Renee Denise Boss, M.D., M.H.S.

Headshot of Renee Denise Boss
  • Associate Professor, Rembrandt Foundation Professor of Pediatric Palliative Care
  • Professor of Pediatrics
Female

Languages: English, Spanish

Expertise

Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Neonatology

Research Interests

Critical care neonatology; Clinician-to-parent communication; Neonatal palliative care ...read more

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Insurance Information

Main Phone

Outside of Maryland & Washington D.C.

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Locations

The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Main Entrance)

Appointment Phone: 410-955-5259
1800 Orleans St.
Sheikh Zayed Tower
Baltimore, MD 21287
The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Main Entrance) - Google Maps

Johns Hopkins Pediatrics

Appointment Phone: 410-955-5210
200 N. Wolfe Street
Rubenstein Child Health Building
Baltimore, MD 21287
Johns Hopkins Pediatrics - Google Maps

Background

Dr. Renee Boss is the Rembrandt Foundation Professor of Pediatric Palliative Care and an associate professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is also core faculty at the Berman Institute of Bioethics.  Her areas of clinical expertise are neonatology, pediatric palliative care, and bioethics. Dr. Boss's research focuses on family-clinician communication and decision-making related to serious pediatric illness. She has published more than 100 articles and chapters on these topics, and her research has been funded by the NIH and the National Palliative Care Research Center.  

After receiving her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine, Dr. Boss completed her residency in pediatrics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. She performed her neonatology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Dr. Boss is a member of the Executive Committee of the Section of Hospice and Palliative Medicine at the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

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Titles

  • Associate Professor, Rembrandt Foundation Professor of Pediatric Palliative Care
  • Professor of Pediatrics

Departments / Divisions

Centers & Institutes

Education

Degrees

  • MD; Boston University Medical Center (2000)

Residencies

  • Pediatrics; University of Arizona College of Medicine (2004)

Fellowships

  • Neonatology; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2007)

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Pediatrics (Hospice and Palliative Care) (2010)
  • American Board of Pediatrics (Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine) (2010)
  • American Board of Pediatrics (Pediatrics) (2003)

Research & Publications

Research Summary

Dr. Renee Boss conducts communication research in the area of neonatal bioethics and decision making for high-risk newborns. She leads the multicenter Pediatric Chronic Critical Illness Working Group, focused on the needs of medically complex children with repeated and prolonged hospitalizations. She has had funding from the National Palliative Care Research Center to create a video decision-aid for families of infants who may need long-term home ventilation.  She has recent funding by three separate Johns Hopkins Children's Center Innovation Awards, all directed at improving care for infants and children who are chronically critically ill.  These projects include creating a home visit program for families going home with medical technology, a staff communication skills course to help families of children who are in the ICU for prolonged periods, and modifying ICU care approaches for long-stay patients.  Dr. Boss is also Faculty at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute for Bioethics and co-directs the Hecht-Levi Fellowship in Bioethics.

Selected Publications

Boss RD, Geller G, Donohue PK. “Conflicts in Learning to Care for Critically Ill Newborns: ‘It Makes Me Question My Own Morals.’” Journal of Bioethical Inquiry. 2014 (in press).

Boss RD. “Infants, Ethical Issues.” Encyclopedia of Bioethics, 4th ed., Macmillan Reference: USA; 2014.

Boss RD, Shapiro MC. “Ethical Considerations in Congenital Heart Disease.” Congenital Heart Disease: Molecular Genetics, Principles of Diagnosis and Treatment. 2014 (in press).

Boss RD, Hutton N. “Emerging Ethical Complexities in Pediatric Palliative Care.” Palliative Care and Ethics: Common Ground and Cutting Edges, 1st ed., Oxford University Press; 2014.

Boss RD, Holmes KW, Althaus J, Rushton CH, McNee H, McNee T. “Trisomy 18 and complex congenital heart disease: seeking the threshold benefit.” Pediatrics. 2013 Jul;132(1):161-5. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-3643. Epub 2013 Jun 3.

Boss RD, Urban A, Barnett MD, Arnold RM. “Neonatal Critical Care Communication (NC3): training NICU physicians and nurse practitioners.” J Perinatol. 2013 Aug;33(8):642-6. doi: 10.1038/jp.2013.22. Epub 2013 Feb 28.

Boss RD, Clarke-Pounder JP. “Perinatal and Neonatal Palliative Care: Targeting the Underserved.” Progress in Palliative Care 20(6):343-48; December 2012.

Activities & Honors

Honors

  • Elected member, Society for Pediatric Research, 2014
  • American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Paper Award (formerly the Award for Young Investigators), 2009

Memberships

  • American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
  • American Academy of Pediatrics
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