Joslyn W. Fisher, M.D. ’95, Res. ’98, MPH, FACP, professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Internal Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, graduated from Tufts University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a certificate in community health. After nine months volunteering at a non-governmental organization in rural India, she completed her medical school and internal medicine residency at Baylor. She joined the Baylor faculty and continued her studies to achieve her MPH from the University of Texas School of Public Health.
Her academic and service endeavors have focused on women’s health. She co-founded the VIVA Project and started the VIVA clinic at Harris Health System in 2000 to increase awareness of and provide services for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault (SA). In 2015, she became medical co-director of the Harris Health System Forensic Nursing Program. In these roles, she has cared for over a thousand trauma-survivors and worked to ensure that their physical and mental health needs are met. She has enjoyed teaching many learners across the country how to help patients who have experienced IPV and SA.
Dr. Fisher has served on the boards of the Houston Area Women’s Center, Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, and Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse. She has been a faculty advisor for the Baylor student group Health Professionals Against Interpersonal Violence and helped establish their biannual student-run health fairs at The Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Dr. Fisher co-founded the Texas Medical Center Women’s Health Network (WHN) in 2002, a non-profit dedicated to advancing women’s health through collaborations in education, research and advocacy. The WHN established Houston-wide women’s health programming and recognition that continues today after the WHN merged into the Greater Houston Area Women’s Chamber of Commerce in 2015.
Dr. Fisher served as the chair of the Ben Taub Hospital Ethics Committee, during which time she created an ethics consult service, trained members to serve as ethics consultants and developed a consultation manual. Currently, she serves as chair of the system-wide Harris Health Ethics Committee. She has designed innovative courses at Baylor, such as “Health Advocacy & Service Learning” to foster skills in community service. Students work in small groups to develop community project proposals—several of which have come to fruition.
When Dr. Fisher is not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons, extended
