And the Winners Are...

When the University of Pennsylvania chose the “Year of Games: Body and Mind” as the theme for this academic year, we said “Game on!” I am proud to say that Penn Nursing took the Year of Games farther than we ever anticipated. We developed the Game Solutions for Healthcare competition. The goal: To use technological innovation, games, and entrepreneurship as conduits to better health. Ten interdisciplinary teams of students, faculty, and staff took their ideas from promise to prototype.

We just announced the winners of our inaugural Game Solutions for Healthcare competition. They are:

FIRST PLACE MyDiaText, a text message goal reminder system for children aged 10-14 recently diagnosed with Type I diabetes.

SECOND PLACE Trigger Buster, a mobile educational health game to help children and their families learn about asthma.

THIRD PLACE Healthy Cities: Healthy Women, an educational, interactive, solution-based game designed to raise awareness of urban women’s health issues.

SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD Mission Reintegration, a discussion-starter game for military personnel on aspects of reintegration, interpersonal relationships, symptom recognition and management.

I am so proud of our winners, and all our teams. They have re-conceptualized game-playing as a path to health education, awareness, and treatment. These innovations could put nurses in the position of being entrepreneurs: That is value added to nursing science and nursing care.

The champion behind all these games is Dr. Nancy Hanrahan, the Penn Nursing associate professor who guided, mentored, inspired, and challenged the school community to develop so many promising games. For any new initiative, we need a champion, and Nancy has been ours.

So, what is our post-game plan? We will take the summer to consider next steps, how we are going to “level up.” 

Check back in September for the next round!

First Lady Michelle Obama Joins Forces with Penn Nursing

I am thrilled and honored that on Wednesday, April 11, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden will come to Penn Nursing to announce a major initiative on the education and the role of nurses in meeting the unique health needs of service members, veterans, and their families. Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden are turning to nurses to identify, treat, and conduct research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as part of their national initiative Joining Forces, which champions wellness, education, and employment among military service members and their families.

Of course the best possible care comes from the best research and our Penn Nursing scientists are established investigators in PTSD and injury science. We have here a critical mass of ongoing research projects related to PTSD and trauma, led by faculty who partner with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the military.

• Dr. Rosemary Polomano, an expert in pain management, conducts innovative research on the perceptions of pain among military personnel and on battlefield analgesia. Her findings showed that regional nerve blocks and epidurals shortly after injury led to a statistically significant decrease in pain intensity and have the potential to reduce chronic pain, a crucial finding given the high correlation between chronic pain and PTSD. 
• Dr. Therese Richmond, a leader in injury science, conducts pioneering research on the psychological effects of injury and how to address those effects. In a National Institutes of Health-funded study, she found that even among patients who had relatively minor injuries, a substantial number had PTSD and depression, which is a precursor to PTSD, a year or more after the injury.
• Dr. Marilyn Stringer, a champion of women’s health, is expanding the understanding of the care of female service people and families in a nation at war. As associate editor of the Journalof Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, Dr. Stringer published a special section on the leadership of military nurses in advancing science and practice in women's health, including gender differences in the area of PTSD.
• Dr. Mary Ersek specializes in pain and palliative care in older adults. Her work with the NIH’s Patient Reported OutcomesMeasurement Information System (PROMISE) program and her leadership in the End-of-LifeNursing Education Consortium are improving end-of-life care for U.S. veterans.
• Dr. Salimah Meghani is working to address pain management in low-income and minority patients. Her focus on racial and ethnic disparities in pain treatment can benefit active military personnel, veterans, and civilians.

The role of nursing in bringing research to the battlefield and the bedside is imperative to serving our military and their families. The number of service people returning from two major wars requires healthcare professionals prepared to recognize the signs and symptoms of visible and invisible injuries -- consequences of physical and mental trauma -- and to develop and implement best care practices to help them and their families cope.