Christy Lynn Cummings

Christy L. Cummings, MD

Associate Program Director, Harvard Neonatology Fellowship, Boston Children's Hospital
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, HMS
Member, HMS Center for Bioethics

Christy L. Cummings, MD, is an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and an attending neonatologist in the Division of Newborn Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.  As an Ethics Associate, she is a member of the Ethics Advisory Committee at Boston Children’s Hospital, and is Director of Medical Ethics & Humanities for the Division of Newborn Medicine. Dr. Cummings also serves on the hospital’s Institutional Review Board.  Her research and scholarly activities focus broadly on medical ethics and humanism and their intersection with medical education, as well as counseling and communication. She is passionate about research that cultivates the moral, human aspect of medicine.  She participated in Yale’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics Program in Bioethics (2011) and completed the Fellowship Program in Medical Ethics through the Division of Medical Ethics at Harvard Medical School (2012-2013).  A graduate of Colby College, Dr. Cummings received her medical degree from the University of Rochester, and training in pediatrics, neonatology and ethics at Yale.  Dr. Cummings is currently researching the acquisition of ethical principles and knowledge during training, including interpersonal competence and professionalism, via simulation and enacted role-play.  She is developing a global curriculum in Ethics and Professionalism in Neonatology through OPENPediatricsTM. She is also conducting research on optimizing prenatal counseling for families facing extremely premature delivery.  Recent work has appeared in Pediatrics, Hastings Center Report, J Perinatology, J Pediatrics, and Journal of Medical Ethics. Dr. Cummings is the mother of 4 young children, and enjoys time with her family, running/swimming, reading and playing the ‘cello.

Publications View
Morphine compared to placebo for procedural pain in preterm infants: safety, efficacy and equipoise.
Authors: Authors: Soffer OD, Cornelissen L, Cummings C, Berde C.
J Perinatol
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Variable management strategies for NEC totalis: a national survey.
Authors: Authors: Pyle AK, Shabanova V, Cleary MA, Ozgediz D, Cummings CL, Kamin DS, Mercurio MR.
J Perinatol
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Deliveries at extreme prematurity: outcomes, approaches, institutional variation, and uncertainty.
Authors: Authors: Arzuaga BH, Cummings CL.
Curr Opin Pediatr
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Assessing Ethics Knowledge: Development of a Test of Ethics Knowledge in Neonatology.
Authors: Authors: Cummings CL, Geis GM, Feldman HA, Berson ER, Kesselheim JC.
J Pediatr
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Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders in the Neonatal ICU: Experiences and Beliefs Among Staff.
Authors: Authors: Arzuaga BH, Wraight CL, Cummings CL, Mao W, Miedema D, Brodsky DD.
Pediatr Crit Care Med
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Hope, Fantasy, and Communication in the ICU: Translating Frameworks into Clinical Practice.
Authors: Authors: Cummings CL.
Am J Bioeth
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Should Neonatologists Give Opinions Withdrawing Life-sustaining Treatment?
Authors: Authors: Blumenthal-Barby JS, Loftis L, Cummings CL, Meadow W, Lemmon M, Ubel PA, McCullough L, Rao E, Lantos JD.
Pediatrics
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On Being Fired: When Patients or Their Parents Fire Their Physician.
Authors: Authors: Cummings CL.
Hastings Cent Rep
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Practices and education surrounding anticipated periviable deliveries among neonatal-perinatal medicine and maternal-fetal medicine fellowship programs.
Authors: Authors: Arzuaga BH, Cummings CL.
J Perinatol
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Teaching and assessing ethics in the newborn ICU.
Authors: Authors: Cummings CL.
Semin Perinatol
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