Pitt Nursing Poverty Simulation
Fall 2026 Pitt Nursing Poverty Simulation
Monday, September 28, 2026
9:30 AM - 2:30 PM
O'Hara Student Center Ballroom
3959 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Arranged by the Department of Health & Community Systems, this live-action opportunity is for senior nursing students to gain insight into the daily lives of low-income families and is aimed to expand their understanding of social determinants of health right before their career as a medical provider begins. There will be two sessions from 9:30-11:30 AM and 12:30-2:30 PM.
During the simulation, the students role-play the lives of low-income families, from single parents trying to care for their children to senior citizens trying to maintain their self-sufficiency on Social Security.
After the simulation, participants will be debriefed to uncover their learning and brainstorm community change. The goal of the simulation is to shift the paradigm toward the understanding of poverty as a structural failure of society, not a personal failure.
This School of Nursing-hosted opportunity may help you:
- Advance well-being and belonging;
- Practice inclusive communications, including culturally sensitive language;
- Enhance cultural competency, including knowledge and understanding of cultures and backgrounds of populations that are different from your own; and
- Support a workplace culture that values diverse lived-experiences.
This event is open to faculty, PhD and graduate nursing students, and other members of the Pitt community.
Read the Health Sciences article from last year's Poverty Simulation.
For questions, please contact:
Health and Community Systems
Cortney Miele, Administrative Assistant – cem299@pitt.edu
Kay Ryu, Department Coordinator – kkr18@pitt.edu
Dr. Na Jin Park, Simulation Coordinator – parknj1@pitt.edu