Lauren Odegaard, MSN
Lauren Odegaard is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Science in Nursing/ Family Nurse Practitioner program. She one of the fellows in the first cohort of the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner program. Prior to attending graduate school, Lauren served as an officer in the US Army Nurse Corps, where she first worked as a medical-surgical nurse on an oncology and palliative care ward and then transitioned to a specialty in public health. Working in public health inspired Lauren to apply to the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner program. She plans to begin her career working as a provider in an underserved community in the Philadelphia area.
I was grateful to make close friends within my cohort that motivated and inspired me throughout the program.
What's your favorite place to eat on campus or in the city?
Paulie Gee’s Soul City Slice Shop
What was your favorite non-required or elective class?
Principles of Palliative Care
What was your favorite Penn perk (e.g. access to museum, ICA, athletics, Arboretum, etc)?
Penn Bus/ transportation
What was your favorite place on campus?
Van Pelt Library
Is there anything that you wish you knew before coming to Penn?
As a Master’s student, a car is highly recommended for transportation to clinical rotations (as we may travel to New Jersey and Delaware) and finding a housing location with parking access would be helpful if students are not used to street parking.
What is something that you really liked about your program of study?
I really like the variety of clinical rotations throughout our clinical year. It was helpful to learn from preceptors in multiple areas of primary care.
What's your favorite thing about your cohort and/or the community at Penn?
I was grateful to make close friends within my cohort that motivated and inspired me throughout the program.
What or who inspired you the most while pursuing your degree, and why?
June Treston inspired me the most during my clinical rotation at the Cooper University Hospital Emergency Department. I learned a great deal from her about harm reduction and compassionate care.
