Julie W. Childers, MD, MS, FAAHPM

Julie W. Childers, MD, MS,FAAHPM, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2005 and completed residency training in internal medicine at the University of Rochester in 2008.  She completed fellowship training in palliative care in 2009 and obtained a master’s degree in medical education from the Clinician Educator Training Program at the University of Pittsburgh in 2010.  She currently serves as the medical director of the palliative care service at Presbyterian Hospital. As a Senior Associate with VitalTalk nationally and the director of the local Pittsburgh Academy of Communication Coaching, she regularly organizes both local and national communication courses and Train the Trainer sessions.  

In addition to her work in palliative care, in 2010 she founded a buprenorphine clinic within the Division of General Internal Medicine to provide services to patients with opioid addiction.  Currently, in addition to outpatient treatment of opioid use disorder, she provides consultation on the Addiction Medicine consultation service at Presbyterian Hospital.  

Dr. Childers became board certified in Addiction Medicine in 2018.  She has written and taught nationally in the areas of goals of care discussions, motivational interviewing, and managing addiction in patients who are nearing the end of life.