Robert Grundmeier (he/him), MD, Section Chief of Informatics, Division of General Pediatrics

Hello, my name is Bob Grundmeier, and I am a primary care pediatrician at CHOP’s South Philadelphia Care Network location and I serve as the Section Chief of Informatics in the Division of General Pediatrics. I am also a clinical informatics researcher interested in using electronic health records to improve the quality of the care that we deliver. I find a balance of my clinical and research work to be fantastic. Every day is a little bit different but always involves opportunities to improve the care we deliver to the children who receive care at CHOP.

Whether it is doing my best to help patients one at a time in the context of my direct patient care activities or trying to discover new ways to improve healthcare for whole populations of children through my informatics research, I find it all very satisfying. Every day brings new intellectual challenges due to the constantly changing nature of computer technologies. Every research project is meaningfully different.

I feel in the field of informatics research that every five years, our work looks completely different than it did in the five years before. There is literally never a dull moment.

When I started as a primary care pediatrician in South Philadelphia in the year 2000, I decided from the very beginning that I would never misrepresent who I was as a person. This decision most commonly became important when well-intended individuals would notice my wedding band and inquire about my wife. When this occurred, I would gently let them know that my husband is an infectious disease doctor at Temple. Similarly, at various times, Google would make it obvious that I am gay to anyone who bothered to Google my name.

I have been fortunate to always feel safe at CHOP in both the clinical and research settings. Patients who have LGBTQIA2S+ topics at front of mind seek me out as a primary care pediatrician, which helps keep my work especially meaningful.

Although being open about one's LGBTQIA2S+ identity may not be the best choice for all, I have always found CHOP in both the clinical and research settings to be an open and affirming setting.

To quote one of my daughter's favorite phrases, I encourage us all to be who we are, and to the extent that it makes sense for each of us, to feel comfortable bringing our whole selves to our work at CHOP.