A photo of Jennifer E. deSante.

Jennifer E. deSante-Bertkau, MD, MBE


  • Attending Physician, Division of Hospital Medicine
  • Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
I think it's important for medical clinicians to partner with patients and families in making medical decisions. We each bring different areas of expertise to the process. We have an opportunity to work together and learn from each other while providing care to children.
Jennifer E. deSante-Bertkau, MD, MBE

About

Biography

As a pediatric hospitalist, I care for children admitted to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. I work as a frontline clinician, a supervising doctor and a pediatric consultant to the surgical services.

I think it's important for medical clinicians to partner with patients and families in making medical decisions. We each bring different areas of expertise to the process. We have an opportunity to work together and learn from each other while providing care to children.

I grew up working with children who had special healthcare needs. My experiences inspired me to use medical knowledge to improve the lives of patients and families. My love of working with children on a regular basis led me to pediatrics.

My research focuses on improving medical ethics education for clinicians.

I’ve written descriptive and standardizing accounts of the parent-child relationship in families with young adults with special needs. This work includes principles to guide resource allocation within the family of a child with special healthcare needs.

When I’m not at work, I love spending time with my two children and learning about children from a parent's perspective.

MD: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 2010.

MBE: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 2010.

Residency: Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.

Certification: Pediatrics, 2013; Healthcare Clinical Ethics Consultant, 2018.

Interests

Hospital medicine

Services and Specialties

Hospital Medicine

Interests

Clinical ethics

Publications

The Lived Experience of Pediatric Gene Therapy: A Scoping Review. Kimberly, L; Hunt, C; Beaverson, K; James, E; Bateman-House, A; McGowan, R; DeSante-Bertkau, J. Human Gene Therapy. 2023; 34:1180-1189.

Off-Label Prescription of COVID-19 Vaccines in Children: Clinical, Ethical, and Legal Issues. deSante-Bertkau, JE; Knilans, TK; Persad, G; Zettler, PJ; Lynch, HF; Antommaria, AH M. Pediatrics. 2022; 149.

Genomic Testing, Unexpected Consanguinity, and Adolescent Parents. McGowan, M; Brown, T; Biller, AB; deSante-Bertkau, J. The Hastings Center Report. 2021; 51:8-11.

Ethics of Pediatric and Young Adult Medical Decision-Making: Case-Based Discussions Exploring Consent, Capacity, and Surrogate Decision-Making. deSante-Bertkau, J; Herbst, LA. MedEdPORTAL : the journal of teaching and learning resources. 2021; 17:11094.

Teaching Ethics and Professionalism: A National Survey of Ophthalmology Residency Program Directors. Kretz, AM; deSante-Bertkau, JE; Boland, MV; Guo, X; Collins, ME. Journal of Academic Ophthalmology. 2021; 13:e82-e88.

Ethical Dilemmas at the Beginning and End of Life: A Needs-Based, Experience-Informed, Small-Group, Case-Based Curriculum for Pediatric Residents. Herbst, LA; deSante-Bertkau, J. MedEdPORTAL : the journal of teaching and learning resources. 2020; 16:10895.

When Specialty Care Is Unavailable to Rural Families. deSante-Bertkau, JE; Shubkin, CD; Nelson, WA; Salter, EK; Lantos, JD. Pediatrics. 2019; 144.

Patient Ratings and Comments

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4.6
Overall Patient Rating