How To Apply For The New Nurse Innovation Fellowship By J&J, Penn Nursing & Wharton School
The Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellowship Program provides an exciting opportunity for nurses to be part of an initiative that will impact patient care. Nurse leaders can become fellows by applying to the competitive program if they hold a senior or executive-level position.
Introducing the Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellowship
The Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellowship (JJNIF) is partnering with Penn Nursing and Wharton School, allowing nurses to gain unique experiences and a chance to explore their strengths to make a difference in health care. The program is a one-year team-based nursing fellowship for senior nurse leaders, executives, and Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs). It focuses on advancing health care with nurse-led innovation and leadership.
JJNIF is an incredible opportunity for senior-level nurses to collaborate on innovative projects that have the potential to make healthcare more accessible, equitable, and patient-centered.
Initially launched in October 2019, 12 nurse leaders were chosen to participate in the first cohort. They identified and evaluated challenges within their healthcare facility and implemented changes throughout the program.
Nurses in this upcoming cohort can introduce solutions to healthcare challenges where they work to make positive changes while in the fellowship. Penn Nursing and Wharton School will collect data and evaluate the program throughout the fellowship process to study and monitor progress.
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Eligibility and Requirements
To join the JJNIF, applicants must have a team of two nurses. Each team must consist of a CNO or nurse executive and a senior nurse leader.
The titles may differ depending on the facility. A nurse executive equivalent can be used if a facility does not have a CNO. A senior nurse leader can be someone with enough impact to have a meaningful effect of change within their facility.
In addition to the two nurse team, you must also:
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Be a registered nurse (RN)
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United States resident or recognized area
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CNO or nurse executive equivalent and identify a senior nurse leader
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The team members must be from the same healthcare system but can be from different facilities.
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Must commit to working as a team in the program
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Letter of support and buy-in from executives, including time off for classes and how they will support the development and implementation of the program.
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The institution must be agile and committed to implementing changes from the fellowship
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The team must be committed to a full year of classes and travel.
Preparing Your Application
The application process is already open, taking applicants for June 2023 to May 2024 program. However, this application closes soon, on March 31st, 2023. There will be further applications in the future if you miss this deadline.
The process will be competitive using an online application through Penn Nursing, and only selecting 10 two-nurse teams from different health facilities around the U.S. The CNO or nurse executive must submit the application from their healthcare facility as the primary applicant and choose who their senior nurse leader is. They must provide proof that their facility and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) buy in and support the program.
The application will ask specific essay questions for your team, such as:
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Why you should be chosen
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What healthcare problems are you trying to solve within your institution
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How will the fellowship be able to help
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Why you are the right team
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An example of a time you had allowed a challenge within your health care system and the impact it had
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How will Johnson & Johnson Fellowship will drive change at your institution
What to Expect
JJNIF is a hybrid program that has both in-person and virtual fellowships. It will focus on human-centered design and design thinking for real-world challenges today.
The two-nurse team is expected to attend all sessions within the program. It starts with a virtual half day and is followed by a 5-day in-person session at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. After that, there will be other virtual sessions throughout the year and a 2-day in-person session in New Brunswick, NJ, at Johnson & Johnson.
The program consists of working on healthcare problems specific to their healthcare system. Their ideas and projects must have support and buy-in from their institutional leaders and stakeholders for the project to move forward throughout the program. Homework will be given at the end of each session for the team to complete at their institution.
At the end of the fellowship, the fellows will provide a pitch for their ideas and goals implemented in the healthcare field. The teams will describe the problems and solutions they came across during their pitch and present the outcomes of the changes.
Why Was JJNIF Created?
The JJNIF program aims to gather nursing leaders, including CNOs, nurse executives, and senior nurse leaders, to help advance healthcare by providing nurse-led innovations in healthcare systems to make positive changes. These positive changes help find solutions to benefit a workplace environment for nurses and improve patient care.
Lynda Benton, Senior Director of Global Community Impact Strategic Initiatives for Johnson & Johnson, mentioned in the information session on the program, “Nurse leaders know where the pain points are, but at the same time may not have the structure and knowledge in terms of how to address it effectively in the health system.”
Nurses are often at the forefront of the healthcare system. They can see what difficulties are occurring that can harm good patient care. This program will help nurse leaders to be able to structure positive changes within their facility.
Who is Sponsoring JJNIF?
Johnson & Johnson has committed to helping nurse innovators and investing in positive change by nurse leaders through JJNIF. They will sponsor the fellowship attendance and the travel costs for all participants.
In the JJNIF Information Session on March 17th, Marion Leary, MSN, MOH, RN, Director of Innovation with the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, mentions they are “Thrilled to join Johnson & Johnson on this program to help transform health care in general and hopefully the nursing profession specifically.”
Penn Nursing will provide the curriculum and partner with Wharton Executive Education for leadership skills development, business acumen, and change management skills. They are marrying the best of both worlds with Penn Nursing's innovation background and Wharton continuing to develop further skill sets as nurse leaders.
Why Should Nurses Apply?
This fellowship offers an incredible opportunity to gain insight into the healthcare industry's most innovative solutions while improving your professional networks.
You will have plenty of chances to practice leadership abilities, problem-solving skills, and decision-making capabilities—all while contributing towards advancing healthcare solutions. With the Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellowship, nurses have a fantastic opportunity to create meaningful change that can benefit generations of patients and nurses in years ahead.
Johnson & Johnson Supporting Nurses
Johnson & Johnson has championed nurses for over a century, recognizing their pivotal role in shaping the future of healthcare. The company advocates for these everyday heroes through various cutting-edge initiatives and programs, empowering them to thrive and diversify within the workforce.
By crafting award-winning documentaries and handy toolkits, Johnson & Johnson shares the inspiring tales of nurses and caregivers and equips nurse educators with valuable resources.
