6/28/2017

PITTSBURGH, June 28, 2017 – A UPMC internal medicine and palliative care physician recently received a top award from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine for his leadership in biomedical ethics.

Robert M. Arnold, M.D., a professor in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine’s Division of General Internal Medicine and Pitt’s Center for Bioethics and Health Law, received the Patricia Price Browne Prize in Biomedical Ethics. This award was established in honor of the Oklahoma City community leader to be given to an individual who “demonstrates the highest standards in the medical or professional ethics fields.”

“I view my job as helping clinicians think about how to operationally incorporate ethical principles—bridging ethics, communication and clinical care,” said Arnold. “I was thrilled to be recognized for this work. To be honest, the award goes to all the clinicians, patients and philosophers who have taught me over my career.”

Arnold completed his medical school training at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and residency at Rhode Island Hospital, before joining the faculty at Pitt. He is the director of the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Doctor-Patient Communication and the medical director of the UPMC Palliative and Supportive Institute. Arnold has published on end-of-life care, hospice and palliative care, doctor-patient communication, and ethics education. His current research focuses on educational interventions to improve communication in life-limiting illnesses and better understanding how ethical precepts are operationalized in clinical practice.

Arnold also works with UPMC to develop system-wide, integrative palliative services. He is past president of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, as well as the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine

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