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Christiana Renner, M.D., M.S.

  • Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine - Hospital Medicine
  • Southwestern Academy of Teachers Fellowship for Innovation in Curriculum and Teaching
Christiana Renner, M.D., M.S.
"It is my utmost privilege to treat patients through the range of complex human experience and educate the next generation of physicians."

Unique Path to Medicine

Christiana Renner, M.D., M.S., chose a diverse path to pursuing medicine. “I ended up being a high school English teacher for several years, then becoming an editor at a medical publisher,” Dr. Renner said. “These jobs taught me that I loved challenging and teaching people and that I loved scientific/medical content – even though I did not love sitting at a desk all day.”

After earning a master’s degree in publishing at New York University while working for esteemed publishing house Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Dr. Renner returned to Texas to attend UT Southwestern Medical School.

“It was harder to go to medical school in my 30s, but I think it was truly worth it. I had far more wisdom about how to interact with people and how to adapt to challenges and frustrations than if I had gone to medical school straight out of college.”

Contributions to STEMM

She practices within the Division of Hospital Medicine at Parkland Hospital. She describes her position as a “hospitalist who takes care of all aspects of medical care for adults in the hospital. Sometimes, this involves talking to other specialists for the heart, lungs, intestines, and so on, but for many things, I am able to manage them myself.”

Passion for Education

In 2011, Dr. Renner became a faculty member at UT Southwestern. She is closely involved in bettering the process of medical education, both at UT Southwestern and beyond. “I was a high school teacher before becoming a medical doctor. I now teach medical students and residents how to be good physicians,” she said. “I love seeing people grow and develop their own identity as a physician.”

The UT Southwestern Difference

While she took a unique path into medicine, Dr. Renner appreciates that it led her to UT Southwestern.

“I love the opportunity to work at a place where new things are always being learned and discovered, where people ask questions constantly, where there is always energy to be and do better.”

She cites the patient population as one of her favorite parts of her position here: “I feel so very privileged to work with underserved populations and give them excellent care – I can't believe I get paid to do this!”

Dr. Renner values her recognition in the Celebrating Breakthroughs Together Project, noting it as an important milestone in the careers of women in medicine.

“I love that UT Southwestern realizes how important it is to let women know that their contributions are important. There are still a lot of ways that women are treated differently or face different career obstacles, so this concrete recognition is crucial.”

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