Dr. Ann Berger completed her undergraduate degree with a B.S. in nursing from New York University, which was then followed by receiving a MSN in Oncology Nursing from University of Pennsylvania. After working as an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist for several years, Dr. Berger completed her medical training at Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, Ohio. Following medical school, Dr. Berger completed a residency at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut and a Fellowship in medical oncology and pain/palliative care at Yale University in Connecticut. Dr. Berger remained on the faculty at Yale University where she started a palliative care service, as an Assistant Professor in Medicine and Anesthesiology.
As an Assistant Professor in medicine and anesthesiology at Cooper Hospital/University Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey, Dr. Berger founded her second successful palliative care service. There, her servicewas actively involved in the care of patients and in education and research during her four year tenure. Currently, Dr. Berger is chief of the Pain and Palliative Care Service at the National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center, where she has clinical,teaching, research, and administrative responsibilities.Outcomes of Dr. Berger’s qualitative research on the process of healing in life challenging illness and disability supported the development of a psychometric instrument to assess psychosocial spiritual healing.
Dr. Berger has lectured and published extensively. She published first a book for lay people Healing Pain-by Rodale, and is Senior Editor of the major palliative care textbook, Principles and Practice of Supportive Oncology, published by Lippincott-Ravenin 1998, editions two and three published in 2006 and four in 2013.
