Susan K. Keim, PhD, MSN, MS, CRNP

Practice Associate Professor

Health care today is complex and ever-changing, requiring leaders who can facilitate safe, high-quality care and develop innovative approaches to both improving and creating new care delivery systems. 

Our robust multidisciplinary curriculum and supportive inter-professional faculty enable burgeoning nursing leaders to become sought-after administrators and leaders.

Education

  • PhD, University of Pennsylvania, 2018
  • MSN, University of Pennsylvania, 2011
  • MS, University of Maryland, 1987
  • BS, William Paterson University, 1980

Teaching

The Doctor of Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership (DNPEL) program engages students in cutting-edge online coursework co-developed with Wharton Executive Education and the Perelman School of Medicine Health Care Innovation graduate program coupled with a few on-campus or synchronously online intensives. 

The master’s programs offer students a vast array of inter-professional learning opportunities, online educational options, and several dual degree programs including master’s degrees in Law, Health Quality & Safety, and Public Health. Students are in class with physician colleagues as they learn aspects of patient safety and quality improvement. Aimed at preparing graduates for various leadership pathways, many minors are also available to students including Organizational Dynamics, Nursing Education and Informatics.

Dr. Keim also teaches several graduate courses: Systems Thinking in Patient Safety (NURS/HQS6500), and Executive Leadership in Complex Healthcare Systems (NURS8430).

Research

Dr. Keim is also a nurse scientist at Penn Medicine at Home conducting research, in collaboration with home healthcare leaders and providers, which is mainly focused on studying various care delivery models aimed at keeping patients at home for as long as possible.
 

Opportunities to Learn and Collaborate at Penn Nursing

Students in the Nursing & Healthcare Administration and Health Leadership programs routinely take courses with students in other schools on campus. For example, faculty from the schools of nursing and medicine co-teach coursework on improving health care quality and patient safety, which both nurses and physicians take.  Students also have an opportunity to interact with Penn Nursing alumni, who serve as guest lecturers and preceptors. 

The DNPEL program prepares experienced leaders who aim to strategically and sustainably improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of evidence-based healthcare delivery. Mentored by Penn faculty, students complete DNP capstone projects in their place of employment enabling them to showcase their achievements and improve organizational performance.

Selected Career Highlights

  • Winner, LDI/Penn Medicine Research Laboratory Project Award (2024)
  • Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (present)
  • Senior Fellow, Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (present)
  • Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence, Penn Nursing (2020)
  • BHS Department Vice Chair (2015-2020)
  • BHS Department Teaching Faculty Mentorship Award, Penn Nursing (2019)
  • Sigma Theta Tau PhD Student Leadership (Xi Chapter), Penn Nursing (2018)
  • American Medical Informatics Association Nursing Informatics Student Paper Award (2017)
  • Editor, Penn Nursing Journal of Nursing Doctoral Student Scholarship (2016-2017)
  • Penn Social Innovation Lab, Second Place Award (2016)
  • Nurse Educator Award, Graduate Student Organization, Penn Nursing (2015)

Accepting Mentees?

  • Yes

Accepting Fellows?

  • No

Featured Publications

  • Rachild, J., Bowler, L., Denno, M., Flynn, D. & Keim, S. (2022). Implementation and Evaluation of a Home Healthcare Nursing Transition-to-Practice Pilot Program. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 38 (2), 94-100. doi: 10.1097/NND.0000000000000850.

  • Keim, S.K., Ratcliffe, S.J., Naylor, M.D., Bowles, K.H. (2020) Discharge Disposition and Patient Characteristics Associated with Thirty-Day Acute Healthcare Utilization. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.68(10): 2279-2287. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jgs.1664

  • Harper, M. G., Burke, K. G., Keim, S. K., Morgan, L., & Maloney, P. (2019). Meritorious Academic Partnership Designation: Recognizing Nursing Professional Development in Graduate Curricula. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development. 35(5): 240-247.

  • Lo, Y., Lynch, S. F., Urbanowicz, R. J., Olson, R. S., Ritter, A. Z., Whitehouse, C. R., O’Connor, M., Keim, S.K., Melissa O’Connor, McDonald, M., Moore, J.H., & Bowles, K. H. (2019). Using Machine Learning on Home Health Care Assessments to Predict Fall Risk. Studies in health technology and informatics. 264: 684-688.

  • Bowles, K.H., Ratcliffe, S.J., Holmes, J.H., Keim, S., Potashnik, S., Flores, E., Humbrecht, D., Whitehouse, C.R., Naylor, M.D. (2019). Using a Decision Support Algorithm for Referrals to Post-Acute Care. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 20(4):408-413.

  • Keim S.K., Bowles K.H. (2018) Comparison of algorithm advice for post-acute care referral to usual clinical decision-making: examination of 30-day acute healthcare utilization. AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings; 2017:1051-1059.

  • Bowles K.H., Ratcliffe S.J., Naylor M.D., Holmes J.H., Keim S.K., Flores E.J. (2018) Nurse Generated EHR Data Supports Post-Acute Care Referral Decision Making: Development and Validation of a Two-step Algorithm. AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings; 2017:465-474.

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