He served as head of the Surgical Physiological Laboratory and Chief of the Hyperalimentation Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital before assuming the position of Christian R. Holmes Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 1978.
In addition to his responsibilities as chairman, Fischer served as a professor of molecular and cellular physiology and Associate Dean for Community Affairs at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
[2] Fischer recruited 29 surgeons in his first 3 years at Beth Israel Deaconess, which was key in mending the institution's finances, after a 1996 merger resulted in a loss of more than $280 Million for the hospital.
[3] Fischer's research expertise includes nutritional support, cachexia, sepsis, enterocutaneous fistulas, and surgical education.
The parties resolved their dispute in February 2013 when Beth Israel Deaconess paid Warfield $7 million, clarified its policies and procedures for employees to report discrimination, agreed to sponsor a lecture series on women's health and women's achievement in surgery, and named the hospital's pain clinic in Warfield's honor.