Biography
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 Medical Director of the Simulation Center at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
Dr. Arnold has been involved in simulation education, patient safety, and research endeavors for the last 15 years. She was an NIH postdoctoral scholar at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Safar Center for Resuscitative Medicine. 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, and numerous others. Currently, her areas of interest within simulation include the 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, several Fortune 100 corporations, and many 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. 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), and OpHeart (nonprofit dedicated to improving pediatric care of children with complex congenital heart disease). She is a national ambassador for Speak Now for Kids through the Children's Hospital Association (online child advocacy network to raise awareness for the unique challenges of children and families in our healthcare system).
Dr. Arnold has a rare type of dwarfism called Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia Type Strudwick (which involved more than 30 orthopedic surgeries). She is a 6-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 is now in its 12th season! She has also appeared on television programs including Oprah, The Today Show, GMA, Dr. OZ, Jeopardy, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Doctors, Wendy Williams, Anderson Cooper, and CNN among others.
