Robert Walter MD, DHCE

Education

2014 – 2015 Fellowship, Sleep Medicine, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
2011 – 2014 Fellowship, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
2009 – 2011 Residency, Internal Medicine, Walter Reed Army Medical Center
2008 – 2009 Internship, Internal Medicine, Walter Reed Army Medical Center
2004 – 2008 Doctor of Medicine, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago
2002 – 2004 Doctor of Healthcare Ethics (DHCE), Duquesne University
2001 – 2002 Master of Arts in Healthcare Ethics, Loyola University Chicago
1997 – 2001 Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Loyola University Chicago

Biography

LTC (Dr.) Walter currently serves as the Program Director for the Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at Brooke Army Medical Center and as the Consultant for Pulmonary/Critical Care (60XH8) to the U.S. Army Surgeon General. He earned his Doctorate in Medicine (M.D.) from the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago and completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Following completion of his residency, he pursued fellowship training in Pulmonary Diseases, Sleep Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Prior to entering the field of medicine, he earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Applied Philosophy/Healthcare Ethics at Loyola University Chicago and a Doctorate in Healthcare Ethics (D.H.C.E.) from Duquesne University.

He currently serves as the Chair of the Ethics Committee for the San Antonio Military Health System and recently completed a six year tenure as the Consultant to the U.S. Army Surgeon General for Medical Ethics. While stationed at BAMC, he has served in numerous roles to include: Chief, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; Chair, COVID-19 Inpatient Operations Taskforce; Site Director, Joint Tele-Critical Care Network; Clinical Lead, DHA COVID-19 Remote Patient Monitoring Program; and as a senior member of the BAMC/59th MDW ECMO/ALRT team. An active clinical researcher, he has published over 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, and invited reviews within the fields of pulmonary diseases, sleep disordered breathing, critical care medicine, and clinical bioethics.

Over the course of his career, LTC Walter has been the recipient of several academic and military awards, to include: the Major General Lewis A. Mologne Award, General Graves B. Erskine Award, U.S. Army Surgeon General’s Physician Recognition Award for a Major, Order of Military Medical Merit (O2M3), American Academy of Sleep Medicine Young Investigator Award, American College of Chest Physicians Research Award, Army Chapter American College of Physicians MTF Teacher of the Year Award, Lt Gen P.K. Carlton SAUSHEC Faculty of the Year Award, and the U.S. Army Medical Department “A” Proficiency Designator Award. His areas of interest includes: graduate medical education, simulation-based training, extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation, and ethical issues in end-of-life care.

Career Highlights: Positions, Projects, Deployements, Awards and Additional Publications

Current: Associate Program Director, SAUSHEC Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Fellowship

Current: Site Director, Virtual Critical Care Consultation and Advanced Virtual Support for Special Operations Programs, San Antonio Military Medical Center

Current: Chair, Institutional Bioethics Committee, San Antonio Military Medical Center

Current: Director, Basic Sciences Spaced Education Curriculum, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

2016: Medical Director, Medical/Surgical Intensive Care Unit, 28th Combat Support Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq

Representative Bibliography

Walter RJ. “The Foundations of Medicine and the Prophetic Voice of Catholic Healthcare.” Health Progress 87 (October 2006): 40-45. PMID: 16986470

Walter RJ. “I was Ill and You Cared for Me.” AMA Journal of Ethics 5(May 2007):333-335. PMID: 23228573

Walter RJ. “Recruiting for Military Scholarship Programs on Medical School Campuses.” AMA Journal of Ethics 9 (October 2007): 667-675. PMID: 23228573

Walter RJ. “Can Physicians’ Contractual Obligations Limit Their Professional Obligations?” AMA Journal of Ethics 11(October 2009): 755-760. PMID: 23206938

Kon AA, Walter RJ. “Health Care Ethics Consultation via Telemedicine: Linking Expert Clinical Ethicists and Local Consultants.” AMA Journal of Ethics. 2016 May 1; 18(5): 514-20. PMID: 27213882

Holley AB, Cohee B, Walter RJ, et al. Voluntary hyperventilation is superior to methacholine challenge testing for detecting airway hyperreactivity in nonathletes. J Asthma. 2012 Aug;49(6):614-9. PMID:22793526

Lettieri CJ, Walter RJ. Impact of Group Education on Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Adherence. J Clin Sleep Med 2013; 9(6): 537-541. PMID: 23772185

Walter RJ, Moores LK, Jimenez D. Pulmonary Embolism: Current and New Treatment Options. Curr Med Res Opin 2014; Jul 15:1-15. PMID: 24983743

Msliwiec V, Walter RJ, Collen J, Wesensten N. “Military Sleep Management: An Operational Imperative.” Army Medical Department Journal; 2016 Apr-Sep; (2-16): 128-34. PMID: 27215880

Walter RJ, Moores LK. Venous Thromboembolism. Textbook of Critical Care (7th ed), 2015.