Dr. Jennifer O’Toole is a pediatric and adult hospitalist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) and University of Cincinnati Medical Center, and a Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (UCCOM). Dr. O'Toole was a Med-Peds resident here in Cincinnati from 2003-2007 and from 2007-2008 served as a Chief Medical Resident. She holds a Master's of Education in curriculum and instruction from the University of Cincinnati College of Education. Since 2017 she has served as Program Director of Cincinnati’s Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency Program, after having served as associate program director for nine years. In addition, she serves as Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs and Program Director of the IMSTAR Medical Education Fellowship within the Department of Internal Medicine at UCCOM. Dr. O'Toole is the current President of the Medicine-Pediatrics Program Directors Association for the 2023-2024 academic year. From 2015-2018 she served as co-chair of the APA’s Hospital Medicine Special Interest Group and was co-chair of the planning committee for the 2018 Pediatric Hospital Medicine Conference. In 2017 Dr. O’Toole was named a member of the inaugural Pediatric Hospital Medicine Sub-board of the American Board of Pediatrics and concluded her term in 2021.  Since 2010 she has held the role of site principal investigator at Cincinnati Children's for the I-PASS Study Group. She also serves as Chair of the ADVANCE PHM steering committee, and organization committed to achieving gender equity for women in pediatric hospital medicine. Dr. O'Toole has received the Emerging Leadership Award for an Individual from the AAMC's Group on Women in Medicine and Science, the Society of Hospital Medicine's (SHM) Award for Teaching Excellence (2018), the inaugural Med-Peds Program Director's Brendan P. Kelly Award (2017), and the Cincinnati Children's Faculty Education Achievement Award (2013). Her clinical and research interests include residency education, curriculum development and innovation, handoff communication, patient/family centered care, and achieving gender equity for women in medicine.

"Serving as program director of Cincy's Med-Peds program is an absolute privilege and one of my greatest joys! Our residents are some of the most committed, passionate, and innovative individuals I have ever had the privilege to meet. They truly are my "raison d'être" in my work life and watching them grow and excel brings me immense pride. I look forward to future generations of residents that are looking to make a difference in the world of medicine joining our ranks. Here in Cincinnati it is always a great day to be Med-Peds!!"  

I am originally from St. Louis, MO, but have called Cincinnati home since 2009. After finishing my Med-Peds training here in Cincinnati, I served as Med-Peds chief resident. I then joined as faculty and quickly became an associate program director for both the Med-Peds and IM programs. I love clinical teaching, education theory, and innovation/scholarship; and I strive to use my education background to give our Med-Peds residents a world-class training experience. After completing my Master of Medical Education, I completed a year-long education research fellowship and was selected for a national education innovation grant program through the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. I am now finishing my PhD in health professions education, and I love partnering with learners on education innovation and scholarship projects. My wife, Maja, and I have two daughters, and we absolutely love the city of Cincinnati. It’s a great place to live regardless of what stage of life you’re in, with so much to do at an affordable cost, whether it’s the restaurants/breweries, live theater, concerts, cultural festivals, hiking, kayaking, or a quick road trip to the Smokey Mountains or Lake Michigan. I am so proud to be part of this residency program, and am grateful for the amazing team that we have supporting our Med-Peds residents. 

I moved to Cincinnati over 10 years ago for medical school and have been so fortunate to stay here for residency, IM chief residency year, and my dream job in medical education as Med-Peds APD! Since 2020, I have led our program’s ambulatory education, including the Primary Care Track. I am passionate about medical education, especially clinical teaching and mentoring residents to achieve success in residency and beyond. Clinically, I am a primary care provider and I practice alongside our residents and faculty in our combined med-peds clinic. I have a particular interest in neurofibromatosis and I partner with genetics in a monthly multidisciplinary clinic for adult patients with neurofibromatosis. My husband, James, and I love all that Cincinnati has to offer – fantastic restaurants, professional sporting games, fun events at the Cincinnati zoo, and so much more! Most importantly, I am so appreciative of our program and residency team, which aims to support and foster a family-like community for our incredible residents. 

Before moving to Cincinnati for Med-Peds residency, I lived in Arizona, Rhode Island, and North Carolina, and when training was over, I just couldn’t bring myself to leave this incredible city and community. I had the opportunity to serve as the 2023-2024 Med-Peds Chief Resident before joining as faculty and as a Med-Peds Associate Program Director. Clinically, I care for hospitalized children and adults as a Med-Peds hospitalist. I’m passionate about health equity and addressing health disparities, with my work focusing on LGBTQ health, refugee health, and advocacy, and also have strong interested in narrative medicine, medical education, and quality improvement. Outside of work, I am an avid reader, aspiring writer, tabletop gamer, scuba diver, and a regular comic convention attendee.