Faith Thayer Fitzgerald (September 24, 1943 – December 3, 2021) was an American physician, medical educator, and public speaker.
She was emeritus professor at the UC Davis School of Medicine and was the recipient of multiple teaching awards.
Toward the end of the war, her semi-destitute mother moved to Berkeley, California in search of work, and there she was later joined by her parents who emigrated from China.
By the age of sixteen, her family finances were in a poor state so Fitzgerald took a job as a cashier at a local theater.
In addition to pre-medical studies, she took many humanities courses including Philosophy, Russian literature, and Baroque Art.
After a stint in the college dormatory, Fitzgerald moved to a small cottage in Santa Barbara to focus on her studies.
Hence, during her difficult first year at University of California, San Francisco medical school, Fitzgerald was left as the sole caretaker for her mother.
She remained at San Francisco General Hospital where she completed her residency,[4] becoming board certified in internal medicine in 1973.