PhD Program Graduate Lands Important Health Policy Research Position

BUSSW is happy to congratulate Dr. Therese Fitzgerald, a January 2008 graduate of the School’s doctoral program, on her new position as the Health Policy Research Director for the Massachusetts Medical Society.

For more than 200 years, the Massachusetts Medical Society has served as a professional membership organization for physicians. Today, through the combined efforts of 400 employees and publications including The New England Journal of Medicine, the organization serves as an advocate for physicians and patients, furthering the goal of quality medical care and publishing reports on important advances in medical science and practice.

Dr. Fitzgerald will have responsibility for developing and directing many of the Society’s health policy research and survey efforts, and assist in expanding strategic thinking and research capabilities. Her responsibilities will include oversight of applicable primary and secondary research in various areas including health policy, health systems, health care quality and cost, and practice environment issues.

Professor Lena Lundgren, Dr. Fitzgerald’s doctoral advisor, states that "getting this very exciting career opportunity is not only evidence of Therese’s exceptional personal, intellectual and research strengths, it also represents a little known secret–that schools of social work, through their doctoral programs, provide their students with excellent research skills that are truly valued in the allied health professions.”