School of Nursing
Penn Nursing offers a number of resources and experiences not found at most other schools, including a state-of-the-art simulation lab with mannequins that respond as patients would, classrooms with the latest hospital-based electronic medical records (EMR) technology, and clinical experiences in The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, two of the nation’s best hospitals. Penn Nursing is a premier academic and research institution renowned for advancing the frontiers of nursing science and patient care. Our students learn from the thought leaders in nursing research, education, and practice who ensure Penn Nursing remain one of the top schools of nursing in the world. At Penn Nursing, students become part of the next generation of healthcare leaders, prepared to care for patients, to conduct landmark research, and to make new strides in healthcare management and health policy.
Learn more about our history: http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/about/history/
Learn more about our school leadership: http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/about/our-leadership/
Mission
The mission of the School of Nursing is to improve health and promote health equity by advancing science, demonstrating practice excellence, shaping policy, and developing leaders.
Vision
To be a preeminent intellectual and transformative force for improving the health of individuals, families, and communities locally and globally.
Values
Integrity, Social Justice, Impact, Innovation, Inclusion, Respect.
As a community of nurses and interdisciplinary scholars, Penn Nursing upholds the values of integrity, social justice, impact, innovation, inclusion, and respect, embracing discovery and opportunity to ensure a healthy future for all. Consistent with the University of Pennsylvania values, we are committed to service and excellence, freedom of inquiry, and open expression. Our open-mindedness and curiosity are evident in our research, practice, and teaching, which enhance well-being. We are driven by these values to be a force for good in the world. We are ever mindful of our responsibilities for the health and well-being of our School, University, varied patient populations and our local and global communities.
Scholarship and Research
We believe that the arts and sciences are the basis for nursing knowledge and scholarship. The former—nursing knowledge—defines empirical, philosophical, historical, ethical, and personal ways of knowing; the latter—scholarship—encompasses research and the integration of research into practice and health policy formation.
Penn Nursing is responsive to today’s health care influences, like evolving models of care, consumer advocacy, demographic changes, and advances in science and technology, and our faculty are committed to pushing the boundaries of nursing science.
Education
A Penn Nursing education empowers students to achieve their academic and professional goals. Penn Nursing’s dynamic learning environment cultivates independence, ethical behavior, critical thinking, and respectful engagement across diverse cultures and perspectives.
From baccalaureate to post-doctoral programs, every level of study is enriched by the broad range of experiences and viewpoints brought by our faculty, researchers, clinical providers, students, alumni and professional community, fostering a richer, more inclusive educational experience.
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program is dedicated to developing the next generation of experts and leaders in the nursing field. The program focuses on professional nursing practice across the continuum of healthcare, specifically with vulnerable populations. The curriculum leverages changes in science and technology and interdisciplinary collaboration to advance evidence-based practice. Students complete clinical experiences in some of the nation’s top hospitals and participate in faculty driven research supported by state-of-the-art technology. BSN graduates are leaders prepared to shape the future of nursing practice, policy, research, and education.
The Master of Professional Nursing (MPN) program is designed for individuals who already hold a bachelor’s degree and are seeking a master’s entry to professional nursing practice that employs innovative, evidence-based problem-solving approaches to promote health and health equity. The program develops skills to build strategic clinical and organizational partnerships to improve health and healthcare through advanced competencies in population health equity, team based care, quality improvement, and health systems change. With entry-level and advanced competencies, graduates are ready to meet the demand for an expanded role for today’s registered nurse to meet health needs of a diverse and global society.
The Master’s programs focus on advanced practice nursing and administration, with an emphasis on specialty and subspecialty practice to meet our changing societal needs. Graduate nurses are prepared to creatively combine knowledge and skills, with special attention given to clinical decision-making and management.
The Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree is dedicated to advancing the discipline of nursing through the translation and dissemination of research. Graduates build on their education and experience to become innovative health care leaders at the top of their fields, improving health around the world through policy, practice, and research.
Pre- and post-doctoral education is set up to advance nursing through research. The goal is to equip students with a foundation that allows them to make substantive contributions to nursing scholarship. Strong faculty mentorship is integral to these programs.
Practice
Nursing is an evidence-based profession that improves the health and quality of life for individuals, families, and communities throughout the world; nursing practice, then, is defined as the construction, application, and evaluation of knowledge and action within our field.
Nursing care must function in both autonomous and collaborative health care and community settings, and Penn Nursing serves as the model for caring in a global and multicultural context; here, we seek to promote health in every part of the world by preparing nurses to be responsive to the needs of all societies. Our goals are to improve and maintain optimal health, prevent disease, enhance the quality of recovery from illness, and support patients and families as they cope with health problems.
We are proud to see our work improving patient care across the world.
Revised Mission and Philosophy approved by the School of Nursing Faculty Senate 2/3/03.
Revised Mission and Philosophy approved by the School of Nursing Faculty Senate 5/7/12.
Revised Practice statement approved by the School of Nursing Faculty Senate 4/8/13.
Revised Mission approved by the School of Nursing Faculty Senate 10/5/15.
Revisions approved by the School of Nursing Dean’s Advisory Group 7/23/2020.
Revisions approved by the School of Nursing Faculty Senate 12/2/2024.
The Office of Nursing Research, along with our four research centers and partnerships across Penn, provide students with resources and support that are virtually unparalleled in our field. Students, from undergraduates to doctoral students, have numerous opportunities to engage in research and work alongside some of the most recognized researchers in their fields.
For more information, visit: https://www.nursing.upenn.edu/research/.
Accreditation is a hallmark of educational quality, and we are proud to share our credentials on our website: http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/about/accreditation/.
Penn Nursing students benefit from a dual advising structure. All students are assigned a faculty advisor and have access to the professional staff advisors in the Office of Academic Affairs.
For more information, visit: http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/student-services/advising/accelerated/.