Dr. Schell is a clinician-educator who focuses on palliative are and nephrology. Her research centers on physician communication skills training. She has developed and measured outcomes for a communication curriculum for nephrology fellows on palliative care topics. Dr. Schell has received funding through the American Society of Nephrology to develop and evaluate curriculum for nephrology fellows within palliative care. During her career, Dr. Schell has published peer-reviewed articles within the topic of palliative care and nephrology in high-impact journals. Dr. Schell is an active participant in national organizations within palliative care and education including American Society of Nephrology, American Kidney Foundation and the Coalition for the Supportive Care of Kidney Patients.
Dr. Schell's academic and educational work centers on communication and provider-patient relationships. She has developed an annual communication training for nephrology fellows called NephroTalk that teaches skills in dialysis decision-making and end of life. This training has been adapted and taught for national audiences as well as practicing nephrologists.
- BS, University of South Alabama, 2000
- MD, University of Alabama School of Medicine at Birmingham, 2005
- Internal Medicine Residency, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 2008
- MHS, Clinical Research Training Program, Duke University, 2011
- Nephrology Fellowship, Duke University, 2011
- Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, Duke University, 2012
Education & Training
Schell JO, Cohen RA, Green JA, Rubio D, Childers JW, Claxton R, Jeong K, Arnold RM. NephroTalk: evaluation of a palliative care communication curriculum for nephrology fellows. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2018;56(5):767-773.
Schell JO, Cohen RA. Communication strategies to address conflict about dialysis decision making for critically ill patients. Clinical Journal of American Society of Nephrology. 2018;13(8):1248-1250.
Schell JO, Lam D. Steps toward sustainable change in advance care planning. American Journal of Kidney Disease. 2017;70(3):307-308.
Koncicki HM, Unruh M, Schell JO. Pain management in CKD: a guide for nephrology providers. American Journal of Kidney Disease. 2017;69(3):451-460.
- Sarah F. Davis Award, 2005
- American Medical Women’s Association Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Citation, 2005
- The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, 2005
- The Norman D. Anderson, M.D. Award for Ambulatory Care, 2008
- Duke Fellow Teaching Award, 2009
