Nursing | Penn Today

‘This is something that we weren’t taught’: How a brand-new nurse learned to treat an unknown disease

Linda Aiken of the School of Nursing said short staffing in hospitals has been exacerbated by the pandemic. “Chronic understaffing in hospitals and chaotic and inefficient work environments put nurses in a very poor position to be able to respond to the COVID surge because they were already reaching deep inside themselves in the normal context of care,” she said.

African American woman breastfeeding a newborn baby on a couch.

Addressing breastfeeding disparities for African American mothers

Despite an abundance of data on the importance of breastfeeding and human milk for babies and their mothers, a disparity exists for African American mothers and infants, where breastfeeding is initiated only about 69% of the time.

College student’s simple invention helps nurses work and patients rest

Anthony Scarpone-Lambert, a senior in the School of Nursing, collaborated with a nurse to invent a wearable LED that nurses can use to illuminate their work without waking sleeping patients. “I would say it’s been through COVID that this kind of innovation came to life,” he said. “It highlights the really important message that frontline health care workers and patients really deserve more support now more than ever.”

Outline of a human brain made up of healthy, nutritious food.

Dietary adherence and the fight against obesity

While eating less and moving more are the basics of weight control and obesity treatment, finding ways to help people adhere to a weight-loss regimen is more complicated.

Young person sitting at a table, leaning chin on crossed arms, wearing a mask. There are books, colored pencils, an abacus, a notepad and more scattered around.

Children, the pandemic, and long-term mental health consequences

New work from Penn Nursing and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia describes the importance of recognizing COVID-19’s psychological effects on young people and the pivotal role pediatric nurses in all settings can play.

Teen driver looking out the driver’s side window of a car in the rain.

Nearly half of young drivers resume driving just weeks after a concussion

New research finds that nearly half of adolescents who sought specialty care for a concussion were back to driving when asked approximately two weeks after the injury, even though few had returned to exercise and sports.

Newborn baby with finger in its mouth swaddled in a blanket.

Toward more optimal birth outcomes

A new study from Penn Nursing is the first to assess hospital vaginal birth rates rather than cesarean rates, which can further quality improvement initiatives that focus on encouraging vaginal birth rather than on decreasing the cesarean birth rate.

Novel anti-craving mechanism discovered to treat cocaine relapse

New research from School of Nursing has discovered that certain biological chemicals are expressed on specific cell types and neural circuits in the brain that reduce cocaine-seeking behavior.

Teenager sitting in waiting room of a clinic wearing a face mask.

Increasing HPV vaccine uptake in adolescents

More than 90% of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers could be prevented by widespread uptake of the HPV vaccine. Yet, vaccine use in the United States falls short of public health goals.

A home health aid wearing a face mask uses an oximeter on an elderly patient at home.

Home health care improves COVID-19 outcomes

Survivors of COVID-19 often have health ramifications from their illness and hospital stay, and until now, no data has been available on the outcomes of COVID-19 patients discharged home after hospitalization and their recovery needs.

Filters