Dr. Claxton is a clinician-educator who focuses on the evaluation of curricular interventions, teaching communication skills, and training other faculty educators in the science of learning, as well as practical teaching skills to use both in teaching with simulated patients and didactic training. She is passionate about using evidence-based teaching techniques to improve the quality of education in the medical field. In addition to her academic roles, Dr. Claxton practices inpatient palliative care on the consultation service.
- BS, University of Florida, 2001
- MD, University of Florida, 2005
- MS, University of Pittsburgh, 2010
- Internal Medicine Residency, University of Virginia Health System, 2008
- Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 2010
Education & Training
Christensen A, Spagnoletti C, Claxton R. A curriculum innovation on writing simulated patient cases for communication skills education. MedEdPORTAL. 2021.
Chiarchiaro J, Arnold RM, Ernecoff NC, Claxton R, Childers JW, Schell JO. Serious illness communication skills training during a global pandemic. ATS Sch. 2020; 3(1):64-75.
Claxton R. Fast facts and concepts #437: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Prognostication in advanced illness. J Palliat Med. 2022; 25(5):830-831.
Weill SR, Layden AJ, Nabozny MJ, Leahy J, Claxton R, Zelenski AB, Zimmerman C, Childers J, Arnold R, Hall DE. Applying VitalTalkTM techniques to best case/worst case training to increase scalability and improve surgeon confidence in shared decision-making. J Surg Educ. 2022; 79(4):983-992.
- Tara Cook Palliative Care Teaching Award, UPMC, 2021
- Eric Neilson Leadership Award, Association of Specialty Professors, 2022
- Fellow, Teach Like a Champion, 2022-2023
- Robert Arnold Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Award, UPMC Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics, 2023
