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.
Patient Ratings & Comments
The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to physician related questions on the national CG-CAHPS Medical Practice patient experience survey through Press Ganey. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best score. Comments are also gathered from our CG-CAHPS Medical Practice Survey through Press Ganey and displayed in their entirety. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.