Advancing Science and Delivering Solutions

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?

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.

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 before as our nation and the world enter a new era of health care challenges.

Our Strategic Priorities

Commit to being at the vanguard of research in Precision Science, Data Science, and Implementation Science with an explicit purpose of achieving health equity.
Create an innovation ecosystem in which we develop solutions to challenging problems, cultivate and grow innovation partners, test innovations to improve health and outcomes of health care, and prepare the next generation of nurse innovators.

The Path Forward

Innovation is an evergreen priority for the School — across areas of research, education and practice — and woven into the fabric of our core mission and vision. Goal - $15M over five years.

The Penn Nursing I-Hub: The Penn Nursing I-Hub will be solely dedicated to integrating innovation across research, education, and clinical practice, and co-creating solutions to vexing problems with partners in the community. Emerging innovative methodologies will be disseminated and taught to diverse audiences, from faculty and students to community partners.

What follows are examples of how each of its equally impactful areas may be funded as part of the whole, or via individual investments in a specific area.

Talent

To expand its reach, functionality, and impact, innovation at Nursing requires investments for infrastructure, such as endowing/naming the Innovation Director position and support for key projects.

Immersion For Students

Immersing students in learning how to innovate in practice, via interactive course instruction, simulation, and clinical sessions, requires dedicated resources.

Elevate Innovation

We will continue to host events such as the annual Story Slam, the Innovation Accelerator Event, and others that evolve in support of innovation.

Faculty Development and Research

Faculty are among our most valuable stakeholders, supporting the School’s innovation mission by preparing students. Fellowships, accelerators, and pilot grant programs will best support them.

Social Justice Collaboratory

Led by faculty from Nursing and Engineering, this interdisciplinary project works with the community to develop interventions and solutions to critical social justice issues. Sample Giving Opportunity: a Social Justice Accelerator Fund to support the design and implementation of person-centered technologies.