As a pediatric hospitalist, I ensure that patients and families understand their treatment plans using plain language. I work with patients admitted to the hospital for general pediatric illnesses.

I focus my interactions with patients on making the family the center of care. This approach means working with a patient’s entire medical care team to listen to the family’s concerns and answer all questions.

In my several educator roles with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, I teach future doctors how to work with patients. Students learn how to make families the center of care and why that’s essential.

My career as a doctor runs in the family. My mother was a nurse and my father, a physician.

I’m honored to be the recipient of several awards for my work, including:

• Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Senior Resident Division Teaching Award
• John M. Eisenberg patient safety and quality award from The Joint Commission
• Best Abstract Award for 2018 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition Section on Critical Care: Impact of an Immersive Virtual Reality Curriculum on Medical Student
• Clinical Assessment of Infants with Respiratory Distress (Zackoff, M.; Real, J.; Guiot, A.; Lehmann, C.; Tegtmeyer, K.; Klein, M.)

In my free time, I enjoy nature walks, working out and movies.