{"id":73913,"date":"2019-08-12T11:04:34","date_gmt":"2019-08-12T15:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/busm\/?page_id=73913"},"modified":"2021-08-23T19:27:59","modified_gmt":"2021-08-23T23:27:59","slug":"tamara-fitzgerald-md","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/offices-services\/alumni\/spotlight\/tamara-fitzgerald-md\/","title":{"rendered":"Tamara Fitzgerald, MD"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Class of<\/strong>: 2004<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Specialties<\/strong>: Pediatric Surgery and Global Health<\/span><\/p>\n

Current practice:<\/strong> Duke University<\/span><\/p>\n

Fond memory of BUSM:\u00a0During my final year at BUSM, I was able to participate in a global surgery rotation in sub-Saharan Africa. My experiences from that month have shaped the entire trajectory of my career. I am so thankful that BUSM supports these experiences for students. I now go to East Africa 2-4 times per year and work in capacity building and training African pediatric surgeons. Whenever my plane touches down, I can’t wait to see my African friends and colleagues.<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Favorite professor at BUSM:<\/strong> Dr. Menzoian inspired me to become a surgeon. Entering my clinical years at BUSM, pursuing surgery was the last thing on my agenda. I had a lot of misconceptions around being a woman and choosing a career in surgery. But I loved operating with Dr. Menzoian. Every day in the operating room was like being in a well-choreographed dance. One day, Dr. Menzoian turned to the chief resident and said, “We’ve got to convince Tamara to choose surgery.” At that moment something changed, and I knew that surgery was something I could pursue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Academic appointment:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Assistant Professor of Surgery and Global Health,\u00a0<\/span>Duke University<\/span><\/p>\n

Hobbies:<\/strong> Spending time with my husband and 2 children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most recent accomplishment:<\/strong> I received a Bass Connections grant to pursue a project in medical technology for low-income countries. While at BUSM, I also graduated with a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. Global health and engineering seem like very disparate interests, and it wasn’t always clear to me that these interests could fit together! I am learning that physicians in low-income countries need reliable and inexpensive medical technologies to fit with their clinical needs. Through this grant, we are able to form a multidisciplinary, multigenerational team to work on low-cost surgical technology. Our team consists of doctors, engineers, global health experts, faculty, post-docs, graduate students, medical students and undergraduates. I am excited to be part of a team built on mentorship and collaboration.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Recent publications:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Muzira A, Kakembo N, Kisa P, Langer M, Sekabira J, Ozgediz D, Fitzgerald TN. The socioeconomic impact of a pediatric ostomy in Uganda: a pilot study. Pediatr Surg Int. 2018 Apr;34(4):457-466.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Wesonga AS, Fitzgerald TN, Kabuye R, Kirunda S, Langer M, Kakembo N, Ozgediz D, Sekabira J. Gastroschisis in Uganda: Opportunities for improved survival. J Pediatr Surg. 2016 Nov;51(11):1772-1777.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Baird R, et al. Regarding global pediatric surgery training opportunities. J Pediatr Surg. 2018 (in press)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Class of: 2004 Specialties: Pediatric Surgery and Global Health Current practice: Duke University Fond memory of BUSM:\u00a0During my final year at BUSM, I was able to participate in a global surgery rotation in sub-Saharan Africa. My experiences from that month have shaped the entire trajectory of my career. I am so thankful that BUSM supports […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15800,"featured_media":0,"parent":93581,"menu_order":24,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"bu-publication":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73913"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15800"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73913"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73916,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73913\/revisions\/73916"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=73913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}