Jennifer Arnold, MD, MSc, FAAP was born in St. Petersburg FL, and grew up in Orlando, FL. She completed her undergraduate bachelor of science degrees in Biology and Psychology at the University of Miami in Florida. She then completed her medical degree at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD and graduated in 2000. She attended a Pediatric Residency Program at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. During her fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, she obtained a Master’s of Science in Medical Education from the University of Pittsburgh. She is Board Certified in Neonatal Medicine and is currently the Program Director of Immersive Design Systems (formerly SIMPeds) at Boston Children’s Hospital, a Harvard Teaching Hospital.
Dr. Arnold has been involved in simulation education, patient safety, and research endeavors for the last 15 years. She was a NIH postdoctoral scholar at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Safar Center for Resuscitative Medicine from July 2006-July 2007. She has been funded for her simulation educational research through the Laerdal Foundation for Acute Medicine, Cullen Trust for Healthcare, Texas Children’s Hospital Educational Grants, and MD Anderson Foundation. Currently, her areas of interest within simulation include use of simulation for evaluating new clinical spaces, team training, improving quality and patient safety, improving home care and skills for primary caregivers of medically complex children, and developing educational curricula for various departments throughout the hospital.
She has spoken both nationally and internationally on healthcare simulation and has made inspirational speeches on overcoming obstacles for avenues such as the Texas Conference for Women, Shiners Hospital, Sloan Kettering, March of Dimes and more. She has received awards including the Ray E. Helfer Award for Innovation in Pediatric Education from the Academic Pediatric Association in 2008, Compassionate Doctor Recognition, and Patients’ Choice Award from Vitals.com multiple years, the Norton, Rose, Fullbright Excellence in Education from Baylor College of Medicine (2017), the Distinguished Educator Award from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (2022). She is an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, and the International Pediatric Simulation Society. She is on the executive boards for the Center for Medical Simulation in Boston, the INSPIRE (International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research, & Education), OpHeart (nonprofit dedicated to improving pediatric care of children with complex congenital heart disease) and founding Board Member for Ready.Sim.Go., dedicated to developing and disseminating simulation as a training tool for patients and families. She is a national ambassador for Speak Now for Kids through the Children’s Hospital Association (online child advocacy network to raise awareness for unique challenges of children and families in our healthcare system). Dr. Arnold has led two pediatric healthcare simulation programs as the founding director for Texas Children’s (2008-2017) and Johns Hopkins All Children’s (2017-2021) Hospitals.
Dr. Arnold has a rare type of dwarfism called Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia Type Strudwick (which involved more than 30 orthopedic surgeries). She is an 8 year cancer survivor. Dr. Arnold and her husband Bill (and their children Will and Zoey) are featured on TLC’s docu-drama, The Little Couple, which follows their personal and professional lives and has completed 14 seasons. She has also appeared on television programs including Oprah, The Today Show, GMA, Dr. OZ, The Doctors, Wendy Williams, Anderson Cooper and CNN among others.
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