I went to Kathleen Fitzgerald years ago, specifically because I did not want to wait 4 hours in a waiting room before seeing my regular doctor, Dr. Kathleen Bowling. Dr. Bowling was very nice and very competent but always seemed to be attending to an emergency with one of her pregnant patients. I was not pregnant and just wanted my annual physical which was not possible with Dr. Bowling at that time.
I remember calling a referral service for a RI gynecologist whose primary practice was gynecology, not obstetrics. I was referred to Kathleen Fitzgerald. I do not place "Dr." before her name because she does not deserve to be referred to as doctor.
I went to see her twice which was two times too many. She was so terrible that I left her office in tears and in a total state of confusion. She was mean, arrogant, abrupt, and most importantly, had no empathy at all. I sincerely do not know how this woman ever became a doctor. She should have been kicked out of the profession decades ago.
Many women consider their gynecologist to be their primary doctor even though every person should have a separate GP. In my case, I did not have a GP at the time, possibly because there has always been a shortage of good GP's in Rhode Island. I ended up calling Fitzgerald for a urological problem I was having. I listed my symptoms. I think I was in my late twenties to early thirties at the time and I was very scared. Instead of referring me to a urologist, she told me to come in to her office. I had to wait a week to see her. When she walked in to see me, she had a scowl on her face, did not greet me or make me feel the least bit at ease, proceeded to reiterate the symptoms I had already given her and when I asked her a question, she snapped at me and said in a loud voice "I don't know what's wrong, I am NOT A SPECIALIST!" I just crumpled up, put my head down and started to cry. I just didn't know why she insisted I go to her office. In retrospect, she probably was just looking for billable hours for the office visit. My crying softened her hard shell for a moment yet she still offered no comfort or information. She said she might be able to refer me to someone. No thanks. I decided I did not want to go to anyone this incompetent person was associated with. I hopped down from the examining table, ripped the johnny off and threw on my clothes as fast as I could. I literally ran out of her office.
Long story short, I was referred to a wonderful, compassionate urologist named Dr. Joseph Cambio. This doctor took his oath of "do no harm" seriously and is a credit to the medical profession. His staff were all wonderful, he talked to me and did some tests and then scheduled me for a simple and common procedure which alleviated my symptoms. I could not have been happier.
Kathleen Fitzgerald is one of the worst people I ever encountered in my entire life. She probably suffers from some serious mental illness and should not have been allowed to practice.

Submitted May 21, 2022

Dr. Fitzgerald is barely acceptable for routine care - and that's it! I went to her for years and dealt with her cursory manner (ie, hand on doorknob as you're trying to ask questions) as she was conveniently located and I at the time had no problems. Once I started to experience significant gyno difficulties everything went down the drain, from finding out that I supposedly needed a hysterectomy by her medical assistant (she would not even get on the phone for a minute) to dealing with her arrogant attitude and limited knowledge base (also told by other docs that I later consulted that she is NOT a good surgeon). I ditched her practice after 10 years and found excellent specialists that thought outside the box and gave me much better personalized surgical options than a total abdominal hysterectomy which was all she could offer. A very minimally interested doctor who doesn't much care about you. BEWARE!

Submitted April 23, 2013

If you need surgery with her keep in mind her bedside manner is awful. I had surgery. She did not even check on me in recovery or give a telephone call to check on me after surgery. The only person that actually cared was the hospital I had the procedure at. She also did not even discuss my endometriosis with me that she happened to find while I was having surgery. She is good for routine visits as long as you have no problems. If a problem arises, I would strongly recommend going to see a specialist. I wish I had gotten a second opinion. BTW- I went in for surgery for a routine removal of a 1" cyst and she wound up having my whole ovary removed. I was not even notified by her that she took my ovary. The nurses in recovery had to tell me. This is absolutely disgraceful from a doctor. She should definitely learn to inform her patients.

Submitted Nov. 16, 2011

Highly recommend Dr. Fitzgerald.She is genuine and professional as well as punctual. I would feel totally confident having surgery performed by her.!

Submitted April 23, 2011

Had to switch to Neighborhood and Dr.Fitzgerald isn't in their network of doctors:( So sad to have to find a new obgyn after 7 years. Dr. Fitzgerald is always friendly and very knowledgeable!

Submitted Jan. 26, 2011

I had an ob/gyn exam there. The patients medical notes/records seemed thorough, and I would trust her opinion.

Submitted Feb. 25, 2009

She can be a little impersonal, but she is an excellent doctor. She doesn't take very long with the exam but she know her business. She found a tiny polyp during my pap smear and lanced it immediately. Also, anytime I had a problem with my pap smear being abnormal the office always called me immediately.

Submitted Sept. 12, 2008

I saw Dr. Fitzgerald after a friend recommended her. I will not return. The visit was very impersonal and only took about 5 minutes total. I don't know what can be accomplished that quickly other than making the patient feel uncomfortable.

Submitted June 10, 2008

The staff was unfriendly. They had a frosted window that remained closed and I didn't even know if you could tap on it to get service. The whole examination took less than 5 minutes (she didn't even have me take off my top, so the breast exam was not very thorough, despite that I had marked I have had a history of breast problems on my information form). I only wanted the appointment to refill my birth control (which I was able to do), but if I had something wrong, I doubt she would have caught it. Moreover, the office doesn't even notify you about your pap smear unless it is bad news (what if the bad news letter gets lost in the mail?). They even forgot to apply my insurance, despite the fact that they copied my card. When I got the bill for $240, it had to be dealt with through a medical billing contracted company (rather than the doctor's office). I was not impressed and will not be returning to her again. I got better service at the free clinic where I went to grad school!

Submitted June 2, 2008