Director of Harvard Global Nursing Leadership Program to be 2024 Penn Nursing Commencement Speaker

Stephanie Ferguson, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Director of the Harvard Global Nursing Leadership Program and Professor of the Practice of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, will serve as the 2024 Penn Nursing commencement speaker.

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.

Improving Quality of Life and Sleep in People with Memory Problems Without Using Drugs

A groundbreaking study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), recently published in Innovation in Aging, has shown promising results in improving the quality of life (QOL) and sleep quality in individuals living with memory problems.

Wendy A. Henderson, PhD, Appointed a Presidential Distinguished Professor

Wendy A. Henderson, PhD, CRNP, FAASLD, FAAN, has been appointed the Gail and Ralph Reynolds President’s Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and will serve as a faculty member in Penn Nursing’s Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences.

As People Live Longer, Family Caregivers Face Financial Challenges

Many people overlook the short- and long-term costs of financial caregiving, a growing problem that financial advisors and employers can help address, according to a new report by the TIAA Institute and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing).

NIH Grant for Innovative Study Using Patient Verbal Communication to Detect Deterioration in Heart Failure Patients in Managed Long-Term Care

To improve the quality of care and reduce healthcare expenditures, heart failure patients in the U.S. are increasingly being treated in community-based programs such as managed long-term care. Although early identification of patients’ risks of negative outcomes, including hospitalizations or emergency department visits, has been shown to prevent these adverse outcomes in settings including hospitals and nursing homes, it has not been studied in managed long-term care.

Penn Nursing Receives $1 Million Grant to Support Nursing Education

The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) has received a $1 million grant from the Bedford Falls Foundation – DAF, a donor-advised fund established by Philanthropists William (Bill) E. Conway Jr., co-founder and co-chairman of The Carlyle Group, and his wife, Joanne. The couple have given millions to support nursing education and scholarships to address the nation’s nursing workforce shortage.

Investigators Identify Translation Gaps in Instrument That Measures Nursing Practice Environment

Two decades ago, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index was published to measure the nursing practice environment. Although the instrument’s use has resulted in advances in science and quality improvement efforts, its potential may be limited by the availability and quality of translations into different languages.

Penn Nursing Launches New Masters-Entry Program

Penn Nursing’s new Master of Professional Nursing (MPN) degree offers students with a bachelor’s degree in another field an exciting alternative path to a career in nursing. This entry-level nursing program, offered at the graduate level, prepares students to deliver a full array of health care services to meet the demands of patients and families with increasingly complex health needs.

Hospital Understaffing and Poor Work Conditions Associated with Physician and Nurse Burnout and Intent to Leave

A unique collaborative study on hospital clinician wellbeing by teams at 60 of the nation’s best hospitals, defined by Magnet Hospital Recognition, was published today in JAMA Health Forum. The study found that physicians and nurses, even at hospitals known to be good places to work, experienced adverse outcomes during the pandemic and want hospital management to make significant improvements in their work environments and in patient safety. The solutions to high hospital clinician burnout and turnover, they say, are not resilience training for clinicians to better cope with adverse working conditions but organizational improvements that provide safe workloads and better work-life balance.

Pride Month: Penn Nursing Experts Available to Discuss LGBTQ+ Issues

Topics Include: Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative, Policy, HIV/AIDS, Sex Communication, Mental Health, Disparities, PrEP, Workplace Inclusion  Experts Available Via Virtual/Phone/Email Interviews The Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing cultivates and engages emerging and experienced…

Helping Health Care Providers Support Black Breastfeeding Families

Despite breastfeeding being recommended for at least two years, only 36 percent of all infants are still breastfed at their first birthday. Black/African American mothers are least likely to initiate breastfeeding with initiation rates of only 74 percent compared to 90 percent of Asian mothers with a national average of 84 percent. Given the disparities in breastfeeding initiation, there are likely to be equivalent disparities in breastfeeding duration.

Penn Nursing Center Joins with 50 Leading National Organizations to Curb Infodemic of Health and Science Misinformation and Disinformation

The creation of The Coalition for Trust in Health & Science, was formally launched during the 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. The alliance, which includes Penn Nursing’s NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, was formed to unite leading organizations from across the entire health ecosystem to advance trust and factual science-based decision-making.

Penn Nursing Focuses on Achieving Equitable Primary Care

Data shows that unless the pattern of furnishing primary health care, particularly to underserved groups in both urban and rural areas, is drastically improved, these groups will suffer in inequitable and unnecessary ways. It is clear that the primary care workforce must be expanded and diversified.

Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania Partners with Gaingels to Devote Five Million Dollars in Research that Supports Advances in LGBTQ+ Health Start-ups

The Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) is partnering with Gaingels, an LGBTQIA+/Allies private investment syndicate, to provide their portfolio of companies access to Penn’s academic research to make an impact into the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ communities.

Uncovering Sexual Health Topics for Parents to Address with Their Adolescent-aged GBQ Male Children

Comprehensive and inclusive sexual health education reduces young gay, bisexual, and queer (GBQ) men’s vulnerability to poor sexual health outcomes like HIV and STIs into adulthood, data shows. However, conservative ideologies continue to dominate policies on school-based sex education and view topics like same-sex attractions as controversial.

Science Advisory: Advocating for Developmental Care for Infants With Complex Congenital Heart Disease

Developmental disorders, disabilities, and delays are common outcomes for infants with complex congenital heart disease. Targeting early factors influencing these conditions after birth and during neonatal hospitalization for cardiac surgery remains a critical need. However, significant gaps remain in understanding the best practices to improve neurodevelopmental and psychosocial outcomes for these infants.

Better Staffed Hospitals Before Pandemic Had Better Outcomes During It

According to a new study published in Nursing Outlook, the journal of the American Academy of Nursing, chronic hospital nurse understaffing and poor hospital work environments that predated the Covid-19 pandemic largely explain the disruptions in nursing care seen during the pandemic and continuing today.

Understanding How the Perception of Risks and Benefits Influence Cancer Clinical Trial Withdrawal Outcomes

While people with cancer have options to participate in cancer clinical trials (CCTs), it can be challenging when they encounter difficulties enrolling and remaining in the trial. Trial withdrawal, although every participant’s right, can thwart study goals and hamper advancing novel treatments.

Understanding the Expanded Role of Clinical Ethicists

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.

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

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.

EVENT ADVISORY/REQUEST FOR COVERAGE Caregiving NOW: An initiative to address the caregiving crisis in the United States

Join Penn Nursing for a year-long webinar series exploring innovative solutions to the caregiving crisis in the United States. This webinar series is the first step of a two-year plan to uncover promising innovations for testing.

Addressing Systemic Inequities Linked to Readmission Disparities for Minority Stroke Patients

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.

More Intensive and Personalized Strategies May be Needed for Weight Loss

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.

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

PHILADELPHIA (September 13, 2021) – 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.

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

According to a new study published today 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.

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

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.

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

– 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

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?

Improving Patient Experiences in Cancer Clinical Trials

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

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

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.

Structural Racism and Inequitable Pediatric Diabetes Care

Data show racial disparities in type 1 diabetes treatment and outcomes in non-Hispanic Black (NHB) children in the US. NHB children are less likely to be treated with diabetes technology, have poorer glycemic control and higher rates of diabetes complications and diabetes-related mortality than non-Hispanic white children. There is much to be done to ensure equitable care, but as yet, structural racism has not been a focus.

Advocating Reimbursement Parity for Nurse Practitioners

The current Medicare reimbursement policy for nurse practitioners (NPs) allows NPs to directly bill Medicare for services that they perform, but they are reimbursed at only 85% of the physician rate. A growing number of states are granting full practice authority to nurse practitioners. Even more states have loosened practice restrictions due to COVID-19. Both of these reasons illustrate why payment parity is essential.

Exploring an Epidemic’s Meaning from the Perspective of Nursing

An article written almost 30 years ago helps frame social constructs around the COVID-19 pandemic. By reviewing the essay, an historian of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) extends that construct to include nurses and patients, delivering a local and personal meaning to the epidemic experience.

Penn Nursing-led Philly Team Awarded $1.4 Million NIH Grant to Expand COVID-19 Outreach

José A. Bauermeister, PhD, and Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, are leading one of 10 new research teams from across the country that received National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants totaling $14 million to extend the reach of the NIH’s Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities. The Philly CEAL team was awarded $1.4 million from the NIH with additional support from Penn Nursing and The University of Pennsylvania, bringing the total for the alliance to $1.53 million.

EHR Usability Issues Linked to Nurse Burnout and Patient Outcomes

A new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR) has investigated associations between EHR usability and nurse job outcomes (burnout, job dissatisfaction, and intention to leave) and surgical patient outcomes (inpatient mortality and 30-day readmission).

Penn Nursing Dean to Chair National Committee

Antonia Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, will Chair the second phase of the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Culture of Health Program (CoHP) Advisory Committee, which engages a diverse group of experts/advisors to provide strategic guidance to ensure the CoHP meets its intended aims. Her term runs from 2021 through 2023.

Underwood to be 2021 Penn Nursing Commencement Speaker

US Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, who serves Illinois’ 14th Congressional District, will be the 2021 Penn Nursing commencement speaker. The ceremony, which will be virtual due to the continuing pandemic, will take place on Monday, May 17, 2021 at 3:00 PM EST. Underwood is the first woman, the first person of color, and the first millennial to represent her community in Congress. She is also the youngest African American woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives.

Nurse Work Environment Influences Stroke Outcomes

Stroke remains a leading cause of death worldwide and one of the most common reasons for disability. While a wide variety of factors influence stroke outcomes, data show that avoiding readmissions and long lengths of stay among ischemic stroke patients has benefits for patients and health care systems alike. Although reduced readmission rates among various medical patients have been associated with better nurse work environments, it is unknown how the work environment might influence readmissions and length of stay for ischemic stroke patients.

Return to Work and the Path to Recovery after Serious Injury in Black Men

After a traumatic injury, returning to work (RTW) can be a strong indication of healing and rehabilitation and may play a pivotal role in promoting physical and functional recovery. But how does RTW after a traumatic injury affect mental health recovery, particularly in individuals who experience social and economic marginalization?