Dr. Fitch has had three different careers, all with a focus on the cardiovascular system. She started her career as an intensive care unit nurse in a cardiovascular ICU in Beaumont, TX. She then became a nurse anesthetist doing cardiovascular & thoracic anesthesia in an anesthesia care team mode of practice at Baylor College of Medicine/The Methodist Hospital in Houston TX.

Finally, in a quest for more knowledge, she went to University of Texas, Houston now McGovern medical school. After a residency in anesthesiology & fellowship in cardiovascular & thoracic anesthesiology, both at University of Washington in Seattle, Dr. Fitch chose a career in academic anesthesiology. She was an Assistant Professor at Yale University & Associate OR Manager at Yale New Haven Hospital, where she also co-directed the cardiovascular fellowship program.

Dr. Fitch then served at Division Chief & Vice Chair at the Baylor College of Medicine/The Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX. Her final academic position was as Residency Program Director, Professor & Chair at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Fitch served as the President of the Society of Academic Anesthesiology Associations & the Association of Academic Anesthesiology Chairs, 2012-2014. Also in 2014, she was only the second female to become President of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Dr. Fitch married her high school sweetheart, John & they recently celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary. They are blessed & lucky to be having the time of their lives in retirement, traveling the world & doing their part to make the world a better place. Their motto is “The world is our Classroom”.