News Archives

Forging a New Path Forward

October 21 - Penn Nursing’s strategic plan, Leading to a Healthier, More Equitable Future, is about unstoppable drive, doing more, and forging a new path forward.

Mandates Likely Work to Increase Vaccine Uptake

October 21 -

Rather than causing a backlash, vaccination requirements will succeed at getting more people inoculated, according to research from PIK Professor Dolores Albarracín, the Alexandra Heyman Nash Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor with appointments in the Annenberg School for Communication and the School of Nursing, and fellow colleagues at Penn.

National Award for Renz

October 11 -

Penn Nursing’s Susan Renz, PhD, DNP, GNP-BC, Primary Care Program Director and Practice Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Health, will receive a 2021 Distinguished Gerontological Nurse Educator award from the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence (NHCGNE). The awards will be presented at the NHCGNE Leadership Conference to be held virtually, October 26 – 28, 2021.

Humans of Penn Nursing: Isabel Buckingham, Nu’22

October 5 - As a recently enrolled sub matriculant in Penn Nursing’s Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program, my primary goal for this past summer was to supplement my psychiatric clinical rotation with additional experience to confirm my interest in pursuing the mental health nursing field.

Bellagio Center Residency for Penn Nursing Professor

October 4 -

Penn Nursing’s Julie Fairman, PhD, RN, FAAN, Nightingale Professor in Honor of Nursing Veterans, Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Future of Nursing Scholars Program, has been selected for The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency Program, a month-long residency in Bellagio, Italy. Her residency will take place in 2022.

Meet the Amy Gutmann Leadership Scholars

September 29 - The first cohort of undergraduate and graduate scholars are here at Penn Nursing with a focus on making a lasting impact in underserved urban and rural communities. 

Addressing Systemic Inequities Linked to Readmission Disparities for Minority Stroke Patients

September 28 - Racial minorities are disproportionately affected by stroke, with Black patients experiencing worse post-stroke outcomes than White patients. Racial disparities in stroke outcomes have been linked to suboptimal control of risk factors such as hypertension, lack of access to health care, and decreased utilization of neurologic services. However, it was previously unknown if outcomes for Black ischemic stroke patients were affected by care settings with insufficient nursing resources.

Penn Nursing Dean Honored for Shaping Health Policy

September 23 -

Penn Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel received the 2021 Health Care Leader Award from the American Academy of Nursing (Academy). The award recognizes her incredible impact in shaping health policy. It was presented during the 2021 Health Policy Conference, Healthy Lives for All People: Advancing Equity, Science, and Trust, held in a hybrid format October 7-9, 2021.

New Professorship for McDonald

September 23 -

Catherine C. McDonald, PhD, RN, FAAN, has been named the Dr. Hildegarde Reynolds Endowed Term Professor of Primary Care Nursing, effective immediately.

In hard-hit Neighborhoods, Philly CEAL Outreach Aims to Address COVID Disparities

September 20 -

Through community engagement and improved information dissemination, researchers at Penn Nursing, Penn Medicine, and Annenberg, in conjunction with the City of Philadelphia, are working to increase vaccination and testing rates and decrease new COVID-19 infections.

New Professorship for Lake

September 16 -

Eileen Lake, PhD, MSN, MA, BSN, FAAN has been named the Edith Clemmer Steinbright Professor in Gerontology, effective September 1, 2021.

More Intensive and Personalized Strategies May be Needed for Weight Loss

September 15 -

Modest weight loss can lead to meaningful risk reduction in adults with obesity. Although both behavioral economic incentives and environmental change strategies have shown promise for initial weight loss, to date their efficacy alone or in combination have not been compared.

Hospitals with More Inpatient Nurse Practitioners Linked to Better Outcomes, More Satisfied Patients

September 14 - According to a new study published in Medical Care, hospitals that employ more inpatient nurse practitioners (NPs) have lower surgical mortality, higher patient satisfaction, and lower costs of care. Nurse practitioners are registered nurses (RNs) with advanced graduate education and expanded legal scope of practice to prescribe treatments including pain medications.

US News & World Report Ranks Penn Nursing BSN Program # 1 in the Nation

September 13 -

Penn Nursing’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing is the number one undergraduate nursing program in the nation according to the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. What makes this designation even more special is that this is the first year the national magazine has ranked undergraduate nursing programs and Penn Nursing takes the top spot.

Eleanor Fanto, Nu’21, GNu’21

September 10 - “This summer I am a counselor at Brainy Camps - a residential camp for children with chronic health conditions. It is a subsidiary of Children’s National Hospital.”

New Appointment for Hodgson

September 9 -

Nancy Hodgson, PhD, RN, FAAN, has been named the Claire M. Fagin Leadership Professor in Nursing. This named Professorship was established in 1992 as a tribute to Fagin and her accomplishments as Dean of Penn Nursing and as a vehicle to continue her vision of nursing as a research-based practice discipline with a vital role in shaping the world’s health care.

American Academy of Nursing Announces New Fellows

September 8 -

Nine nursing professionals with ties to Penn Nursing will be inducted as 2021 Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN). One is a current Penn faculty member and alumna; the additional eight are Penn Nursing alumni.

Article of the Year!

September 8 -

The Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC) honors research led by Anne Teitelman, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, Associate Professor Emerita in Penn Nursing’s Department of Family and Community Health, as the 2021 JANAC (Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care) Article of the Year.

Penn Nursing Researcher Awarded $3 Million for Study on Improving Lymphedema Care Delivery

September 7 -

A research team led by Penn Nursing’s Jie Deng, PhD, RN, OCN, FAAN, Associate Professor of Nursing in the Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences, has been approved for a $3 million funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study lymphedema management in head and neck cancer survivors.

Welcome to the New Academic Year, 2021-2022 from Dean Antonia M. Villarruel

September 7 -

Dear Colleagues – It feels like some time since I’ve been able to say this, but …Welcome back to Fagin Hall! It is great to be together again in our home base on Penn campus—and to resume in-person operations. It is my pleasure and privilege to welcome our returning students, faculty, and staff to this new academic year. I’d also like to welcome Penn Nursing’s new additions: 100 BSN, 83 ABSN, 65 MSN, 22 Post-MSN, 10 PhD, 41 Post-Masters DNP and executive leadership, and 28 Nurse Anesthesia DNP students. We have been waiting for you! Our faculty and staff have worked tirelessly to provide the best and safest educational experience possible.

Penn Nursing and VinUniversity Enhance Educational Partnership

August 31 - Penn Nursing and VinUniversity recently signed a Letter of Intent on the exploration of a coordinated undergraduate-to-advanced-nursing-degree pathway.

Humans of Penn Nursing: Sheyenne Gillis, Nu’22

August 25 - I had the pleasure of being accepted into the CHOP Research Institute Summer Scholars Program (CRISSP).

New Appointment in Penn Nursing’s Center for Global Women’s Health

August 25 -

Monique Howard, EdD, MPH, has been appointed the inaugural Senior Director of Women’s Health Initiatives. This new position will work to heighten visibility and strengthen both research and programming that originates out of the Center for Global Women’s Health (CGWH).

COVID 19: Learning About Nurses’ Moral Distress During Crisis Care

August 25 -

During the pandemic, nurses continue to deliver a crisis standard of care, which requires allocating and using scarce medical resources. This care, in the context of COVID-19, an infectious and potentially fatal illness, requires nurses to balance their duty to care for patients while protecting themselves and their families. Crisis standards of care cause high moral distress for clinicians. The lack of preparedness of U.S. hospitals to initiate crisis care standards is likely amplifying such distress. Could better leadership communication mitigate this distress and consequential poorer mental health?

Sigma Honors for Two from Penn Nursing

August 19 -

Penn Nursing’s Mary Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Heather Kelley-Thompson will both be honored by the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma). The 2021 International Awards for Nursing Excellence, Board Awards, and Honorary Membership will be presented during Sigma’s 46th Biennial Convention, November 6-10, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Guidelines Support Breastfeeding During Parent-Newborn Separation

August 16 -

Data show the importance of human milk and breastfeeding for the optimal health of infants, children, and lactating parents. But when parents and newborns are separated due to a hospitalization, current research shows that most sick babies are discharged home on infant formula. While many professional organizations have position statements about breastfeeding, few outline the specific lactation needs during parent–newborn separation.

Felicia Chen, Nu’22

August 13 - “I worked as a nurse extern on the neuro ICU at Cooper University Hospital for 7 weeks!

Improving Patient Experiences in Cancer Clinical Trials

August 11 -

Cancer clinical trials (CCTs) provide patients an opportunity to receive experimental drugs, tests, and/or procedures that can lead to remissions. For some, a CCT may seem like their only option. Yet little is known about the experiences of patient participants who withdraw from CCTs.

Scaling the Model of Care for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder

August 3 -

Data show that concurrent with the opioid overdose crisis, there has been an increase in hospitalizations of people with opioid use disorder (OUD). One in ten of these hospitalized medical or surgical patients have comorbid opioid-related diagnoses.

Penn Nursing Offering Free Online Transitional Care Course to Clinicians

August 2 -

Penn Nursing is offering a free course on transitional care, “Advancing High Quality Care: The Transitional Care Model”. The course – being offered for free now through December 31, 2021 – is designed for nurses and other health care professionals seeking to improve care systems through application of the Transitional Care Model (TCM). TCM is proven in multiple NIH funded clinical trials to improve the health outcomes of older adults coping with complex care needs while reducing health care costs. This introductory learning opportunity connects clinicians and clinical leaders with the evidence to advance meaningful and measurable change in their organizations and communities. Click here to learn more and register. Use code ASPIRE21TCM (case sensitive) to access the course for free.