Stethoscopes for Students 2015

It’s often draped around the necks of doctors and helps to check a patient’s heart and blood pressure. The stethoscope is considered a symbol of the medical profession.

On Tuesday, Nov. 3, each student of the BUSM’s Class of 2019 received one as a gift from a BUSM alum.

“This gift is something these students will carry with them for the rest of their lives,” said Nanette Harvey, MD, course director for Introduction to Clinical Medicine and coordinator for the medical equipment distribution to first-year students. “The alumni who provided these stethoscopes have set another example of their outstanding generosity.”

More than 80 alumni participated in the Stethoscopes for Students program, now in its eighth year and coordinated by the BUSM Alumni Association. Along with the stethoscope, the distribution of medical equipment included a blood pressure cuff, ophthalmoscope, otoscope, reflex hammer and two tuning forks.

As a special addition to this year’s event alumnus Elizabeth Dooling, MD (BUSM ’65) a pediatric neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, donated and personally handed out copies of Atul Gawande’s book “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End” to each member of the class.

After trying on their stethoscopes and posing for pictures with fellow classmates, students wrote thank-you notes to the alumni who purchased their gifts.

“This is such an amazing experience,” said first-year student Stephen Hill. “It’s great to feel that connection between me and my previous alumnus. This moment feels very real.”

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