Dr. Arnold focuses on how clinicians operationalize ethical precepts in the care of seriously ill patients. He worked at the interface of communication skills training, medical ethics, and palliative care to improve clinician-patient relationships. His most recent research focused on teaching palliative care communication skills to clinicians using both face-to-face courses and new technologies and on understanding the impact of these educational interventions. He also worked with junior investigators to better understand the impact of primary palliative care interventions in oncology, cystic fibrosis, and cardiology. Finally, Dr. Arnold was interested in studying health system-wide interventions to improve seriously ill patients' and families' experiences.
Dr. Arnold's clinical activities focused on providing palliative care consults in a tertiary care hospital and working in a supportive oncology ambulatory practice. Hew as the president of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities and the American Association of Palliative and Hospice Medicine. His educational activities focused on teaching ethics to residents and developing educational programs in specialties ranging from oncology to critical care medicine, and he focused on teaching educators the best ways to help students learn.
- BA, Biology and Philosophy, University of Missouri, Kansas City, 1983
- MD, University of Missouri, Kansas City, 1983
- Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, 1986
- Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, University of Pennsylvania, 1988
Education & Training
Back AL, Arnold RM, Tulsky JA. Mastering communication with seriously ill patients: Balancing honesty with empathy and hope. Cambridge University Press. 2009
Tulsky JA, Arnold RM, Alexander SC. Olsen MK, Jeffreys AS, Rodriguez KL, Skinner CSS, Farrell D, Abernethy AP, Pollak KI. Enhancing communication between oncologists and patients with a computer-based training program: A randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2011; 155(9):593-301.
Arnold RM, Back AL, Prendergast TJ, Emlet LL, Kapov I, White PH, Nelson JE. The Critical Care Communication Project: Improving fellows' communication skills. Journal of Critical Care. 2015; 30(2):250-254.
Schwarze ML, Campbell T, Cunningham T, White DB, Arnold RM. You can't get what you want: Innovation for end-of-life communication in the ICU. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2016; 193(1):14-16.
- American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Care PDIA Palliative Medicine Leadership Award, 2011
- Patricia Price Browne Prize in Biomedical Ethics, University of Oklahoma, 2016
- Association of Specialty Professor Eric Neilson Award, 2018
- Hastings Center Fellow, 2020
- Who’s Who in the World, 2017-2023
