Department of Medicine
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Department of Medicine

Faculty Profiles

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photo Julie Wilson Childers, MD, MS

General Internal Medicine

Associate Professor of Medicine

Email: childersjw2@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-692-4834

Contact
Office: UPMC Montefiore- 933 West
200 Lothrop Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
 
Phone: 412-692-4834
Fax: 412-692-4315
E-mail: childersjw2@upmc.edu
Education and Training
Education
BA, Oberlin College, 1991
MD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 2005
MS, University of Pittsburgh, 2010
Training
Internal Medicine Internship, University of Rochester, Strong Memorial Hospital, 2006
Internal Medicine Residency, University of Rochester, Strong Memorial Hospital, 2008
Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 2009
Medical Education Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 2010
Research Interest
Dr. Childers's research interests are in teaching communication, particularly end of life discussions and motivational interviewing, and managing addiction in patients with serious illness.
Clinical Interest
I have two clinical foci: Addiction Medicine and Palliative Medicine. I round on both the inpatient Addiction Medicine Consult Service and the Palliative Medicine Consult Service at Presbyterian Hospital. I also practice outpatient Addiction Medicine at the Internal Medicine - Recovery Engagement Program, located at Mercy.
Educational Interest
I am the co-course director for the first year medical student Ethics, Law, and Professionalism course. I co-direct the second year internal medicine resident communication course, which includes motivational interviewing and discussing advance care planning. I have taught end of life communication courses both locally and nationally, and have designed Train the Trainer courses to develop new communication teachers. I am a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, and direct the motivational interviewing segment of Pitt Med's Behavioral Medicine course. More recently, I have developed the new Addiction Medicine Fellowship within DGIM, which received ACGME accreditation in 2019, and serve as its first Program Director.
Publications
For my complete bibliography, Click Here.
Selected Publications:
Childers, JW, King, LA, Arnold, RM. Chronic pain and opioid misuse in a palliative care clinic. The American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care. 2015; Sep;32(6): 654-9.
Childers, JW, Arnold RM. “I feel uncomfortable 'calling a patient out'”: educational needs of palliative medicine fellows in managing opioid misuse. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2012; 43(2): 253-60.
Childers, JW, Bost, JE, Kraemer, KL, Cluss, PA, Spagnoletti, CL, Gonzaga, AM, Arnold, RM. Giving residents tools to talk about behavior change: A motivational interviewing curriculum description and evaluation. Patient Education and Counseling. 2012; Aug 18.
Childers JW, Broyles, LM, Hanusa, BH, Kraemer, KL, Conigliaro, J, Spagnoletti, C, McNeil, M, Gordon, AJ. Teaching the teachers: faculty preparedness and evaluation of a retreat in screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment. Substance Abuse. 2012; Jul;33(3): 272-7.
Pollak, KI, Childers, JW, Arnold, RM. Applying motivational interviewing techniques to palliative care communication. Journal of Palliative Medicine. 2011; June: 14(5): 587-592.
Notable Achievements
Fellowship in the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 2017
Member, Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, 2012-present
Member, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 2008-present
AAHPM Young Investigator Award, 2011
Award for Innovation in Medical Education, 2010
Hastings Award for Excellence in End of Life Care (mid-career), 2019
AAHPM Emerging Leader in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 2019