About

Dorene F. Balmer, Ph.D., is a Professor of Pediatrics (General Pediatrics) at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and holds the position of Inaugural Director of Research on Pediatric Education at the same institution. She is also an Associate Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Public Health Initiatives and serves as the Distinguished Chair in the Department of Pediatrics. Her educational background includes a B.S. in Nutrition and an M.A. in Nutrition Education from Immaculata University, and a Ph.D. in Health Studies/Public Health from Temple University. Her research expertise encompasses qualitative research methods, with a focus on medical education and pediatric health. She has contributed to various scholarly publications exploring outcomes of pediatric education, family experiences in post-intensive care syndrome, trauma- and violence-informed care practices, and issues of equity and assessment in pediatric workplace-based evaluations. Balmer has authored a book titled 'The Long Arc of Training: Six Stories of Aspiring Doctors' and actively engages in advancing medical education through her research and leadership roles.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Medical education
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Medicine
• Sociology
• Nursing
• Pedagogy
• Gender studies

Selected publications

• The Long Arc of Training

  University of Toronto Press eBooks · 2026-01-26 · 1 citations

  book1st authorCorresponding

  The Long Arc of Training: Six Stories of Aspiring Doctors follows six medical trainees over twelve years, offering a view into the personal and professional transformations involved in becoming a doctor. Through a series of interviews conducted during this time, this book captures the deeply human side of medical training. It’s not just what these aspiring doctors learn, but how they become who they are. Unlike memoirs written in hindsight or short-term studies, this book presents longitudinal narratives that unfold gradually. Readers witness how the emotional responses, sense of self, personal well-being, and career plans  of doctors-in-the making transform alongside growing medical knowledge and clinical skills. This book is for anyone curious about the process of becoming a doctor – aspiring medical students, current trainees, practicing physicians, educators, and readers drawn to stories of growth and transformation. With a focus on authentic storytelling, The Long Arc of Training challenges common assumptions about medical education and invites reflection on how to best support those in training. It provides a fresh, human-centered perspective on a process often viewed in purely academic terms.

  PublisherDOI

• Contents

  University of Toronto Press eBooks · 2026-03-05

  book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Frontmatter

  University of Toronto Press eBooks · 2026-03-05

  book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 2 Alan’s Story About Agency

  University of Toronto Press eBooks · 2026-03-05

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Notes

  University of Toronto Press eBooks · 2026-03-05

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Praise for The Long Arc of Training

  University of Toronto Press eBooks · 2026-03-05

  book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Balmer's The Long Arc of Training is a transformational, all-too-rare look at the gradual, often invisible process of becoming a doctor, and the necessity of conducting sustained, longitudinal work in adequately capturing that metamorphosis.Her fifteen-year journey of discovery is both a North Star and role model for future researchers."

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 3 Niki’s Story About Balance

  University of Toronto Press eBooks · 2026-03-05

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Trauma- and Violence-Informed Care Practices in the Emergency Department for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

  JAMA Network Open · 2026-03-03

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Importance: Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts the health of IPV survivors and their children. Survivors frequently seek care in emergency departments (EDs) and are best served by trauma- and violence-informed care (TVIC), which emphasizes safety, trust building, and collaboration. However, the extent to which ED care aligns with TVIC is underexplored. Objective: To examine the alignment between TVIC principles and ED care provided to IPV survivors. Design, Setting, and Participants: This qualitative study was performed in 1 general academic, 1 general community, and 1 pediatric ED using a focused ethnographic approach from November 16, 2022, to June 30, 2024. Participants included a purposive sampling of English- or Spanish-speaking IPV survivors who sought care in the ED. Data included observations of social worker (SW)-survivor interactions and follow-up interviews with IPV survivors within 1 week. Exposure: ED visit. Main Outcomes and Measures: Data generated from observation notes and interview transcripts were analyzed deductively (informed by principles of TVIC) and inductively. Codes were created and revised until reaching a stable list, then interpretation of the data was checked with a family violence community advisory board. Results: Of 31 patient encounters (29 female [94%]; mean [SD] age, 29.0 [8.7] years), 29 included observations and 13 included follow-up interviews. Twenty-one patients presented to the general EDs following IPV-related injuries; most of the 10 encounters in the pediatric ED were disclosed during a child's medical visit. Six patients preferred Spanish. Findings were clustered into 4 TVIC domains: recognizing the impacts of trauma, prioritizing safety, connectiveness and choice, and fostering development. In recognizing the impacts of trauma, survivors described complex trauma histories that influenced how they navigated IPV and sought help. Safety was prioritized in encounters that were private, calm, and culturally and linguistically responsive, while noise and lack of privacy undermined care. Survivors engaged with SWs who emphasized autonomy and collaboration over directive communication to foster connectedness and choice, particularly when discussing sensitive topics such as child protective services referrals. SWs fostered capacity development by providing resources and handoffs to IPV advocates to address survivors' basic needs and help them navigate care systems. Conclusions and Relevance: In this qualitative study of TVIC for IPV survivors in the ED, alignment with TVIC was facilitated by acknowledging past experiences, prioritizing collaboration, and addressing comprehensive needs. Lack of privacy, language barriers, and directive communication styles hindered TVIC alignment. Without TVIC, EDs may retraumatize IPV survivors, undermining their potential to serve as critical points of intervention.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Note to Aspiring Doctors

  University of Toronto Press eBooks · 2026-03-05

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• 6 The End of the Arc

  University of Toronto Press eBooks · 2026-03-05

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Maryellen E. Gusic

  Temple University

  80 shared

• Jennifer A. Rama

  Texas Children's Hospital

  74 shared

• Donna M. D’Alessandro

  University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics

  67 shared

• Deborah Simpson

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  65 shared

• Wanessa Risko

  Harvard University

  64 shared

• Daniel C. West

  University of Pennsylvania

  43 shared

• Todd P. Chang

  Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

  39 shared

• Geetanjali Srivastava

  Children's Hospital Central California

  38 shared

Education

• Post-doctoral, Pediatrics

  University of Pennsylvania

  2008

• PhD, Public Health

  Temple University

  2006

• MA, Education

  Immaculata University

  2004