News Archives

Claire M. Fagin, PhD, RN, FAAN, Former Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Passes Away at Age 97
Claire M. Fagin, PhD, FAAN, RN Professor of Nursing and Dean Emerita

Claire M. Fagin, PhD, RN, FAAN, Former Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Passes Away at Age 97

She served as dean of Penn Nursing for 15 years from 1977 to 1992, during which time she transformed the school into a world-renowned education, research, and clinical development enterprise, established landmark education programs and increased the number of standing faculty seven-fold. In addition to her deanship, Fagin served as the interim president of the University of Pennsylvania from July 1, 1993, to June 30, 1994.

Welcome Back Spring 2024: A Message from Dean Villarruel
Penn Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel

Welcome Back Spring 2024: A Message from Dean Villarruel

Welcome to Spring semester! I hope you had a restful winter break and peaceful holiday celebrations. The Fall Semester brought unprecedented fear, pain, and change, and the break couldn’t have come soon enough! I love the new year—it brings opportunities for new beginnings, and I believe that we—as a University—will emerge even better and stronger! It will take all of us working together to make that happen. I hope you’re ready to start anew, recharged and refreshed.

Promising Approaches

Promising Approaches

Influencing health care and health care workplaces through leadership, policy implementation, and patient care takes incredible skill and thoughtfulness. Penn Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program is an example of how to do it right.

Introducing the First Cohort of the Conway Scholars

Introducing the First Cohort of the Conway Scholars

Earlier this year Penn Nursing 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, to support a total of 40 high-merit students over a four-year period who are enrolled in a Penn degree program. Ten students will be selected every year to receive this support.

Starting the Conversation: Implications of Generative AI for Gerontology

Starting the Conversation: Implications of Generative AI for Gerontology

Recently, Penn Nursing and the Penn Artificial Intelligence and Technologies Collaboratory for Healthy Aging (PennAITech) – funded by the National Institute on Aging – invited experts from academia, industry, and government to participate in a two-day (December 5-6, 2023) roundtable discussion to discuss challenges and opportunities in the use of Large language models (LLMs) and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in gerontology. LLMs and the platforms they support such as ChatGPT have experienced an exponential growth in popularity and use in recent months.

Cacchione to Receive 2024 Norma M. Lang Award for Scholarly Practice and Policy

Cacchione to Receive 2024 Norma M. Lang Award for Scholarly Practice and Policy

Pamela Z. Cacchione, PhD, CRNP, BC, FGSA, FAAN, the Ralston House Term Chair in Gerontological Nursing, Professor of Geropsychiatric Nursing in the Department of Family and Community Health, and a Nurse Scientist at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center will be the 2024 recipient of Penn Nursing’s prestigious Norma M. Lang Award for Scholarly Practice and Policy. The award, given biennially to a Penn Nursing faculty member or a graduate from the School’s doctoral program who has made a distinguished contribution to nursing through scholarly practice, honors Norma M. Lang, PhD, the Professor and Dean Emerita of Penn Nursing, for her world-renowned contributions to health policy and practice.

Announcing the 2023 Amy Gutmann Leadership Scholars

Announcing the 2023 Amy Gutmann Leadership Scholars

This endowed program – created from a $2 million gift to Penn Nursing by former University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann and her husband Michael Doyle – provides financial aid for exemplary undergraduate and graduate nursing students, supplementing their education with tailored learning to help shape nurse leaders who deliver exceptional evidence-based care, design research, inform policy, spark innovation, and advocate for social justice world-wide.

Penn Collaboratory to Fund Ten New Pilot Studies on Aging

Penn Collaboratory to Fund Ten New Pilot Studies on Aging

The Penn Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratory for Healthy Aging (PennAITech) – made up of Penn’s School of Nursing, the Perelman School of Medicine, and other departments across the University – focuses on identifying developing, evaluating, commercializing, and disseminating innovative technology and artificial intelligence methods/software to support aging. This is year two for the collaboratory – made possible through a grant from the National Institute on Aging – and it is providing more than $2.3 M in funding to ten pilot projects.

When Segregation of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Threatens Care for People with Coexisting Conditions

When Segregation of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Threatens Care for People with Coexisting Conditions

Life becomes very complex for patients who need to manage pain due to cancer or other illness while still receiving methadone treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Methadone is a highly effective medication for treating OUD, however, the current U.S. regulatory framework mandates that methadone for OUD is exclusively accessible through federally approved Opioid Treatment Programs, with many individuals required to make daily visits for supervised dosing. This requirement places a significant burden on those with competing health needs, limited access to transportation, living in rural areas or in regions with few or no treatment programs.

Penn Nursing and Annenberg School for Communication Partner with Camden County to Launch Virtual Reality Narcan Training
The VRcoLAB films a Narcan Training video in collaboration with the Penn Nursing School and the County of Camden. Script by Natalie herbe...

Penn Nursing and Annenberg School for Communication Partner with Camden County to Launch Virtual Reality Narcan Training

Last year, 354 people died from opioid overdoses in Camden County, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, which in 2022 recorded an estimated 15,407 administrations statewide of naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan. This year, New Jersey launched an initiative allowing anyone 14 and older to anonymously obtain naloxone for free at more than 600 participating pharmacies across the state. Camden County, just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, has also installed secure NaloxBoxes in every public school.

Supporting the Well-Being of LGBTQ+ Adolescents and Their Families

Supporting the Well-Being of LGBTQ+ Adolescents and Their Families

Penn Nursing’s Dalmacio Dennis Flores, PhD, ACRN, FAAN, Assistant Professor of Nursing in the Department of Family and Community Health, has been awarded a 2023 grant from the Hillman Innovations in Care (HIC) program. The $600,000 grant will be used to expand a Penn Nursing-led program that supports the well-being of LGBTQ+ adolescents and their families. This grant is awarded by The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation.

Hillman Grant for Penn Nursing Professor to Study Virtual Reality & Loneliness

Hillman Grant for Penn Nursing Professor to Study Virtual Reality & Loneliness

Penn Nursing, with partners from the Annenberg Virtual Reality ColLABorative and New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing, have been awarded 2023 grant from the Hillman Emergent Innovation: Serious Illness and End of Life program to study the use of social virtual reality (VR) in enhancing the treatment experience and reducing loneliness in people undergoing hemodialysis. This grant is awarded by The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation.

Study Highlights Concerns and Preferences of Residents Regarding Police Involvement in Mental Health Crisis Response

Study Highlights Concerns and Preferences of Residents Regarding Police Involvement in Mental Health Crisis Response

Police officers often respond to incidents that do not involve crime or immediate threats to public safety but instead deal with community members facing unmet mental health needs. In response to this, many cities are experimenting with co-deploying police officers alongside health professionals or deploying teams entirely composed of civilian health professionals.

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

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.

Factors Linked to Racial Disparities in Chronic Pain After Injury

Factors Linked to Racial Disparities in Chronic Pain After Injury

Chronic pain is a top cause of disability in the United States, with the costs of medical care and lost productivity exceeding $500 billion, according to an Institute of Medicine report. Many people who suffer an acute traumatic injury—such as from a car crash or violence—continue to experience pain in the year after injury.

Integrating the Transitional Care Model into Nurse Practitioner Curricula to Improve Outcomes for High-Risk Older Adults

Integrating the Transitional Care Model into Nurse Practitioner Curricula to Improve Outcomes for High-Risk Older Adults

Managing transitions in care for older adults and their family caregivers, no matter the care setting, is especially challenging in a rapidly changing health care system. Patient discharges which typically require prescription writing, discharge summary creation, and team consultations for home care entail more complex coordination and planning.

Penn Nursing Receives $1 Million Grant to Support Nursing Education

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.

# 1 in the Nation

# 1 in the Nation

For the third consecutive year, Penn Nursing’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is the number one undergraduate nursing program in the nation according to the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.

Study Finds Spiritual Coping Behaviors May Be Key To Enhanced Trauma Recovery of Black Men Who Survive Firearm Injury
Penn Nursing doctoral student Augustine Cassis Boateng, MPH, BSN, a Hillman Scholar in Nursing Innovation.

Study Finds Spiritual Coping Behaviors May Be Key To Enhanced Trauma Recovery of Black Men Who Survive Firearm Injury

High rates of firearm injury among urban Black men in the U.S. can lead to long physical and psychological recovery times, worsened by limited access to mental health services. In the face of firearm injury, urban Black men may feel they have lost control over their lives, leading to fear, paranoia, lack of forgiveness, and different dimensions of mental health challenges, which can be difficult to overcome.

New Term Chair for Penn Nursing Professor

New Term Chair for Penn Nursing Professor

Karen B. Lasater, PhD, RN, FAAN, Associate Professor in Penn Nursing’s Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences, has been appointed as the Jessie M. Scott Term Chair in Nursing and Health Policy. The appointment took effect on July 1, 2023.

Welcome Back Fall 2023: A Message from Dean Villarruel
Penn Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel

Welcome Back Fall 2023: A Message from Dean Villarruel

Welcome to fall semester! I hope you all had an opportunity to refresh over the summer. I was lucky enough to visit the Shoe Museum in Michigan, a project of East Jordan Middle/High School’s Shoe Club. The museum reminds us—through the stories of those who donate their shoes—to value ourselves and to value others, something I’ve thought about often as I prepared for this new semester.

Announcing the 2023 Lauder Fellows

Announcing the 2023 Lauder Fellows

The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) has named its second cohort of Fellows for the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Program (LLCCNPP), and the group is comprised of nursing professionals from across the country who will begin full-time studies towards becoming a primary care nurse practitioner this fall. The Fellows will use this unique opportunity to further their education and clinical experience to help solve the challenges they see in their chosen field.

New Role for Howard

New Role for Howard

Monique Howard, EdD, MPH, Senior Director of Women’s Health Initiatives in the Center for Global Women’s Health (CGWH), has accepted a secondary role as Senior Director of Community Engagement.

New Appointment for Inaugural Curator Role at Penn Nursing

New Appointment for Inaugural Curator Role at Penn Nursing

The Penn Libraries and Penn Nursing are pleased to announce that Jessica Martucci, PhD, has been named Curator of the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing, effective August 28, 2023.

American Academy of Nursing Announces New Fellows

American Academy of Nursing Announces New Fellows

Eleven nursing professionals with ties to Penn Nursing will be inducted as 2023 Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN). One is a current Penn Nursing faculty member and an alumna; nine are Penn Nursing alumni; and one has been named an honorary Fellow. All of the inductees will be honored at a ceremony during the AAN’s 2023 Health Policy Conference, taking place on October 5-7, 2023.

Investigators Identify Translation Gaps in Instrument That Measures Nurse Work Environment
Eileen Lake is the Jessie M. Scott Endowed Term Chair in Nursing and Health Policy, a professor of nursing, and associate director of the...

Investigators Identify Translation Gaps in Instrument That Measures Nurse Work 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.

Living Legend Designation for Penn Nursing Professor

Living Legend Designation for Penn Nursing Professor

The American Academy of Nursing has named Martha A.Q. Curley, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and the Ruth M. Colket Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing Science at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, a Living Legend. This honor is bestowed upon a person who has made significant contributions to nursing and health care over the course of their career. The official designation will be made at the Academy’s 2023 Health Policy Conference: Celebrating 50 Years of Leadership, Policy, and Partnerships, to be held October 5-7, 2023. This is the Academy’s highest honor.

Dr. John Barrett, DNP Faculty, First Nurse Practitioner to Join One-year Certificate Training Program in Advanced Emergency Ultrasonography
Barrett, Johbn

Dr. John Barrett, DNP Faculty, First Nurse Practitioner to Join One-year Certificate Training Program in Advanced Emergency Ultrasonography

Penn Medicine’s Division of Emergency Ultrasound is at the forefront of promoting the use of bedside ultrasound. On July 1st, Dr. John Barrett, senior lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and faculty for the Penn DNP program, made history by becoming the first nurse practitioner to join a one-year certificate training program in advanced emergency ultrasonography. This significant milestone marks the beginning of a new era in ultrasound training.

Penn Nursing Launches New Masters-Entry Program

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

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.