A world-class city filled with art and culture and an incredible campus that offers cutting edge resources–that’s what students receive at Penn Nursing. And that’s just the start. Penn Nursing and the wider university offer something for everyone, as well as a lifelong community.

Penn Nursing is globally known for educating dynamic nurses—because our School values evidence-based science and health equity. That’s where our expertise lies, whether in research, practice, community health, or beyond. Everything we do upholds a through-line of innovation, encouraging our exceptional students, alumni, and faculty share their knowledge and skills to reshape health care.

Penn Nursing students are bold and unafraid, ready to embrace any challenge that comes their way. Whether you are exploring a career in nursing or interested in advancing your nursing career, a Penn Nursing education will help you meet your goals and become an innovative leader, prepared to change the face of health and wellness.

Penn Nursing is the #1-ranked nursing school in the world. Its highly-ranked programs help develop highly-skilled leaders in health care who are prepared to work alongside communities to tackle issues of health equity and social justice to improve health and wellness for everyone.

Penn Nursing’s rigorous academic curricula are taught by world renowned experts, ensuring that students at every level receive an exceptional Ivy League education. From augmented reality classrooms and clinical simulations to coursework that includes experiential global travel to clinical placements in top notch facilities, a Penn Nursing education prepares our graduates to lead.

Engaging the Community, One Mask at a Time

At 10 sites across campus for 10 weeks, Penn Nursing students made 400 weekly observations about mask usage, part of MASCUP, a nationwide initiative spearheaded by the CDC that includes 53 colleges and universities.

May 04, 2021
Lauren Fisher, a student in the Accelerated BSN Second Degree program in the School of Nursing, hands out mask kits in April. The event s...
Lauren Fisher, a student in the Accelerated BSN Second Degree program in the School of Nursing, hands out mask kits in April. The event signified an endpoint to the semester long MASCUP, which included documenting for the CDC how many people were wearing masks, what type of mask, and whether they were worn correctly.

On a cold and windy April day, six Penn Nursing students stood in groups of two and three at the corner of 40th and Walnut streets. Under a gray folding table, several backpacks perched against an open cardboard box. Tallulah, junior Lily McDowell’s dog and unofficial mascot of the day’s events, stood at the ready, her leash attached to McDowell’s backpack.

“Free mask kit,” says Lauren Fisher, an accelerated bachelor’s student nurse graduating in December. “It’s a mask and hand sanitizer,” she explains, showing a passerby a clear plastic bag that also held educational materials.

The person walked by without a glance, but Fisher was undeterred, quickly trying again with someone else. Nearby Tallulah worked her magic; as people came close to pet her, McDowell handed out kits. All told, the students gave away 400 mask kits to pedestrians, drivers stopped at the light who beckoned through open windows, a public transit bus full of people. They ran out of their stock in less than an hour.

This is an excerpt from a longer article that originally appeared in Penn Today. It was written by Michele Berger, senior science news officer in University Communications.