YSN Strategic Plan 2026-2031
Leading Nursing.
Transforming Health and Health Care.
The health care landscape is shifting at a pace that demands more than an incremental response from academic nursing. A decisive movement from treatment toward prevention and lifelong wellness is underway, accelerated by workforce reconfiguration, demographic change, technological disruption, widening inequities, and climate-driven health challenges. The institutions that will lead are those that act now — with clarity, discipline, and ambition — to put prevention and wellness at the center of care.
Yale School of Nursing (YSN) enters the 2026–2031 strategic period with a commitment to leading this shift. This plan commits to a well-defined path that includes measurable goals, aligned resources, credible accountability, and a sharply defined external identity that positions YSN as an indispensable force in prevention-oriented, wellness-centered nursing education, science, and leadership.
Why Now: A Pivotal Moment
Higher education is at a pivotal moment. Nursing is at a pivotal moment. Health care is at a pivotal moment.
Today's challenges require creativity, flexibility, and a bold vision for how nursing education can shape the future of health. National and Connecticut nursing shortages, persistent nurse faculty vacancies, and newly instituted federal loan limits that exclude nursing from "professional degree" status create urgent risks for workforce development, educational access, and population health. These pressures are especially consequential as nurses remain central to prevention, wellness, chronic disease management, aging care, behavioral health, and community-based systems transformation.
Health care is not what it was 50, 40, or even 5 years ago. Neither is nursing education. We cannot succeed by relying only on what we have always done. YSN must imagine, design, and lead new models of education, scholarship, partnership, and practice that prepare nurses to advance health, prevent disease, strengthen communities, and transform systems.
For these reasons, this strategic plan is not a static roadmap. It is a call to transformation and collective action.
Vision
A world in which better health for all people is achieved as a human right, and nurses are empowered to lead transformative practice, advance health and wellness, strengthen communities, and uphold dignity across the lifespan.
Mission
YSN prepares nurses to lead through excellence in education, research, clinical practice, and innovation. We educate nurses, generate knowledge, and partner with communities and health systems to address complex local and global health challenges.
The Charge
Advance public trust through transparency, reciprocal community partnership, and demonstrable accountability — translating YSN’s five scholarly areas of focus into measurable benefit for the communities the School serves.
Our Values
Excellence
Respect
Integrity
Curiosity
Sustainability
Courage
Strategic Priorities
1
Leadership and Impact
Advancing YSN as a global force in education, science, practice, innovation, and policy
YSN will lead nationally and globally at the intersection of precision wellness, nursing science, prevention, policy, and health systems transformation. Across its six scholarly areas of focus, YSN will prepare nurses to design, evaluate, and scale personalized, prevention-oriented, equity-centered models of care.
2
Shared Purpose, Governance & Accountability
Implementing and sustaining the operating architecture for a mission-driven academic enterprise
YSN has established a strong foundation for shared governance, strategic planning, and institutional accountability. The next phase will focus on disciplined implementation, continuous improvement, transparent communication, and sustained engagement. Through clear decision pathways and meaningful opportunities for participation, faculty, staff, and students will understand how decisions are made, see how their perspectives inform institutional priorities, and contribute actively to the School's success.
3
Sustainability & Agility
Building a resilient, innovative, and globally connected academic enterprise
YSN will be known as the next-generation academic enterprise that combines educational excellence, scientific innovation, operational agility, and long-term financial resilience. As healthcare, workforce, and higher education landscapes evolve, the School will strengthen its capacity to anticipate change, adapt rapidly, and invest strategically in the people, programs, and partnerships that advance its mission.
4
Thriving & Inclusive Community
Cultivating the people, partnerships, and culture that make excellence possible
YSN recognizes that institutional excellence is built on the well-being, engagement, and success of its people. The School will foster a culture in which faculty, staff, students, alumni, preceptors, and community partners are valued contributors to a shared mission and are empowered to thrive personally and professionally.