Innovation

We think of innovation today as relating to new technology, but ideas that positively impact human health have a rich history in nursing. If innovation represents ideas…then who has better ideas than nurses?

Nurse Innovators More Crucial Now than Ever Before

The emergence of professional nursing in the mid-19th century represents the most innovative change to healthcare delivery in our nation’s history. In an era when most individuals relied on family members to care for them when sick, the idea of using a corps of nurses educated to deliver the increasingly complex, technological care demanded by modern scientific medicine was revolutionary.

Nurses are on the front lines of health and healthcare, and this affords nurses enormous opportunities to use innovation to improve health and well-being, design and create new approaches to the delivery of care, and communicate health information in a way that is easily accessible to patients, families and the community at-large. For a profession with a storied tradition as developers of novel ways to advance health and meet ever-evolving human needs, nurse innovators are more crucial now than ever as our nation and the world enters a new era of healthcare challenges.

Amplified Nursing Podcast

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A podcast of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing showcasing the powerful work nurses do each day. Join us in conversations with nurses leading the way in nursing science, policy and innovation. 

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Eidos Transforming LGBTQ+ Health

eidos logo Empowering Changemakers and Accelerating Change

The Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania cultivates and engages emerging and experienced leaders from community, academic, civic and business spheres to create innovative solutions for the LGBTQ+ community. We use social enterprise, community engagement, education, and research to further the sustained well-being of the LGBTQ+ community.

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Community Collaboratory for Co-Creation

Penn4C logo Designing Technology for Social Justice & Health

This Collaboratory is an initiative led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, based on the recognition that technological solutions should be designed with active engagement of marginalized communities with the explicit goal to challenge rather than reproduce or exacerbate structural inequalities as technology often does. Penn4C focuses on the health care needs of low-resource high-need populations and marginalized groups.

Visit Penn4C.org

Upcoming Events

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    March 20 | 12:00pm - 1:00pm

    Innovation Colloquium: The different innovation strategies and toolkits that can be used in research and practice.

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    April 3 | 12:00pm

    ONR Colloquia

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    April 4 | 3:00pm - 5:00pm

    Innovation Accelerator Pitch Event

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    April 17 | 12:00pm

    ONR Colloquia

    Latest Innovation News

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    Penn4C Announces Awardees for Community-led Partnership Grants

    Penn Community Collaboratory for Co-Creation (Penn4C), an initiative led jointly by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) and the School of Engineering and Applied Science (Penn Engineering), has awarded funding to five new research projects that address social justice through designing and implementing solutions to improve health, well-being, and safety. In addition to the involvement of Penn faculty and students, the projects are required to have active and equitable representation of the community in which the project will be completed.