Connie M. Ulrich

Connie M. Ulrich, PhD, RN, FAAN is the Lillian S. Brunner Chair in Medical and Surgical Nursing and Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Perelman School of Medicine. She serves as Associate Director of the NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health and previously directed PhD studies at Penn Nursing (2014-2016).

• PhD in Nursing Ethics (University of Maryland)
• MSN & BSN (Catholic University of America)

Research Focus:

• Conceptual and empirical bioethics across clinical and research ethics
• Moral distress in healthcare professionals
• International bioethics scholarship in Tanzania
• Empirical bioethics instrumentation development
• Conflict of interest in nursing-industry relationships
• Health policy engagement through nursing perspectives

Scientific Contributions include foundational work on moral distress taxonomy, ethical climate impacts on clinician retention, and informed consent frameworks. She has published in Hastings Center Report, American Journal of Bioethics, Nursing Research and secured NIH/NINR R01 funding for trauma research.

• Elected Fellow: American Academy of Nursing
• Salzburg Global Fellow
• Bioethics Expert Panel Co-Chair, American Academy of Nursing
• NIH Data and Safety Monitoring Board Member

Teaching includes Bioethics instruction for second-degree nursing students and interdisciplinary co-teaching with medical ethics faculty. Her media commentary includes Washington Post, New York Times, USA Today and Los Angeles Times on nursing care ethics.