Deborah Deluca, M.S., JD

Assistant Professor
Department of Interprofessional Health Sciences and Health Administration

I am an out-of-the-box thinker and enjoy the challenge of walking the line between conventional and non-conventional thought. This characteristic is directly reflected in my varied educational background, work and life experiences, all of which have led me to have several areas of interest as a professor. My legal background specialty area of practice is in Health Law. My areas of interest within this specialty include: the law surrounding death and dying, xenotransplantation and the need for a heightened informed consent standard. My medical sciences background is in manufacturing, production and pharmaceutical education with work experiences domestically and internationally.

My specialty areas of interest are: medical pharmacology; pharmacy law; prescribing rights, responsibilities and errors; infectious disease management; cardiovascular disease management; and the emerging field of pharmacogenomics from both the medical/pharmaceutical and legal perspectives My pharmaceutical industry executive leadership experience lends me a particular interest in executive level leadership issues, total quality, Six-Sigma and improving processes within the healthcare system, especially at the institutional level.

I spend a great deal of time teaching future health care practitioners about the benefits of using animal assisted therapy in their practices to enhance patient outcomes and goals attainment. I currently have three fully trained and certified service dogs and one up-and-coming service dog that I use in training and presentations with students and current practitioners both on campus and in other institutional settings.

Students energize me. They make what I already enjoy doing worthwhile.

Finally, my educational philosophy is simple: If one believes that every truth leads to a greater truth, then scientifically, failure is the best thing that could happen, as it allows one to grow in new dimensions of thought. It forces one to reassess their unique model to address great challenges and opportunities to rearchitect a new way of looking at the world. Failure is merely a stepping stone to a greater truth.