Nurse Innovation Fellowship

The Fellowship program is a combination of in-person and virtual sessions, and teams are expected to attend all sessions. The program begins with a virtual half-day kick-off meeting May 14, 2025 from 11am to 5pm ET, followed by an in-person 5-day Summer Innovation Institute at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA from June 23-27, 2025. Following the Summer Innovation Institute, there are three 2-day virtual synchronous sessions (one each quarter) throughout the year, and a 2-day in-person closing event at Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, NJ, in May 20-21, 2026.

During the fellowship, participants will work on a healthcare problem specific to their health system. Teams will leave each session with homework to be completed at their institution in order to move their project forward and to sustain buy-in and support from their institutional leaders and stakeholders. While two-person teams from each health system are required to attend all in-person and virtual sessions, fellows may invite extended team members from their health system who can help them identify the problem and develop their solutions to attend virtual sessions as needed. The program will conclude with a final in-person pitch session where fellows will describe the problem they are addressing and their recommended solution.

Fifteen, two-person teams from different health systems across the United States will be selected as fellows through a competitive process using an online application. Each team will be composed of a CNO or nurse executive, and a senior nurse leader.

The application will be submitted by the CNO/nurse executive from a hospital or health system who will serve as the primary applicant. The CNO/nurse executive will choose another senior nurse leader from their hospital or health system to complete the team. Evidence of health system buy-in and support from the Chief Executive Officer is required. The fellows will be selected by Penn Nursing based on the criteria below.