News Archives

Penn Nursing Professor Receives Lienhard Award from National Academy of Medicine for Pioneering the Field of Transitional Care

September 15 -

The National Academy of Medicine today announced Mary D. Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Marian S. Ware Professor in Gerontology and Director of the NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, is the recipient of the 2022 Gustav O. Lienhard Award for Advancement of Health Care for improving the lives of millions of older adults living with complex health and social needs through her role as the architect of the Transitional Care Model and pioneer of the field of transitional care. The award will be presented at the National Academy of Medicine’s annual meeting on Oct. 16. Naylor is one of four University of Pennsylvania faculty, and the third from the School of Nursing, to have received this national honor.

Rethinking Criminalizing Language in Firearm Research and Intervention

September 14 -

Injuries associated with firearm violence pose a persistent public health threat in the United States. The term “recidivism” is often used when referring to those who experience repeat firearm injuries. A commentary in the journal Preventive Medicine cautions against its use in clinical and public health discourse and as an evaluation descriptor for violence prevention and intervention programs.

For the Second Year in a Row, US News & World Report Ranks Penn Nursing BSN Program # 1 in the Nation

September 12 -

Penn Nursing’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing is again the number one undergraduate nursing program in the nation according to the 2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.

The Lauder Fellows: Meet the First Ten

September 7 -

Penn Nursing is excited to announce the inaugural cohort of the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Program, comprised of ten Fellows from across the country who will begin full-time studies towards a nurse practitioner degree. They are the first-ever students in a pioneering, tuition-free program dedicated to building a nurse practitioner workforce committed to working in and with underserved communities, both rural and urban.

Penn Nursing & Columbia School of Social Work Team Up to Educate Social Workers & Nurses about Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

September 7 -

Thanks to a $1 million grant from the Joe & Sandy Samberg Foundation and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) and the Columbia University School of Social Work (CSSW) are developing a collaborative initiative to educate social workers and nurses about psychedelic-assisted therapy in anticipation of FDA approval of this type of treatment. This effort will help improve access to affordable, safe treatment facilitated by a large workforce of highly qualified practitioners.

Do Say Gay: Understanding the Significance of Inclusive Sexuality Discussions Between Parent and Son

September 7 - Data show that Generation Z youth are coming out at earlier ages than previous generations of sexual- and gender-diverse individuals. However, little is known about LGBTQ youth’s perspectives on how or if parent-child discussions at home about health and sexuality sufficiently meet their sexual education needs.

New Presidential Professor for Penn Nursing

September 6 -

The University of Pennsylvania has appointed Carmen Alvarez, PhD, CRNP, CNM, FAAN, a Presidential Professor to Penn Nursing, making her the School’s second such appointment. Alvarez is the first nurse to attain this rank at the University. She is a faculty member in the Department of Family and Community Health.

Adolescents Face Risk of Depressive Symptoms Immediately Following a Concussion

September 1 -

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have shown that adolescents reported elevated depressive symptoms in the period immediately following a concussion. The findings, which were recently published online in the journal Sports Health, underscore the need for more comprehensive screening when caring for adolescents who suffer a concussion.

Investing In Patient Care and Savings

August 31 -

Successful investment bankers have a nose for profitable innovation. In the case of Penn Nursing Board of Advisors member and Wharton alum John J. Rydzewski, he knew as soon as he heard Mary D. Naylor, PhD RN FAAN present early research findings for the Transitional Care Model (TCM) that it was potentially transformational. That led him to recently make a generous gift to Dr. Naylor’s work at Penn Nursing’s NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health.

Understanding the Expanded Role of Clinical Ethicists

August 30 -

The COVID-19 pandemic brought many troubling ethical issues to the frontlines of clinical care, creating significant distress for clinicians, patients, and families. Behind the scenes, clinical ethicists managed those issues to support front-line workers and were integral to hospital operations.

Welcome to the New Academic Year, 2022-2023 from Dean Antonia M. Villarruel

August 25 -

Welcome to the fall semester! This time of year always feels like a new beginning—a fresh start after the summer, perhaps the start of new projects. Even though the work is ongoing, there’s a sensation that something is different. Certainly, as the pandemic continues, we have learned to live with ever-changing guidelines and protocols (more on that in a second)—but to borrow a quote from the singer Lizzo, “I got a feelin’ we’re gon’ be alright”!

American Academy of Nursing Announces New Fellows

August 23 -

Eleven nursing professionals with ties to Penn Nursing will be inducted as 2022 Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN). Three are current Penn Nursing faculty, with two of them being alums; the additional eight are all Penn Nursing alumni.

New Transitional Care Clinical Pathway Improves Health Equity

August 17 -

People with multiple chronic conditions require complex care management and often experience significant challenges when transitioning from hospital to home. This is especially true for people insured by Medicaid who are disproportionately Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and experience higher chronic disease burdens and adverse outcomes following hospitalization. For them, comprehensive transitional care support is a paramount, yet often absent aspect of care delivery that may result in health inequities.

Jane Barnsteiner to Receive American Academy of Nursing’s Highest Honor

August 16 -

The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) has named Jane H. Barnsteiner, PhD, RN, FAAN, a Living Legend for her significant contributions to nursing and health care over the course of her career. The official designation will be made at a ceremony during the AAN’s 2022 Health Policy Conference, taking place on October 27-29, 2022, at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, DC. This year’s conference – From Reflection to Impact: Positioning Nursing Future – will be in-person only with no virtual option. This is the Academy’s highest honor.

Learning Nursing Care in a Different Type of Classroom

August 5 -

Penn Nursing students Aman Uppal and Michelle Tran spent the summer before their final semesters in a clinical rotation at the HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy.

New Tool Measures Moral Distress in Pandemic Nursing Care

August 4 - The COVID‐19 pandemic created novel patient care circumstances that may have increased nurses’ moral distress, including COVID‐19 transmission risk and end‐of‐life care without family present. Moral distress is a growing concern in healthcare with implications for both provider and patient outcomes. However, until now, established moral distress instruments do not capture these novel aspects of pandemic nursing care.

Largest International Effort to Improve Mental Health and Wellbeing of Health Professionals and Patient Safety

August 1 - Magnet4Europe, a 4 million Euro project funded by the European Commission, is the largest international implementation science project ever attempted to fundamentally change hospital work environments to improve clinician and patient wellbeing. Today the BMJ Open scientific journal published the scientific protocol for Magnet4Europe establishing its scientific and clinical significance.

Penn Nursing Re-designated a WHO Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership

July 28 -

The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) has been re-designated as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership for an additional four-year term. As a Collaborating Center, Penn Nursing commits to advancing the workplan of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) related to human resource development and the sustainable development goals (SDG’s) during each four-year cycle of work.

Penn Nursing Professor Leads National Organization

July 20 -

Amanda Bettencourt, PhD, APRN, CCRN-K, ACCNS-P, is the new president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) board of directors. She began her one-year term on July 1, 2022.

Commentary on the NINR Shift in Research Funding Priorities

July 18 -

As one of 27 institutes of the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) is responsible for supporting research that improves health and saves lives. Over the past year, it engaged the nursing community as it developed its new strategic plan. The outcome may result in potential shift in research funding priorities while advancing priorities, methods and approaches needed to solve current and pressing health issues.

How to Navigate Another Summer of COVID-19

July 15 -

Summer: A hallowed time for barbecues, parties, vacations, and visits, and, for many over the past three years, a time of anxiety about how to engage in those vaunted activities without spreading disease. Penn Nursing’s Melanie Kornides, ScD, RN, stresses the continued importance of vaccination and testing.

New Gift Boosts Low-Income Student Resources

July 12 - Penn Nursing has a reputation for ensuring enough financial aid for its students to make an education at the #1-ranked school of nursing in the world accessible to everyone—but tuition costs are only one part of the equation. Thanks to a new gift from José Ramon Gonzalez, W’89 and Christine Ann Soto, C’89 to the Student Success Fund, students in need have additional resources to experience a full Penn Nursing educational experience.

Penn Nursing Appoints Inaugural Executive Director of the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Program

July 12 - Kimberly Strauch, PhD, MSN, ANP-BC, has been appointed the inaugural Executive Director of Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Program (LLCCNPP) at Penn Nursing. This program was announced in February 2022 as a first-of-its-kind, tuition-free program dedicated to building a nurse practitioner workforce committed to working in and with underserved communities, both rural and urban. LLCCNPP was borne of a $125 million gift—the largest ever to an American nursing school—by Penn alumnus Leonard A. Lauder, Chairman Emeritus of The Estee Lauder Companies.

Red Flags and Red Tape Hinder Access to Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

July 11 -

Overdose deaths have increased sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic—surpassing 100,000 per year in 2021. Efforts to prevent these deaths include allowing providers, for the first time, to prescribe buprenorphine through telehealth. This allowance, enabled by a pandemic-driven exemption to the 2008 Ryan Haight Act, was an important step to addressing the ongoing opioid epidemic, but was it enough to overcome barriers to treatment?

Statement on Roe v. Wade Decision

June 24 - Penn Nursing stands firm on its principles of equitable access to health care—including abortion.

Novel Sleep Education Learning Modules Developed for Nurse Practitioners

June 23 -

Sleep health is increasingly recognized as important to overall health, and sleep disturbances and disorders are clinical problems that require diagnosis and management. But when patients present with symptoms and concerns about their sleep disturbances, they often do so to healthcare providers who are not sleep specialists.

Incarceration Associated with Negative Mental Health Risks for Black Men

June 16 -

A review of literature from the past decade found that for this group in the U.S. such a detention was linked to higher levels of psychological distress, more severe symptoms of PTSD and depression, and more.

Penn Nursing Launches New Online Master of Science in Nutrition Science

June 14 -

The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) is launching a new, online Master of Science in Nutrition Science (MSNS) program. The 10-course interdisciplinary program is built upon years of nutrition research and teaching at Penn. The MSNS will foster a formidable grounding in Nutrition Science to support innovation in nutritional management and research and enhance research skills to advance this work.

Study Finds Nicotine-Sired Male Offspring at Risk of Addiction Behavior and Memory Impairments

June 8 -

Parental smoking is a significant risk factor for developing smoking behavior and nicotine dependence in offspring. These findings suggest that parental nicotine exposure may promote addiction-like behaviors in subsequent generations. Given the significance of cigarette smoking for public health, preventing nicotine use among adolescents is critical to ending tobacco use disorder and decreasing e-cigarette use.

Making Meaning from the Loss of a Child

June 6 -

Research by Penn Nursing’s Diane L. Spatz, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN, Professor of Perinatal Nursing and the Helen M. Shearer Term Professor of Nutrition in the Department of Family and Community Health, and colleagues reveals how donating milk served as an important part of the grieving process for some parents who had lost a baby before or at birth.