4/22
Nursing
Moving past conflation of race and genetics
Race is not genetic. Race is a social and political construct. However, the conflation of race and genetics is one way that racism persists in medicine and research.
Addressing systemic inequities linked to readmission for minority stroke patients
Racial minorities are disproportionately affected by stroke. A new study reveals readmissions between Black and white stroke patients may be linked to the level of nurse staffing in the hospitals where they receive care.
Penn Libraries opens newly renovated Biotech Commons
The Penn Libraries has transformed its former Biomedical Library into a newly renovated space with a new name, the Biotech Commons.
More intensive and personalized strategies may be needed for weight loss
In a two-year randomized clinical trial, researchers investigated whether financial incentives and environmental change strategies, together or separately, help employed adults with obesity lose weight and keep it off.
Hospitals with more nurses linked to better outcomes, more satisfied patients
According to a new study published in Medical Care, hospitals that employ more inpatient nurse practitioners have lower surgical mortality, higher patient satisfaction, and lower costs of care.
COVID-19 presents an understanding of nurses’ moral distress during crisis care
Researchers from the School of Nursing found that effective leadership and communication reduced moral distress for nurses providing patients with crisis care during the pandemic.
Guidelines support breastfeeding during parent-newborn separation
A team of scientists led by a researcher from the School of Nursing has established a new clinical practice guideline using an evidence-based approach to support lactation when parents and newborns are separated due to a hospitalization.
Improving patient experiences in cancer clinical trials
Cancer clinical trials (CCTs) provide patients an opportunity to receive experimental drugs, tests, and/or procedures that can lead to remissions. For some, a CCT may seem like their only option. Yet little is known about the experiences of patient participants who withdraw from CCTs.
Mentorship an ‘essential ingredient’ for nursing Ph.D. students
A new School of Nursing initiative places doctoral students into small peer-mentorship groups. The researchers who implemented this found it offers an important supplement to one-on-one peer support and faculty advising.
Scaling the model of care for patients with opioid use disorder
Data show that concurrent with the opioid overdose crisis, there has been an increase in hospitalizations of people with opioid use disorder. One in ten of these hospitalized medical or surgical patients have comorbid opioid-related diagnoses.
In the News
UPenn hosts free online panel for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion
The Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative, led by José Bauermeister and Jessica Halem of the School of Nursing, will host a free online panel in April on the integration of LGBTQ+ people in the workforce.
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Mayor Parker’s plan to ‘remove the presence of drug users’ from Kensington raises new questions
Shoshana Aronowitz of the School of Nursing and Ashish Thakrar of the Perelman School of Medicine comment on the lack of specificity in Philadelphia’s plan to remove drug users from Kensington and on the current state of drug treatment in the city.
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After his wife died, he joined nurses to push for new staffing rules in hospitals
Karen Lasater of the School of Nursing and Leonard Davis Institute says that the nursing shortage crisis is rooted in unsafe staffing ratios at hospitals.
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Mourning the loss of Dr. Claire Fagin and recognizing her impact on the field of nursing
The directors of the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Nursing Research recognize the significant contributions of the late Claire M. Fagin on the field of nursing.
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When is the best time to take L-theanine—morning or night?
According to Colleen Tewksbury of the School of Nursing, research suggests that L-theanine may help support stress management, sleep, and potentially weight management.
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Claire Fagin, renowned nurse and researcher who led UPenn, dies at 97
Claire M. Fagin, who helped reshape the nursing profession as a clinician, researcher, educator and advocate, and who stepped away from teaching to become one of the first women to lead an Ivy League institution, the University of Pennsylvania, died Jan. 16 at her home in Manhattan. She was 97.
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