Proof of the Power of Nursing

Right now, the Penn community is asking the question: How do we know that what we know is true? It is the year of proof.

With this University-wide theme, we welcomed our students and faculty to the new academic year.

On Thursday, October 18, we will honor proof in action. Dr. Terri Lipman, an expert in children with diabetes and endocrine disorders, will receive the inaugural Norma M. Lang Distinguished Award for Scholarly Practice and Policy. The award recognizes Dr. Lang, dean emerita, who had a pioneering role in demonstrating the importance of proof in nursing. Of the impact of nursing, she famously said: “If we cannot name it, we cannot control it, finance it, research it, teach it, or put it into public policy.”

Dr. Lang is an architect of healthcare quality and informatics. This field revolutionized healthcare by developing standardized terminology, classifications, quality assurance, and outcome measures for the work of nurses. The application of informatics to nursing yields a structure for information, clinical decision support, and measurement that reinforces the innumerable contributions nurses make every day to patients, families, and communities. Dr. Lang’s innovative work in quality and informatics has transformed nursing practice and healthcare around the world.

Dr. Lipman, the Miriam Stirl Endowed Term Professor for Nutrition, is internationally recognized for her research and for applying evidence-based practice to children’s health. She maintains the Philadelphia Pediatric Diabetes Registry, part of a consortium of 150 centers in 70 countries and the only one in the U.S. The registry has demonstrated a high incidence of Type 1 diabetes in African American and Latino children.

Dr. Lipman addresses that disparity through community-based participatory research with Sayre High School and the Bernett Johnson Sayre Health Center in West Philadelphia to assess and improve physical activity through dance. Supported by Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships, the “Dance for Health” program aims to increase children’s activity through dance classes and to lower their risk for obesity, a key factor in Type 2 diabetes.

Clearly, the innovation and leadership of Dr. Lipman and Dr. Lang are proof of the power of nursing science. What are your experiences and stories of this proof?