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
Our mission is to make a significant impact on health by advancing science, promoting equity, demonstrating practice excellence, and preparing leaders in the discipline of nursing.
Vision
To be the preeminent intellectual and transformative force in improving health through nursing.
Philosophy
We want to meet the health needs of society in a global and multicultural world. To this end, we integrate scholarship, research, education, and practice to build a culture of inquiry that values intellectual curiosity and collaboration.
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 leads our students toward meeting their academic and professional goals. Our educational environment fosters independence, ethical behavior, critical thinking, and sensitive interactions concerning cultures and viewpoints.
All of our programs—from baccalaureate to post-doctoral—are enriched by the varied perspectives of a culturally diverse population.
The baccalaureate program, including traditional and second degree students, focuses on professional nursing practice across the continuum of healthcare, specifically within vulnerable populations. The curriculum reflects changes in science and technology, and emphasizes evidence-based practice and interdisciplinary collaboration.
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, caring 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 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.
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/.