Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A new century demands better health care education

The Commission on Education of Health Professionals for the 21st century has issued a major report calling for new ways to educate a new generation of health care professionals in a rapidly changing world.

It’s not a moment too soon for this mission. The commission, including an interdisciplinary group of 20 commissioners from around the world, has issued a series of recommendations to transform health profession education in all countries, rich and poor alike for the 21st century.

As a member of the commission and co-author of the report, it’s clear to me and everyone involved in this project that today’s health professionals are being challenged by new infectious, environmental and behavioral threats superimposed upon rapid epidemiologic and demographic transitions. To say that health systems are struggling to deal with these issues is an understatement.

The commission is calling for a new agenda to develop a common approach in post-secondary education that goes well beyond the silos of existing structures. Just as reforms in the 20th century rode to prominence on a wave of germ theory, producing the Flexner, Welch-Rose, and Goldmark reports to transform medicine, public health, and nursing, today’s education of health professionals must be shaped by a new age of transformative and independent educational approaches that include both individual and population-based approaches.

It’s time to seize the moment. Bring the health professional education system into the 21st century around the world, and educate professionals who are accountable to a social mission of just and equitable healthcare, who use global knowledge and adapt it in local situations.

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Friday, November 5, 2010

Two Faculty From the University of Penn School of Nursing Elected as Fellows to The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Dr. Patricia D’Antonio, Chair of the Department of Family and Community Health, and Dr. Julie Fairman, Director of the Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing have been elected as Fellows in The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Drs. D’Antonio and Fairman join the ranks of more than 1,500 Fellows in The College, the country’s oldest professional medical organization. Founded in 1787 by twenty-four physicians, the goal of The College is "to advance the science of medicine and to thereby lessen human misery." Throughout its 200 year history, The College has provided a place for both medical professionals and the general public to learn about medicine as both a science and an art and to work towards better serving the public.

This historic spirit continues in the current mission that is “to advance the cause of health and uphold the ideals and heritage of medicine.” This is done by enabling individuals, families and communities to take greater responsibility for their health; improving the health of the public through service to health professionals; enhancing appreciation of the heritage of medicine; and providing information for the development of health policy.

Dr. D'Antonio's research on nurses as absolutely central to the larger interdisciplinary histories of institutions, clinical practice, health care policy, and women's care work and Dr. Fairman’s research on the history of 20th Century health care and the role of nurse practitioners in the evolution of health care make them both ideal additions to The College. Please join me in congratulating these two historians and scientists on this prestigious appointment to The College of Physicians.

Dr. Margaret Cooney Souders appointed to rank of Assistant Professor of Human Genetics at the School of Nursing

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Margaret Cooney Souders, PhD, CRNP has been appointed to the rank of Assistant Professor of Human Genetics in the Standing Faculty--Clinician-Educator track effective July 1, 2010.

Dr. Souders received her Master’s Degree in Pediatric Acute/Chronic Nursing (in 1996) and her doctorate in Nursing (in 2008) both from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Immediately after earning her Ph.D. she entered a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology.

Dr. Souders previously held an appointment as the Dysmorphology Supervisor of the SEED CDC Study in the Center for Autism Research at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She currently serves as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in the Clinical Genetics Center at CHOP and her clinical work informs her research and scholarship.

Her research focuses on describing the determinants of insomnia in children with genetic disorders and in developing targeted interventions to promote sleep in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Dr. Souders has served as Co-Investigator on five grants and is a strong collaborator on a multi-disciplinary team. She published seven data-based articles, two as first author, in high ranking journals in her field. She also has seven abstracts and one recently submitted publication.

Dr. Souders gives highly effective lectures on autism spectrum disorder. The ratings for the quality of her lectures are quite high. With her clinical background as well as her experiences in autism, she has accumulated tremendous clinical exemplars that she uses in connecting theory and research with practice in her teaching. We expect that these experiences will continue to provide context and will enrich her teaching as well as her scholarship.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Souders on her appointment, welcoming her to our School, and in wishing her a very productive academic career.

Dr. J. Margo Brooks Carthon has been appointed to the rank of Assistant Professor of Nursing at the School of Nursing

It gives me great pleasure to announce that J. Margo Brooks Carthon, PhD, RN has been appointed to the rank of Assistant Professor of Nursing in the Standing Faculty tenure track effective July 1, 2010.

Dr. Carthon received her Master’s Degree in Adult Health/Psychiatric NP in 1998 from the University of Pittsburgh and her doctorate in Nursing in 2008 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Immediately after earning her Ph.D. she entered a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research in the School of Nursing, which she completed in June 2010.

Dr. Carthon studies the historical context of persistent health disparities among racial and ethnic communities in the United States. This interest helped drive her dissertation topic in which she explored the mechanisms underlying the disproportionate burden of illness in Black Philadelphians during the first 30 years of the 20th century. She also uncovered the collaborative community health initiatives undertaken by local residents, social reformers, and health professionals to address the social and health concerns of Black community members. Her work also includes the investigation of current mechanisms underlying the concerns and the collaborations. Dr. Carthon also has an interest in researching safety net hospitals, which provides healthcare services to low-income, uninsured, and vulnerable patients. She is the first nurse to do so.

Although she's just starting her academic career, Dr. Carthon is PI on a K-award from NINR-NIH and another funded by the Penn Minority Aging Research for Community Health. She also served as PI or Co-Investigator on three previous grants. In addition, she presented her research through peer reviewed conferences for which she received invitations. She also collaborated with a number of renowned scholars within and outside of the University. She published six refereed publication, two as first author and two are in press. She also has one refereed abstract, a book chapter and web review in press.

As a novice teacher, Dr. Carthon has given a few formal lectures in the School and received excellent evaluations. She makes her teaching come alive for students by using exemplars from her clinical experience as a nurse practitioner. We expect that these experiences will continue to provide context and enrich her teaching.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Carthon on her appointment, welcoming her to our School, and in wishing her a very productive academic career.

Dr. Kelly Wiltse Nicely Appointed to Rank of Assistant Professor of Nurse Anesthesia at the University of Penn School of Nursing

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Kelly Wiltse Nicely, PhD, CRNA has been appointed to the rank of Assistant Professor of Nurse Anesthesia in the Standing Faculty--Clinician-Educator track effective September 1, 2010.

Dr. Wiltse Nicely received her Master’s degree in Nursing (2005) from the University of Pittsburgh and her doctorate in the Philosophy of Nursing (2010) from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She is one of a few nurse anesthetists with the education and experience that equips her to practice, teach in a clinical or classroom environment, conduct progressive research, and take on a leadership role.

Dr. Wiltse Nicely recently completed her dissertation while working 50% as a nurse anesthetist, which speaks toward her capacity and level of productivity. She has served as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center since 2006, where she works under the tutelage of Dr. Lee Fleisher. In this role she provides comprehensive anesthesia care for both inpatient and outpatient surgery.

Combining a background in both nurse anesthesia practice and nursing research, Dr. Wiltse Nicely, is examining the role of nursing as an underlying causal mechanism explaining the volume-outcomes relationship in high risk surgical procedures. Her research focuses on the importance of optimizing organizational systems of nursing care to improve post-operative surgical outcomes.

Dr. Wiltse Nicely is a co-author on one book and completed a book chapter that is in press. She is currently in the process of preparing several manuscripts based on her dissertation.

She has given effective lectures in many courses ranging from introductory nursing to advanced anesthesia courses. Her clinical background and continued research will enhance our students' learning. She brings great scholarly energy to the specialty of nursing anesthesia and already demonstrated a commitment to our educational mission by volunteering her expertise to the Master's Curriculum Committee as well as to the course directors.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Wiltse Nicely on her appointment, welcoming her to our School, and in wishing her a very productive academic career.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Initiative on the Future of Nursing

Where do we go from here?

There’s no time to let moss grow under the feet of the medical profession. There are plenty of recommendations in this report that could be instituted with a minimum of delay. Some will cost money. Others will require new models to make them work. But the goal is essential and there is no time to waste.
  • Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training
  • Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression
  • Nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health care professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States.
  • Effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and an improved information infrastructure.

In its recommendations, the committee suggested that Medicare and Medicaid should reimburse advanced-practice nurses for providing the same care provided by their colleagues. "When you do the same job, you ought to be paid the same,"  said Dr. Donna Shalala, who chaired the committee on the future of nursing.

Increasing access to care and utilizing nurses’ full capacity prompts such recommendations as changing regulatory barriers that prevent advanced practice nurses from admitting patients to the hospital or to a hospice. The reports calls for the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to review existing scope-of-practice provisions for "anticompetitive" practices.

Is all of this feasible? Yes it is. But it will take dedication and drive to make it happen sooner before the next crisis in health care bursts to the surface. 

-Afaf I. Meleis, Dean University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing


Read more about the Initiative on the Future of Nursing

Monday, October 18, 2010

Initiative on the Future of Nursing

Penn Researchers Role in New Nursing Report
Penn researchers contributed significantly to the 500-page report on The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. The report draws heavily on practice at Penn Nursing and on research produced by a number of professors and researchers. Among them:
  • The benefits of nurse-led teams to manage the discharge of chronically ill adults to avoid revolving-door hospital readmissions in a transitional model of care
  • Nurse workforce issues including issues of nurse migration from other countries and turnover
  • The contributions of nurses to invent new technology to help care for patients cites the device that measures the ability of vulnerable infants to suck and survive
  • The potential for a new practice milieu with integrated teams within a “digital commons”

Dr. Donna Shalala, who chaired the committee on the future of nursing, put it succinctly:

“We cannot get significant improvements in the quality of health care or coverage unless nurses are front and center in the health-care system — in leadership, in education and training, and in the design of the new health-care system," she said.
 
-Afaf I. Meleis, Dean University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

Read more about the Intiative on the Future of Nursing

Friday, October 15, 2010

Initiative on the Future of Nursing

The Nursing profession is ready
to head in new directions


The nursing profession has been long neglected and often ignored. But that’s about to change as nursing becomes an important piece of delivering better health care.

This new report underscores the importance of nursing as an essential component of the health care profession. Nurses are crucial in preventing medication errors, reducing rates of infection and successfully facilitating a patient’s return to health, not to mention delivering health care that may have been handled in previous times by a physician.

But it will take planning to bring nursing into this new age. It will require an emphasis on higher levels of education and more training. Physicians must embrace the idea that nurses are their full partners in a redesigned health care system in the United States.

Among the problems to fix:
  • The federal government needs to develop a nationwide best practices model.
  • Scope-of-practice barriers must be eliminated
  • Better training for nurses must be provided so they can have a key role in a patient-centered health care system.
  • A high turnover rates among newly graduated nurses means learning how to manage the transition from school to practice.

Along with the urgency to retool the profession, the need for a diverse workforce for a diverse society is acute and most urgent.

-Afaf I. Meleis, Dean University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

Read more about the Initiative on the Future of Nursing 




Thursday, October 14, 2010

Initiative on the Future of Nursing

Time to Remodel Nursing

A new report on 21st century nursing gives us plenty to digest and a big task to transform nursing, the largest segment of the health care workforce.

It offers recommendations that serve as a blueprint for the nursing profession to grow to a pivotal role in delivering quality health care. It means improving nursing education and providing new opportunities for nurses to assume leadership roles.

There is no time to sit still and just think about it. The recommendations come with a call to action. Some of them:
  • Expand the nursing faculty, increase the capacity of nursing schools and redesign nursing education to make sure there will be an adequate number of well-prepared nurses for the new model of medicine now emerging.
  • Attract and retain well-qualified nurses who can handle multiple care settings, including acute, ambulatory, primary care, long term care, community and public care.
  • Find innovative solutions relating to delivery of care and develop new kinds of nurse education.

This report provides a thoughtful in-depth analysis of best practices, challenges and opportunities. We now have the directions. The question is how quickly can we get there?


-Afaf I. Meleis, Dean University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing



Read more about the Initiative on the Future of Nursing including past blogs:



Afaf I. Meleis, PhD, DrPS(hon), FAAN
Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing
Professor of Nursing and Sociology
University of Pennsylvania
School of Nursing
Claire M. Fagin Hall
http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Initiative on the Future of Nursing

Nurses Can Deliver Better Health Care

Nurses hold the key to the future, according to the new report on the future of nursing by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Institute of Medicine.

However, nurses alone cannot make the changes so desperately needed to provide quality health care for the 21st century.

The power to improve the current regulatory, business, and organizational conditions does not rest solely with nurses; government, businesses, health care organizations, professional associations, and the insurance industry all must play a role.

Working together, these many diverse parties can help ensure that the health care system provides seamless, affordable, quality care that is accessible to all and leads to improved health outcomes.

But we don’t have the time to wait.

It’s essential to have a sea change in regulations because the United States has the opportunity to transform its health care system, and nurses can and should play a fundamental role in this transformation.

Nurses have the education, the expertise, and the capacity to meet the increasing demands for health care, but first they must be allowed to practice to their full capacity. Nurses’ roles, responsibilities, and education should change significantly to meet the increased demand for health care and to provide quality care through innovative models of care.

-Afaf I. Meleis, Dean University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

Read more about the Initiative on the Future of Nursing 


Afaf I. Meleis, PhD, DrPS(hon), FAAN
Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing
Professor of Nursing and Sociology
University of Pennsylvania
School of Nursing
Claire M. Fagin Hall
http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Initiative on the Future of Nursing

Nursing at a critical juncture: Time for change

A new report outlines a road map for nursing in the 21st century. The role of nurses will grow in the coming decades as more people are covered by health insurance, the report says, but there are significant challenges to making it happen and doing it right.

The recommendations of the report by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will be discussed at a symposium on Oct. 14 at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing.

Here are some highlights:
  • There are more than 3 million nurses in the U.S. And they will be taking on new responsibilities with changes in the health care system as a result of the Obama administration’s new health care law. It will mean coverage for millions of Americans and expanded work for the health care field. Nurses will be at the forefront of these changes.
  • In 10 years, 80 percent of nurses should have bachelor's degrees. Twice as many nurses should get PhDs, and all nurses should do residencies, the sort of practical training that new doctors do, the report recommends.
  • But that’s not all. The report calls for the elimination of regulations and institutional limits on what nurses are allowed to do, including so-call "scope of practice" rules that define what sorts of care about they can and can't provide.
This report is a rich resource of integrated information. It is instructive on how nurses can effectively deliver quality health care and be prepared to meet the demands of a reformed health care system. Implementing this report’s recommendations will offer greater access, higher quality and more cost-effective care to the American public.

-Afaf I. Meleis, Dean University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

Read more about the Initiative on the Future of Nursing


Afaf I. Meleis, PhD, DrPS(hon), FAAN
Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing
Professor of Nursing and Sociology
University of Pennsylvania
School of Nursing
Claire M. Fagin Hall
http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Dr. Mary Naylor Wins Policy Luminary Award from AACN

To the School of Nursing Community,

I am so thrilled to announce that Dr. Mary D. Naylor, PhD, FAAN, RN, the Marian S. Ware Professor in Gerontology and the Director of NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health has been chosen by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) as the 2010 winner of the Policy Luminary Award. This award was established in 2009 to recognize outstanding nursing leaders for their contributions to public policy.

Dr. Naylor was selected because of her distinguished research program in transitional care, the findings that have provided the evidence for quality care for individuals and families in health care transitions, but most of all for her influence on health care policy. She has distinguished herself through her advocacy, articulate testimony at many levels including U.S. Senate hearings and incredible national presence in the care of the elders.

Dr. Naylor is nationally and internationally recognized for her program of research on patients in transition. Since 1988, her multidisciplinary research team has been testing and refining a model of transitional care delivered by APNs in collaboration with patients’ physicians. Major findings from these trials have been published in Nursing Research, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Annals of Internal Medicine, and the Journal of the American Geriatric Society. They have also been featured in national media coverage by the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and Consumer Reports.

Over the years, Dr. Naylor has forged and formed partnerships with leaders of several health care centers and insurable companies are now adopting Dr. Naylor’s vision for the care of the elderly and chronically ill. Dr. Naylor continues to refine the transitional model of care as well as develop evidence of its outcomes for other high risk populations such as clients with Alzheimers Disease and young adults with serious physical injuries.

Dr. Naylor is the second person to receive this significant recognition. The first recipient of this award was Dr. Mary Wakefield, Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration. The award is presented annually at the AACN Fall Semiannual Meeting.

Please join me in congratulating Mary for this national recognition of her policy work.


Afaf I. Meleis, PhD, DrPS(hon), FAAN
Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing
Professor of Nursing and Sociology
University of Pennsylvania
School of Nursing
Claire M. Fagin Hall
http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Welcome to a New Academic Year and to The Many Accomplishments and Developments on Our Home Front

To start our academic year is an absolute favorite among all the beginnings we experience in academia. So, welcome to a new academic year which promises to be a very exciting year that will chart the strategic course for our School and for the profession for the next few years. “NEW” is the metaphor for the year – a new year, new members of our Board of Overseers, new faculty, new students, new administrative leadership, a new strategic plan, new space for our students, and we will soon be launching a new curriculum. On the national front, we are stepping into a new era of healthcare reform with nursing at the forefront. And, a new report about the Future of Nursing will soon be launched by the Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Our School has also been newly redesignated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Center for another four years, thanks to the dedication of our Assistant Dean for Global Health Affairs, Dr. Marjorie Muecke, and Associate Director, Geri Grosso, and all those who have been engaged globally.

Staff Appointments

Among the exciting news for the upcoming year is the appointment of Dr. Julie Sochalski as the Director for the Division of Nursing at the Bureau of Health Professions for the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the appointment of Dr. Eileen Sullivan-Marx as a Health and Aging Policy Fellow for 2010-2011. And, we are named the 2010 Best School for Men in Nursing by the American Association of Men in Nursing. We welcome such an award as we look to a more diverse workforce.

This has also been a very busy summer! The Associate Dean for Research, Dr. Yvonne Paterson; the Family and Community Health Division Chair, Dr. Patricia D’Antonio; and the Biobehavioral and Health Sciences Interim Division Chair, Dr. Jennifer Pinto-Martin, all assumed their new roles on July 1. Please join me in welcoming and supporting them in these important positions. New faculty will also be joining our ranks (pending the requisite Personnel Committee and Provost Staff Conference confirmations) so please also welcome Dr. J. Margo Brooks Carthon, in the Family and Community Health Division; and Dr. Margaret Cooney Souders and Dr. Kelly Wiltse Nicely, in the Biobehavioral and Health Sciences Division.

Board of Overseers

In June, the University’s Board of Trustees approved four new members for our Board of Overseers. Please join us in welcoming: Dan Hilferty, President of Health Markets for Philadelphia-based health insurer Independence Blue Cross; Gail Kass, President and CEO of NewCourtland, a leading non-profit provider of community services, housing, nursing homes, and education and workforce development; Wendy Hurst Levine, MD, Founder and President of Englewood Ob/Gyn and member of Penn’s Parents Council and Campaign Major Gifts Committee; and Ralph Reynolds, W’84, Founder of Point Clear Partners and member of Penn’s Campaign Major Gifts Committee. These new members will bring new dimensions to enrich our Board as we implement our strategic goals within the national healthcare reform agenda.

Office of Academic Affairs

Of course, our Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) was also occupied this summer bringing in a new cadre of students. Please join us in welcoming 91 traditional BSN students; 77 Accelerated students; more than 150 MSN students; and 15 doctoral students at the School’s annual Back-to-School Picnic on Tuesday, September 7, at 1:00 pm, in the Carol Ware Gates Lobby. Our students will also enjoy the newly remodeled space on the second floor resulting from the Phase III renovation which took place this summer. This enhanced space includes a new student lounge, classroom breakout rooms, upgrades to existing classrooms and public spaces, expansion and renovation of the restrooms, and relocation and upgrades to the student computer lab.

Summer Mentorship Program

The Office of Academic Affairs was also busy with the Summer Mentorship program that included ten high school students from the surrounding communities. As an expression of their thanks for this rewarding and unique experience that gave them a taste for the opportunities in nursing, these students completed a mural in another of our stairwells. Be sure to check it out. And, we are pleased to receive the endorsement of the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education on being compliant with the Criteria for Evaluation of Nurse Practitioner programs. We extend our gratitude to Dr. Kathy McCauley and her team for all these successful initiatives.
Many dedicated members of our faculty and staff, under the co-leadership of Dr. Charlene Compher and and Dr. Barbra Mann Wall, were hard at work this summer on the Undergraduate Curriculum Implementation plan. This group is identifying and preparing for every contingency as we tackle this exciting effort of starting a new program in 2011 while maintaining the excellent quality of the current program. Although we acknowledge the challenges that will be inherent in such a change for our faculty, students, and staff, we are confident that this curriculum will be at the forefront in preparing future clinicians and leaders.

Past and Upcoming Retreats

This summer was a time for many retreats; DAG, Board of Overseers, Center Directors as well as many meetings of the Faculty Retreat Planning Committee who has an exciting schedule of activities for our upcoming Retreat on October 20 and 21. We are honored to be having as part of our Retreat such noted national speakers as Dr. Harvey Fineberg, President of the Institute of Medicine; Cy Wakeman, strategic leadership speaker; Dr. Robert Brook, Vice President of the RAND Corporation; Professor William Novelli, Distinguished Professor of Practice at Georgetown University; and Mr. Dean Kehler, Vice-Chair of our Board of Overseers and President and CEO of Trimaran Capital Partners. In addition, there will be many exciting dialogues and activities with a focus on risk taking within the context of the changing face of America, the changing face of social and learning relationships, and the changing face of science. And, of course, the strategic goals that you developed in the spring will frame our dialogues.


2010 – 2015 Strategic Plan

Dialogues for the 2010-2015 strategic plan led this summer to discussions, analysis, and synthesis of the School’s strategic goals for the next five years. The result is one compiled document within a framework of five themes: advancing nursing science and influencing health policy; entrepreneurship and innovation in scholarship and education; local, national, and international partnerships; excellence in pedagogical and learning delivery systems; and organizational excellence and conservation of resources.

The process of developing this strategic planning document was driven by all the goals that the School’s various units and departments developed. Then it was reviewed and revised by the Dean’s Advisory Group, Dean’s Coordinating Council, the Board of Overseers Executive Committee, and the Faculty Retreat Planning Committee. What was particularly noteworthy and reassuring was how congruent the goals and priorities were across departments. This document will be made available to the entire School early in the fall.

Taskforce to Develop Data Systems

Of course, planning for the future will necessitate our having ready access to accurate data. To that end, we have appointed two important taskforce groups who will work this year to assist us in this effort. The first is the Taskforce to Develop Data Systems, under the leadership of Dr. Deborah Bruner. The primary function of this group is to explore and make recommendations on the development of a legacy central storage system for commonly used data in the School.

Benchmarking Taskforce

The second group, under the joint leadership of Dr. Eileen Sullivan-Marx and Donna Milici, is the Benchmarking Taskforce. This group will work with partners whom have been identified from among our peer institutions for the purpose of obtaining best practices in such areas as connected learning, simulation, research support, and IT infrastructure. The taskforce will then make recommendations for how we should be utilizing our resources to stay competitive in these areas. This brings me to a third data related item. I have supported a request from the Provost to participate in a pilot faculty survey, developed by the Association of American Universities Data Exchange (AAUDE), to determine faculty opinion (faculty from the two divisions) on multiple issues. The purpose of this phase of the survey is to refine and enhance the protocols and to collect data to share with schools and with departments. As we are among the pilot schools, there is no intention to include us again when the survey goes to the whole University. Having access to the findings will be useful to us as we plan on the best use of our resources in supporting faculty efforts in education, research, and practice.

Upcoming Events

As we prepare for the fall, we look forward to several key events and activities. They include the Future of Nursing event which will take place from 3 to 6 p.m., Thursday, October 14, in the Ann L. Roy Auditorium. It will feature Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President and CEO of RWJ; Dr. George Thibault, President and CEO of the Macy Foundation; and our own Drs. Julie Fairman and Julie Sochalski, who have been involved nationally and respectively with this initiative and with healthcare reform issues. This Pennsylvania launching of the IOM/RWJ report on the Future of Nursing will bring together nurses, physicians, other health professionals, state and local officials, insurers, and educators to learn about the Committee’s recommendations for how nursing can meet the demands of a reformed healthcare and public health system. I know you will not want to miss these important discussions.

Also in the fall, will be the annual State of the School Address, which will take place on Thursday, November 4, 2:30-4:00 pm, also in the Auditorium. Be sure to mark your calendars now and encourage your students and colleagues to attend. Also in November will be our celebration at the American Academy of Nursing’s annual meeting, where five members of our faculty will be inducted as Fellows - Drs. Maureen George, Nancy Hanrahan, Marilyn Stringer, Cindy Connolly, and Barbra Mann Wall. And, we will also celebrate another Penn Living Legend, Dean Emeriti, Norma Lang.

Finally, although a bit further away, I am absolutely thrilled to announce that our May 2011 Graduation speaker will be Dr. Donna Shalala, former US Secretary of Health and Human Services and the current President of the University of Florida. As the Chair of the Future of Nursing Initiative, as I mentioned above, I can think of few individuals more equipped to send our graduates off into the future of nursing.

Honors and Awards

Speaking of celebrations, at its annual celebration this summer, the American Nurses Association honored Dean Emeriti Claire Fagin, who was inducted into the ANA Hall of Fame, and Dean Emeriti Norma Lang, who received the ANA President’s Award. Then there were the six members of our faculty who were inducted in the STTI International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in July for their outstanding contributions to nursing research – Drs. Linda Aiken, Ann Burgess, Lois Evans, Loretta Sweet Jemmott, Mary Naylor, and Neville Strumpf.

So, this will be a year of many NEW initiatives and opportunities. Now that you have made your plans for the School’s priorities in the next five years, I encourage you to take some time to ponder and identify your own goals for the next five years - those professional and personal goals that will bring meaning and texture to your lives in the coming months and years.

Welcome back! I look forward to another exciting and *NEW* year with each of you.

Emeriti Dean, Dr. Norma Lang Named "Living Legend" by American Academy of Nursing for Contributions to Nursing

September 7, 2010

To the School of Nursing Community,

I am extremely proud to announce that we are able to claim yet another American Academy of Nursing Living Legend. Please join me in congratulating Emerita Dean, Dr. Norma Lang, who has just been named an AAN Living Legend for her life-long commitment and contributions to the profession. Dr. Lang joins many other AAN Living Legends that we are proud to call our own – Claire Fagin, Vernice Ferguson, Jessie Scott, Lillian Brunner, Clifford Jordan, Doris Schwartz, Connie Holleran, Shirley Chater, Ruth Lubic, Florence Downs, and Joan Lynaugh.

We will celebrate Dr. Lang, our newest Living Legend, at the Penn Nursing/AAN Reception to be held in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, November 13, 8:30-10 p.m. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Lang and in commemorating all our Living Legends who have brought such distinction to our School.

School of Nursing is Again Designated as Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership for Next Four Years

September 2, 2010


To the School of Nursing Community,

It is with a great deal of pleasure and appreciation that I announce that we have once again been designated as a WHO/PAHO Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership! This designation is effective as of July 15, 2010 for four years, 2010-2014. Our new Terms of Reference (TOR) upon which we received this redesignation are as follows:

1.) Work with WHO to contribute to the development of primary healthcare based systems by strengthening nursing and midwifery human resources to address the Millennium Development Goals.

2.) In collaboration with WHO, systematically promote sustainable interprofessional education and collaborative research.

3.) Assist WHO in fostering development of human resources by working to reduce nurse shortages and to improve work environments for nurses.

We feel that these terms of reference best capture the expertise and interest of the greatest number of our faculty while reflecting the future directions of our international mission.

There are a total of 44 WHO Collaborating Centers globally. Of these, 11 are in the United States. Our Center was first designated in 1988 under then-Dean, Claire Fagin. It was the second School of Nursing in the country (after the University of Illinois) and the fifth institution to be so designated globally (after Helsinki Research Institute in Finland, University of Illinois at Chicago, Maribor Nursing Health Center in Slovenia, and Yonsei University in Korea).

I want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Muecke and Geri Grosso for their diligence and commitment in developing our redesignation proposal and effectively meeting every requirement throughout the process. I would also like to extend our deep appreciation to Mrs. Silvina Malvarez, of the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO). She has been a phenomenal partner during this time and we look forward to her ongoing guidance and support as we seek to achieve our terms of reference goals.

Dr. Linda Aiken Named One of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare Magazine

September 2, 2010

I am thrilled to announce that Dr. Linda Aiken has been named one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare Magazine for her expertise and global presence in the field of health policy and workforce staffing. She is the only employee at the University of Pennsylvania to be named to this list. She joins the ranks of other noted national nurse leaders as Mary Wakefield, Beverly Malone, Polly Bednash, and Rebecca Patton, as well as such non-nurse leaders as Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Harvey Fineberg, President of the Institute of Medicine, and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations, and many important policy leaders, such as President Obama, Secretary for HHS Kathleen Sebelius, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Please join me in congratulating Linda who is bringing such distinction to our profession, to our School and to our University.

Dr. Julie Sochalski Appointed Director of Nursing in Bureau of Health, by U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services

August 30, 2010

It is with a great deal of pleasure and pride that I announce that Dr. Julie Sochalski has just been appointed Director of the Division of Nursing in the Bureau of Health Professions for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

This is phenomenal recognition of Dr. Sochalski’s research expertise and national impact in the area of health policy and health care workforce issues.

In this role, Dr. Sochalski will serve as the principal advisor to the Associate Administrator of the Bureau of Health Professions and to the Administrator of HRSA on national policy for nursing, research, practice, and education with the overall objective of improving the quality of health and nursing service across the nation.

Dr. Sochalski is uniquely qualified for this role considering her background as the AARP-AAN Senior Policy Fellow (2009); service, since 2006, as a member of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Health Care Cost Containment Council; service on the National Commission on Veteran’s Administration Nursing (2002-2004); and work as a Senior Scholar for HRSA.

To assume this important role, I have approved Dr. Sochalski’s request for a leave of absence (without compensation) from her academic role as an Associate Professor. We look forward to her return to this role in two years.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Sochalski as she assumes this highly important role that will play a significant part in implementing health care reform and that will help to define the future of nursing.

You can hear Dr. Sochalski’s unique perspective on nursing’s role in the future of health care at the Pennsylvania launching of the Future of Nursing report here in our School on Thursday, October 14, 3-5 p.m. in the Ann L. Roy Auditorium.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Future of Nursing Initiative Front and Center at Penn

To the School of Nursing Community,

I am writing to alert you to a very important upcoming event for our School. On Thursday, October 14, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. we will host the Pennsylvania launching of the Future of Nursing report here in our School. You may know that the Future of Nursing Initiative, which is co-sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Institute of Medicine and led by President Donna Shalala, was established with a goal of examining the capacity of the nursing workforce to meet the demands of a reformed health care and public health system.

This initiative, which was launched in 2008, addresses the future of nursing and the need to transform the nursing profession and is structured in three parts: development of the recommendations and a framework for action that will emerge from the 18 month consensus study, a national conference to be held in early December, 2010 that will bring together stakeholders to develop strategies for how the report recommendations can be implemented, and an implementation phase.

The findings and recommendations of the Future of Nursing Committee will be formally and publicly launched on October 5th, 2010 in Washington, DC. Our event, which will be based on this report, will include a presentation by Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a panel presentation that will include Dr. George Thibault, President and CEO of the Macy Foundation and our own Dr. Julie Fairman, who has worked closely with the Future of Nursing Committee, and Dr. Julie Sochalski, who was (in 2009-2010) the AAN-AARP Senior Policy Fellow in Washington, DC working on health care reform “from the front row.” Governor Rendell has also been invited as our special guest.

This initiative comes at a critical time during the health care reform debate, and will provide a blueprint for the nursing profession to proactively meet the demands of a reformed health care system that will offer greater access, higher quality, and more cost-effective care to the American public. To move towards these goals, the nursing profession will have to work with various stakeholders at the national, regional and local levels to set in motion some of the changes that will be needed in health policy, public and private funding, education programs, practice environments, and payment mechanisms. Nurses, physicians, and other health professionals, state and local officials, insurers, health profession educators and other groups all have a stake in how the recommendations are implemented. Part of the purpose of our symposium will be to bring together Philadelphia area stakeholders to learn first-hand about the specific report recommendations and its implications, as well as to begin a dialogue about how we might work together to move them forward to implementation. We see this symposium as the beginning of a process to maximize our collective efforts to improve health care for the citizens of our region.

As members of this community, we all must play a part in and take responsibility for successful health care reform and the findings of this initiative will be a critical component as we move forward. With this in mind, we invite each member of our community to join us on Wednesday, October 14, at 3:00 pm here in Claire M. Fagin Hall to learn more about this important initiative and to participate in these critical dialogues.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Dr. Sullivan-Marx selected as a Health and Aging Policy Fellow

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Dr. Eileen Sullivan-Marx, our Associate Dean for Practice and Community Affairs, has been selected as a Health and Aging Policy Fellow for 2010-11. The goal of the Health and Aging Policy Fellowship is to create a cadre of professional leaders who will serve as positive change agents in health and aging policy, helping to shape a healthy and productive future for older Americans. Supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies and administered by Columbia University, this national program seeks to provide professions in health and aging with the experience and skills necessary to make a positive contribution to the development and implementation of health policies that affect older Americans.

In this role, Dr. Sullivan-Marx will focus on policymaking at the state and national levels particularly related to financing, dissemination, and quality of community based long term care for older adults. Building on her leadership in clinical practice, scholarship in improving outcomes of care for frail older adults, and education of nurses, advanced practice nurses and health professionals in the field of aging and interprofessional care, she will participate in policy making activities related to community based long term care in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Aging, Office of Long Term Living, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to learn how policy is implemented. And, if there is any further doubt about the role of our School in shaping health care policy in this country, particularly for frail older adults, it should be completely dispelled with this incredible and timely fellowship.

We are extremely proud of Eileen and her selection as a Health and Aging Policy Fellow. Her wisdom and expertise will be a tremendous resource for the State and she will bring great visibility to our School and to Nursing.

Congratulations Eileen!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Changes in Center for Integrative Science in Aging

As many of you know, the Center for Gerontologic Nursing Science transitioned in the fall of 2009 to the Center for Integrative Science in Aging (CISA). Under the leadership of Director Dr. Kathy Richards and Associate Directors Drs. Lois Evans and Mary Ersek, CISA has created an exciting new strategic vision for aging science. In addition, the CISA houses the Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence (HCGNE), which was directed by Dr. Neville Strumpf until 2008, when she retired, after which time, Dr. Richards became Director, with Drs. Strumpf, Evans and Ersek as Associate Directors. On July 1, Dr. Strumpf will continue with her role as a faculty member in both Centers, continuing to work with pre- and post-doctoral scholars, and to consult on ongoing projects in the CISA and HCGNE.

Dr. Richards and I are pleased to announce that Dr. Eileen Sullivan-Marx has agreed to become an Associate Director for both the CISA and HCGNE. We look forward to her able guidance, mentorship, and future contributions to both Centers.

I, along with the leadership and faculty of CISA and HCGNE, thank Dr. Strumpf for her outstanding leadership, devotion, mentorship of students and faculty, and for her future contributions and consultations to the CISA, HCGNE, and School of Nursing.

In addition, I am also most grateful to Neville for agreeing to continue with the most critical role of facilitating our mentorship program which is vital for the school.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Legacy Walk on Guardian Plaza

I am thrilled to share that Legacy Walk on Guardian Plaza, located between Fagin Hall and Stemmler-Chance, is now open. The space was formally dedicated by Rosemarie Greco, chair of Penn Nursing’s Board of Overseers, on Friday, June 4th, with the following language:

Legacy Walk on Guardian Plaza

This plaque proudly dedicates Legacy Walk,
a tangible reminder of those who laid the groundwork
for the future of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania.
Built on the legacy of both Philadelphia General Hospital
and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing,
may Legacy Walk be a steadfast representation of
Penn Nursing’s stalwart tradition
of excellence in nursing and healthcare.

Dedicated June 4, 2010

Along with Penn Nursing alumni, donors and friends, many of our staff and faculty have purchased or contributed to an engraved paver in Legacy Walk. The pavers were installed earlier this month and honor many loved ones, colleagues and friends. I invite you to spend time reading the pavers and benches. Being in the space is a wonderful reminder of the history of the location and carries a deep sense of legacy and strength for our future.

Monday, June 21, 2010

ANA honors two Emeriti Deans

What an incredible honor - our Emeriti Faculty and Emeriti Deans continue to bring distinction to our School!

On Friday, the School of Nursing’s third Dean – Dr. Claire M. Fagin was honored by the American Nurses Association when she was inducted into their Hall of Fame for her lifelong commitment to nursing and impact on health in the U.S. Dr. Fagin was also honored on May 16 at the graduation ceremonies for Syracuse University where she received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Brava Claire!

Also on Friday, Norma M. Lang, our fourth Dean, was honored by the American Nurses Association with the first ANA President’s Award for her significant contributions to the advancement of nursing and for positively influencing public perception of the value of nursing. Brava Norma!

Please join us in paying tribute to these phenomenal leaders in nursing who continue to affect nursing and healthcare. I am privileged to have followed in their Dean footsteps. I know you join me in congratulating and thanking these important nurse leaders that are paving the way for the future of nursing.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Five faculty members selected for Fellowship in the AAN

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that five members of our faculty have been selected for fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing (AAN)! Please join me in congratulating:

Dr. Maureen George
Dr. Nancy Hanrahan
Dr. Marilyn Stringer
Dr. Cindy Connolly
Dr. Barbra Mann Wall

As you know, the American Academy of Nursing is nursing’s premier national organization. Its role is to advance health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge. These five faculty members join more than 1,500 leaders in education, management, practice, and research worldwide. Most importantly, they join 35 other members of our current faculty who are Academy Fellows. We are so pleased that now a full 69% of our standing faculty are members of the Academy, more than any other school of nursing.

Congratulations to each of our new Fellows! We look forward to celebrating this great acknowledgement of their professional achievement at the Penn Nursing reception at the AAN meeting on Saturday, November 13, 2010 in Washington, DC.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who mentored, nominated, supported, and advised our latest cohort of Fellows to this successful conclusion.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame

It is with a great deal of pleasure and pride, that I let you know that five members of our faculty have been inducted in the Sigma Theta Tau Inaugural International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame for their long-term national and/or international impact on nursing science. Please join me in congratulating:

Dr. Linda Aiken, Claire M. Fagin Leadership Professor in Nursing
Dr. Ann Burgess, Professor Emeritus
Dr. Lois Evans, van Ameringen Professor in Nursing Excellence
Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott, van Ameringen Professor in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing
Dr. Mary Naylor, Marian S. Ware Professor in Gerontology
Dr. Neville Strumpf, Professor of Nursing

These nursing leaders, mentors, scholars, and role models will be recognized at the International Nursing Research Congress on July 16 in Orlando, Florida. Congratulations and thank you to each and every one of you for all the distinction you bring to our School.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Congratulations to Penn Nursing's 2010 Harry Truman Scholar

It is with great excitement that I wish to announce that Nursing/Wharton junior Gerardo “G.J.” Melendez-Torres has been selected as a 2010 Harry S. Truman Scholar, one of the most prestigious national fellowship awards available to undergraduates.

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, the federal memorial to the former president, awards merit-based $30,000 scholarships to college students who plan to pursue careers in government or in public service, and who wish to attend graduate or professional school to help prepare for their careers. Truman Scholars participate in leadership development programs and have special opportunities for internships and employment with the federal government. “The Truman” is extremely competitive and one of the most esteemed national scholarships for undergraduates.

The selection process is lengthy and rigorous. Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships selects four official university candidates based on academics, public service, and leadership. Each year the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation reviews over 600 official applications, and this figure does not include the students who compete for one of each university’s four nominations. The candidates are narrowed to a group that undergoes a rigorous interview process, then the Foundation selects the recipients. This year there are 60 Truman Scholars.

The Truman scholarship will fund G.J.’s graduate education, which he currently plans to spend pursuing an MSN in Psychiatric Nursing (NP) and Gerontology (NP). G.J.’s current long term plans include a PhD in health services research, with his ultimate goal to work in research, policy and practice in the field of geriatric mental health, particularly with disadvantaged populations. “Ideally, I will work in a clinician educator position at a major research university, or I will conduct policy evaluation research at a major NGO like the Commonwealth Fund or Kaiser Family Foundation while maintaining a clinical practice--perhaps in a PACE or a Federally Qualified Health Center.”

G.J. cites two members of our faculty as particularly helpful – “Julie Sochalski, for teaching me how to ask a research question, and for showing me what policy is, why making policy is a good thing, and why nurses making policy is an even better thing. Second, Sarah Kagan, for showing me that geriatrics and gerontology are pretty awesome, and that asking really hard questions of yourself and others can be frustrating, but entirely worthwhile.”

Many of you are likely familiar with G.J. through his leadership roles in the Undergraduate Assembly, SNAP, the United Minority Council, Penn’s Interfaith Coalition PRISM, or perhaps even lived in the dorm where he is a resident advisor. He served as the Chair of the National Student Nurses' Association Nominating and Elections Committee, and is currently leading the process of organizing student input into the undergraduate curriculum revision process. Listing all of his academic and extra-curricular activities would be exhausting, and balancing this load with the challenges of the Nursing/Wharton dual degree program is probably the most amazing feat of all. G.J.’s ambition and passion for nursing and university life are enabling him to make a difference as an undergraduate in multiple arenas. His tireless enthusiasm and dedication are perfect examples of what makes a Penn nursing student truly exceptional.

G.J.’s accomplishment cannot be understated – not only is this award among the most prestigious awards that any undergraduate can receive, it is a first for Penn Nursing.

Please join me in congratulating G.J. on his fantastic achievement.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

A Race Against Time for Women's Health

Women in urban environments, particularly in developing nations where the population has been exploding, suffer greatly from environmental degradation and lack of essential health services.

What will it take to improve women's health in these cities around the world and even in the poor urban areas of United States?

It could be something as simple as adequate latrines in urban slums, better lighting for safety, or easier access to healthy foods. It could mean designing and evaluating ways to reduce HIV risk-associated sexual behaviors, programs to assist victims of domestic violence and women in prison, or the creation of clinics using best practices with nurses providing the primary care

The University of Pennsylvania, in partnership with the International Council on Women's Health, will hold its 18th Congress on Women's Health Issues in Philadelphia from April 7 to 10 to explore a wide range of issues related to improving the lives of women in urban areas through improved health care and redesigning cities to fit the unique needs of women.

This year's four day conference, "Cities and Women's Health: Global Perspectives" will bring together experts in the fields of urban design, health sciences, health policy, law, social policy, education and sociology to identify and critically analyze best practices and new strategies to enhance women's health in urban areas. The participants will also explore new paradigms of scholarship and practice that integrate environment and health care.

The conference comes at a particularly significant moment. With President Obama signing historic health reform legislation on March 23, poor urban American women should be able to get better health care in coming years. Right now, the report card is spotty for those living in the poor cities of the United States and it is not a pretty picture in the international arena.

There are millions of women adversely affected by civil wars, natural disasters and persecution and poverty. Mortality rates around the world for women in urban environments are shockingly high and health conditions are often unconscionable. Women in crowded and poor cities routinely confront cancer, obesity, hypertension, osteoarthritis, diabetes and depression without assistance or treatment while living amid pollution, stress and violence.

Women often hold a heavier burden due to gender inequities in society and their unique problems are often invisible to policy makers

Bringing about change and finding ways to better serve and treat this population will not be easy. It will require strong will, enlightened leadership, experimentation, a commitment of resources from local home governments, nonprofits and the international community.

But money alone is not enough. It will require new ideas and efforts to address glaring health inequities holistically with creative medical care and public health strategies that include social services and targeted programs for targeted populations.

In the drive for women's health, it is time to ignite the dialogue and then move from talk to direct action. There is no time to waste.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Penn Nursing ranked #1 in NIH funding for nursing

We have been ranked #1 in NIH funding and for that I am grateful to our entire School community for their commitment to excellence and scholarship. Being ranked in the top three schools of nursing reflects a commitment to advancing knowledge that contributes to quality health care and to best practices. I would like to extend my deep appreciation to our research office for supporting and facilitating our research and discovery process and our grantsmanship. Without the incredible dedication of this office, the vision and hard work of our research centers (Thank you Directors), the mentorship within the Divisions (Thank you Division Chairs) and the inspiring work of each researcher and faculty member in the School, we would not be able to achieve such a position.

I am so proud of our School community. Congratulations and lets keep this momentum going!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Blogs on how best to help Haitians

Penn’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy has posted a series of blogs on its website www.impact.upenn.edu, each of which is highly informative about how to reach out effectively to our brethren in Haiti. You may also access the blogs individually:

Haiti & Katrina: Differences donors should know: http://bit.ly/c0tlJh
Haiti: Jump Starting the Recovery with Solutions for the Long Term: http://bit.ly/5E0vhd
Haiti: Getting It There Without Getting In The Way: http://bit.ly/6pNKtR
Haiti: “Cutting Through the Noise”: http://bit.ly/7SEzJ3
Haiti: High Impact Technology for Disaster Relief Giving: http://bit.ly/57nsqq
Haiti: How Can I Help?: http://bit.ly/5kVi1B

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Responding to the catastrophe in Haiti

The poverty-ridden challenges of living in Haiti before last week's earthquake were morally upsetting. There is a sad history of exploitation behind those challenges. The current catastrophic devastation from the earthquake follows on the heels of a previous natural upheaval -- a recent series of highly destructive hurricanes. The resilience of human beings is being harshly tested among Haitians, a people chronically provoked.

How we respond is a measure and reflection of our humanity, global citizenship, and morality. That makes it tough in the current situation where only those who are part of a rescue organization can got into the country, and even few of them can get where they are most needed inside the country.

There are two obvious ways of reaching out: donating money to the bona fide rescue organizations, and volunteering with them.

DONATIONS:

To avoid scams, it is best to donate only to well established rescue organizations, especially those that have deep familiarity with Haiti. Although there are many more with the bona fides, in order to minimize the need for inter-organization coordination within Haiti, and to minimize administrative costs, we recommend:

Action Against Hunger http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/where-we-work/haiti Penn Nursing has a special relationship with AAH through which graduate students may be placed for at least 3 months

American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/

CARE https://my.care.org/site/Donation2?df_id=5080&5080.donation=form1&s_src=171040040000&s_subsrc=redghaitiearthquakebrand110&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=c.a.r.e&utm_content=careisbringing&utm_campaign=redhaiti5080
Also https://twitter.com/care ; also http://apps.facebook.com/causes/191170

Clinton Foundation – Haiti https://re.clintonfoundation.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=3882&gclid=CMe8jY_CsZ8CFdA65QodUyb-1A

Doctors Without Borders https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=197&hbc=1&source=ADR1001E1D01

Oxfam https://secure.oxfamamerica.org/site/Donation2?df_id=3580&3580.donation=form1

Partners in Health (Paul Farmer's org) http://www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti

Penn Volunteers in Public Service annual drive will run from Tuesday, January 19 through Friday, February 5, 2010. Proceeds will go to Yele Haiti: http://www.yele.org/ Collection jars are set up at the OTIS Helpdesk in 213 CFH and in Cherry Sturdivant’s office at LIFE.

UNICEF http://www.unicefusa.org/?gclid=CJr50vDBsZ8CFYNo5Qodc2v6kQ

* Note that some credit card companies are taking a fee of about 1-3% on charitable contributions. However due to pressure from media columnists, Amex and Visa have waived the fee through February. Nonetheless best to check your credit card company's policy on this before donating.

VOLUNTEERING:

We as a school can lead some humanitarian efforts. We can mobilize to provide care after transportation and communication systems open up. We could join trauma teams which the Department Medicine or teams at CHOP or HUP have put together.

Some suggestions already received include:
 add the link to your preferred aid organization to your personal emails, your facebook, your blog, your website
 If you didn't catch 60 minutes and want to hear from medicine on the front lines in Haiti, check out this clip: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6108550n&tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel

What are YOUR ideas for what members of our school ought to do now within our limited human capital resources and while insuring the safety of our school members? Please post your suggestions below. I would love to hear from you.

Friday, January 15, 2010

We did it!

It is all true! And without each one of you, we could not have done it! We are starting 2010 with the fantastic news that we have accomplished our Where Science Leads Campaign goals by reaching $73.5 million by December 31st.This positions us to receive the $1.5 million challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation, pending their final approval.

The campaign total -- $75 million – is the largest in the history of nursing schools and meets the ambitious goal we set for ourselves to raise the quality of Penn Nursing education, research and practice.

If that accomplishment is not incredible enough in itself, I am pleased to tell you that in the final three months before the campaign deadline, our concerns about meeting our goals were quickly replaced with overwhelming enthusiasm and commitments from our School’s community.

Within the month of December alone, more than 500 donors, determined to help us meet our goals, responded with generous commitments. Without you as active and proactive members of our School community, we would not have been able to achieve our unprecedented goals.

Your productivity, vision, participation and support were instrumental in creating both the inspiration and the momentum for our accomplishments. In addition, a remarkable number of you were active volunteers and donors as we pushed to meet the Penn Nursing Kresge Challenge. It is because of these internal and external partnerships and inspiring investments in our School that we are able to accomplish many of our strategic goals, including improving our School’s facilities and environment, ensuring quality education, building new levels of support for our science and practice, and enhancing access for a diverse group of students.

With no shortage of opportunities, the more profound results of this campaign will continue to emerge as we move forward in advancing knowledge and making an impact on the quality of healthcare.

Please accept 75 million thank yous and wishes for a very Happy New Year!