Judith Nelson, MD, JD
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Only outpatient providers are included in the survey. Healthcare providers who only work in the hospital or in urgent care are not included in the survey. Pathologists or researchers who do not provide direct care to patients do not have reviews.
Areas of Expertise
Conditions I Treat
- Symptoms and side effects
My Specialties
- Supportive care
- Palliative care
- Pain management
Get to Know Me
Dr. Nelson received her JD from Harvard Law School, and MD from New York University School of Medicine. She completed residency and fellowship at Mount Sinai in New York, and is board certified in Internal Medicine, Palliative Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care Medicine. At Mount Sinai, she was Professor of Medicine, Associate Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit, Director of the Respiratory Care Unit, and a faculty member of the Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute.
Read more
Dr. Nelson’s research interests relate to the integration of palliative care with intensive care and with oncologic care. She received a Faculty Scholar Award from the Soros Foundation’s Project on Death in America, the Roger Bone Award for Advances in End-of-Life Care from the American College of Chest Physicians, and the Grenvik Family Award for Ethics from the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Nelson is Principal Investigator of a multi-center study funded by NIH to improve communication and decision-making for patients with chronic critical illness on prolonged mechanical ventilation. With support from an NIA K07 Academic Career Leadership Award and the Center to Advance Palliative Care, she launched The IPAL-ICU Project, of which she is Director, to assist in improving palliative care for ICU patients and families. Dr. Nelson has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and lectures frequently across the United States and abroad. In April 2016, Dr. Nelson was named Chief, Supportive Care Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she has a joint appointment in Critical Care.
I'm a supportive care doctor, with special training in care that supports people with cancer. I help improve quality of life and manage the symptoms and side effects of cancer and its treatment.
- Attending Physician
Conditions I Treat
- Symptoms and side effects
My Specialties
- Supportive care
- Palliative care
- Pain management
- Managing symptoms of cancer treatment
- Clinical trials
Education
- MD, New York University School of Medicine
- JD, Harvard Law School
Residencies
- Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Fellowships
- Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Board Certifications
- Internal Medicine
- Pulmonary Disease
- Critical Care Medicine
- Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Awards and Honors
- Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2025)
- Castle Connolly: Exceptional Women in Medicine (2024)
- Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2024)
- Top Doctors New York Metro Area, Castle Connolly (2023)
- Exceptional Women in Medicine Award, Castle Connolly (2023)
- Castle Connolly: America's Top Doctors (2023)
- Castle Connolly: New York Magazine Top Doctors (2010, 2017)
Insurance Information
Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS
In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
State Government
In Network Coverage Type
State Government
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO
Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO
Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
In Network Coverage Type
State Government
In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS
Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
In Network Coverage Type
EPO
In Network Coverage Type
EPO
In Network Coverage Type
TBD
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO
In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
City Employee Health Plans (Gold and Gold Care)
In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental
In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO
In Network Coverage Type
State Government
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO
Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.
If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.
If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.
Contact and Location
Dr. Nelson sees patients at one location.
Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.
Colleagues
Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.
Clinical Trials
Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.
You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.
Search clinical trialsResearch and Publications
Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Nelson’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.
See all on PubMedPatient Reviews
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Disclosures
Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.
MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.
Judith Nelson discloses the following relationships and financial interests:
No disclosures meeting criteria for time period
If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.
The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.
This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.
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