News Archives

2020 is the Year of the Nurse and Midwife

January 15 -

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared 2020 to be the Year of the Nurse and Midwife and Penn Nursing is joining in on the celebration. We want to help the public – in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and beyond – better understand the impact these professions have on health and health care.

Humans of Penn Nursing: Alyssa S. Maizan, CNP, GNu’04

January 14 - “Nursing wasn’t even on my radar initially. I wanted to be a veterinarian. I was at the University of Minnesota taking animal science classes and wondering how I was going to pay for veterinary school.

Welcome Back Spring 2020: A Message from Dean Villarruel

January 6 -  

Erica Dougherty, BSN, RN

December 20 - “Not many people are fortunate enough to be born with their best friend. I, on the other hand, am one of those few lucky people. I have a twin sister. When most people think of twin sisters, they think of two identical girls with common interests and abilities.

Opioid Self-management Practices and Potential Safety Risks Among Patients with Cancer

December 19 -

Despite a national opioid crisis, prescribed opioid analgesics remain a viable option for pain management for patients with cancer.  In effect, patients with cancer represent one of the few groups excluded from most state legislation and policy initiatives on prescribing opioids as well as from opioid stewardship programs of many health systems. However, little is understood about oncology patients’ opioid self-management practices and potential safety risk that may stem from these practices.

Leslie Carr, RN, Nu’79

December 17 - “I had been working with the Nurse-Family Partnership for a couple of years in a rural Pennsylvania county. The work involved doing nurse home-visiting with low-income first-time mothers, starting in pregnancy and continuing until the unborn child is two years old.

Student Nurses at Penn Host Free Narcan Training

December 11 - Student Nurses at Penn (SNAP) hosted a free Narcan training for nearly 100 members of the Penn community on Tuesday, November 19 in Fagin Hall.

Marshall Scholarship for Penn Nursing Alumna

December 11 -

Erin Hartman, Nu’18, has been named a Marshall Scholar . Established by the British government, the Marshall Scholarship funds up to three years of study for a graduate degree in any field at an institution in the United Kingdom.

€4 Million Grant to Improve Mental Health and Well-being of Health Professionals and Patient Safety

December 10 - The largest initiative to improve hospital work environments to date has officially begun, with an award of 4 million Euros from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program. The grant will support the international partnership of some of the world’s leading Universities led by KU Leuven and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s  Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research .

Lauren Leonard, Nu’19

December 10 - “After graduating from college, I moved to Boston to work as a research assistant at Boston Children’s Hospital, hopeful that this experience would help guide my career goals.

Alumna and Overseer Receives 2019 Alumni Award of Merit

December 5 -

Penn Nursing alumna and Board of Overseers Chair Andrea Berry Laporte has been recognized with one of the University of Pennsylvania’s highest alumni awards as a 2019 recipient of the Alumni Award of Merit. Each year, Penn Alumni presents the award to distinguished alumni volunteers who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and service to the University. Laporte was one of five Alumni Award of Merit recipients this year, honored at a gala held November 8 at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Dalmacio Dennis Flores, PhD, ACRN

December 2 - “It was 2012 and my second time to be invited to the United Methodist Church’s annual Lighten The Burden conference. It was the Q&A portion and I thought my presentation was well received.

Matthew Lee, Nu’14, Gr’20

November 25 -

“The moment when I realized virtual interaction could be more than simply fun and games happened around 15 years ago, during what some long-time players of World of Warcraftmight remember as the Corrupted Blood Incident–where intrepid adventurers coming back from an excursion into an unexplored jungle with their animal companions ended up unleashing a lethal pandemic into the virtual world.”

Philadelphia Foundation Grants $100,000 to Penn Nursing From Robert I. Jacobs Fund for HIV Prevention Study

November 19 - Penn Nursing has received a $100,000 grant from the Robert I. Jacobs Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation  for HIV research. The grant supports an investigation, “Youth-driven Perspectives in HIV Biomedical Prevention and Cure Research,” led by José A. Bauermeister, PhD, MPH , Presidential Professor of Nursing.

Mary B. (Chase) Hall, RN, Nu’65

November 19 - “Shortly after graduation in 1965, I married and worked as a visiting nurse in a low economic section of Providence, RI for a year—a job I treasured.”

New International Collaboration

November 18 -

The Barbara Bates Center for The Study of The History of Nursing is collaborating with the School of Humanities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University to explore the development of nursing in China.

Improving Trauma Pain Outcomes

November 11 - Improving acute pain management after traumatic injury remains a priority for policymakers and clinicians as rates of injury and subsequent pain-related disability rise nationally. Yet, innovations in trauma pain management remain understudied.

From Navy Nurse to VA’s Top Executive

November 11 -

After 38 years of active duty and reserve enlistments, Karen Flaherty-Oxler, MSN, RN, GNu’85 is now leading one of Philly’s largest medical centers—and bringing health care to 60,000 other veterans.

Ellen Dreibelbis, Nu’11

November 11 - “My patient, let’s call him Eric, was assigned to me on my first night shift after he was transferred to our unit from intensive care.

New Online Curriculum Equips Nurses to Lead Innovation by Offering Training in Design Thinking

November 6 -

Unique suite of materials developed at Penn Nursing in collaboration with the Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation is available free of charge to all nurses, nursing programs, and health care innovators.

Quality of Life Changes After Weight Loss

November 5 -

Obesity increases a number of adverse health consequences including reduced health-related quality of life. But little is known about the relationship between weight loss and changes in quality of life.

Kathryn Di Vitantonio, Nu’19

November 5 - “When I was 13, I started volunteering at my local hospital—Newton Medical Center, located in the northwestern corner of New Jersey—because I wanted something to keep me busy and I also wanted to help people.

Fighting the HIV Epidemic

November 4 -

Addressing perceived stigma about taking HIV preventive medication key to helping women at risk.

2020 Barbara Bates Center Fellowships Available

November 1 -

The Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania is taking applications for the 2020 Fellowships and Research Awards. Interested individuals are encouraged to apply.

Novel Research Aims to Identify New Medications for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder

October 30 -

Opioid use disorder and overdose deaths are a major public health crisis in the United States. While medication-assisted treatments for opioid use disorder exist, these treatments remain inadequate for many patients, resulting in a high rate of relapse following detoxification. 

Testing HIV Testers

October 29 -

A team led by Penn Nursing’s José A. Bauermeister, PhD, MPH , Presidential Professor of Nursing, developed an innovative study that employs a mystery shopper methodology to assess HIV testing services for young men who have sex with men.

Rebecca Cross Bodan, PhD, FNP, Nu’97

October 28 - “Years ago, when I was applying to college as an undecided major—unsure of the direction I would take my life—for reasons I’ll never know, I was recruited from a beach town in California to attend Penn Nursing. I was immediately sold on the career as a perfect marriage of science and humanity, and off I went to Philadelphia.

Matura Wins Inaugural Award to Advance Pulmonary Hypertension Science and Care

October 23 -

Lea Ann Matura, PhD, RN, FAAN, Associate Professor in Penn Nursing ’s Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences, is one of eight winners of the inaugural Pulmonary Hypertension Accelerated Bayer (PHAB) Awards.

Ben Katz, Nu’02, W’02, WG’02

October 22 - “While I began my professional path in the Penn Nursing program, I took a wildly different course after college. Rather than continuing to become a practicing nurse, I found my way into finance and started an online bank called CARD.com.”

George Demiris, PhD, FACMI, Elected for Membership to the National Academy of Medicine

October 21 -

Election to the National Academy of Medicine is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.