the U.S. Army Medical Command.