Walter L. Fitzgerald, Jr., BPharm, MS, JD
Pharmacy Fusion Radio Show HostWalter L. Fitzgerald, Jr. serves as Dean of the College of Pharmacy, and Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences, at Idaho State University. He received the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy in 1979 from Mercer University School of Pharmacy in Atlanta. In 1982 he received the Master of Science in Pharmacy Administration from the University of Tennessee, College of Graduate Health Sciences, in Memphis. And in 1983 he received the Juris Doctor degree from the University of Memphis, School of Law.
Dr. Fitzgerald has nearly four decades of educating student pharmacists and pharmacists, as well as other health professions practitioners and students. The focus of his teaching and research is on healthcare law and ethics, research law and ethics, pharmacy and drug law, and risk management. He has presented many lectures at professional and scientific meetings and has authored numerous articles. He has authored four books, including The Pharmacist’s Guide to the Pharmacy and Drug Law of Tennessee, published by the Tennessee Pharmacists Association, and the HIPAA Compliance Handbook for Community Pharmacy, published by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). He also co-authored NCPA’s HIPAA Security Handbook for Community Pharmacy.
His professional career began in 1983 when he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Tennessee, College of Pharmacy. While appointed in the College of Pharmacy, his teaching extended to other health professions colleges. He also was a frequent continuing education program speaker for a variety of healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, physicians, advanced practice nurses, and physician assistants. His career at the University of Tennessee also provided several diverse experiences, such as serving as the project director for the retrospective drug utilization review program for TennCare, Tennessee’s managed care Medicaid program and General Counsel for the American College of Apothecaries. He has also served as a consultant to healthcare organizations, professional associations, and the pharmaceutical industry In 2005, he departed the University of Tennessee to become Founding Dean of the South College School of Pharmacy in Knoxville. As part of this role he supported the Provost/Executive Vice President with institutional preparation and regional accreditation necessary to founding of the School of Pharmacy.
During part of his time at South College he also was an adjunct faculty member teaching law and ethics at East Tennessee State University College of Pharmacy and Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy. After 13 years in this Deanship, in June 2019 Dr. Fitzgerald arrived in Pocatello, Idaho to begin his service to Idaho State University.
Dr. Fitzgerald has received many prestigious awards, including being the first recipient of the Albert B Prescott Pharmacy Leadership Award. He also received the University of Tennessee National Alumni Association Public Service Award, the Tennessee Pharmacist of the Year Award, and membership in the Academy of Distinguished Teaching Professors at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Dr. Fitzgerald was the inaugural recipient of the South College Distinguished Service Award.
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In this episode of Pharmacy Fusion, we learn about Dr. Ratka and how she has distinguished herself worldwide as an extraordinary leader and innovator in the fields of pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences, and pharmacy education. -
Dean Walter Fitzgerald welcomes new professor Solomon Tadesse to the show. They discuss Solomon's experience in the field, including drug discovery within Oncology.
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Dr. Eric Silk joins Pharmacy Fusion host Dr. Walter Fitzgerald to discuss advancements in state law that allow psychologists to prescribe mental health medications for clients suffering from a variety of mental health disorders.
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Dean Walter Fitzgerald welcomes ISU Associate Professor of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Dr. Jared Barrott for this episode of Pharmacy Fusion. They talk about how pharmacogenomics helps doctors, pharmacists, and researchers predict success of medication therapy based on a patient’s genetics. Dr. Barrott discusses his research and provides predictions for the future of genetics and pharmacogenomics.
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Love is in the air for this Valentine’s Day episode of Pharmacy Fusion. Student pharmacists Rebecca King and David Truong tell their story of meeting and falling in love during pharmacy school, along with providing some heart healthy tips. Besides medication, there are many ways to keep your hearts beating for the ones you love including physical activity, a healthy diet, and limiting stress. Family, friends and loved ones can lean on each other and help one another make these changes for the better.
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Heather Gagliano from the Idaho Immunization Coalition discusses all of the ways Idaho State University College of Pharmacy students and faculty help the coalition meet their mission of immunizing Idaho and what’s on the horizon for the two organizations.
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National Antibiotic Resistance Week is November 18-24. Dr. Karl Madaras-Kelly, professor in the ISU College of Pharmacy joins Pharmacy Fusion for a discussion on how antibiotic resistance came to be in the US, where Idaho ranks compared to other states, and how student pharmacists are working to solve the problem.
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When we visit a community pharmacy for a prescription, we see and interact with our pharmacists. But when hospitalized, and although many pharmacists practice in hospitals, patients do not always interact with them. College of Pharmacy alumni Dr. Scott Milner explains pharmacy services in a hospital setting, and how the process is both similar and different compared to a community pharmacy.
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Pharmacy Fusion offers an inside look, in an easy to understand format, at the new guidelines and availability of COVID-19, monkeypox. Meningitis and influenza immunizations.
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In this month's edition of Pharmacy Fusion, ISU Pharmacy Dean Walter Fitzgerald speaks with Dr. Tom Wadsworth. Tom was involved in both the initial planning stages in 2007 and successful launching of ISU Pharmacy's Alaskan campus in 2016.
