{"id":137575,"date":"2025-08-28T12:32:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T16:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=137575"},"modified":"2026-03-03T11:19:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:19:52","slug":"annual-lorraine-stanfield-lecture-focused-on-the-importance-of-listening","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/news-events\/articles\/2025\/annual-lorraine-stanfield-lecture-focused-on-the-importance-of-listening\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Lorraine Stanfield Lecture Focused on the Importance of Listening"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin news-block-editorial-leadin has-media has-media-focus-center-middle\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" src=\"\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"Two women medical students facing each other, one places a stethoscope on the other\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1-540x360.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1-1080x720.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_StudentsCelebrating_1-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Abijah Pennant (l) gets an impromptu check-up from a classmate.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Student Life<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAnnual Lorraine Stanfield Lecture Focused on the Importance of Listening\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">More than 80 alumni funded the 138 stethoscopes that were part of the instrument kits first-year medical students received following the lecture.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar news-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">August 28, 2025<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-bu-buniverse news-block-bu-buniverse wp-block-global-buniverse\"><div class=\"wp-block-global-buniverse-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"BUniverse Video Player: qpoiA0\" src=\"\/\/www.bu.edu\/buniverse\/interface\/embed\/embed.html?v=qpoiA0&amp;jsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Befitting an event focused on the importance of the physical examination, speakers at the 8<sup>th<\/sup> Annual Lorraine Stanfield, MD, Memorial Doctoring Lecture, held Aug. 25 in Hiebert Lounge, kept returning to the importance of listening. Whether students were listening to a patient\u2019s heartbeat through the new stethoscopes donated by alumni, or talking with patients in an examination room, speakers emphasized the quality of being able to hear what the body and the person were communicating about their health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>She (Lorraine Stanfield) was someone who loved students deeply. She listened to everyone in a way that you would want to be listened to, whether you were a patient or a friend.<\/p><cite>Priya Garg, MD, associate dean of medical education<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese stethoscopes are more than just a tool to help you examine a patient \u2026They represent a physician\u2019s role as a healer and caregiver,\u201d said keynote speaker Ricardo Cruz, MD\u201911, MA\u201907, MPH\u201903, assistant professor of medicine and assistant dean of student affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_Speaker_2.jpg\" alt=\"Man at podium speaking\" class=\"wp-image-137586\" width=\"275\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_Speaker_2.jpg 4704w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_Speaker_2-636x514.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_Speaker_2-1024x827.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_Speaker_2-768x620.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_Speaker_2-1536x1240.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_Speaker_2-2048x1654.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_Speaker_2-446x360.jpg 446w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_Speaker_2-634x512.jpg 634w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_Speaker_2-892x720.jpg 892w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_Speaker_2-1268x1024.jpg 1268w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_Speaker_2-1239x1000.jpg 1239w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px\" \/><figcaption>Keynote speaker Ricardo Cruz,  MD\u201911, MA\u201907, MPH\u201903, assistant professor of medicine and assistant dean of student affairs.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe listen to the body to understand, diagnose and treat illness, (but the stethoscope) also represents presence. When we utilize the stethoscope, we should be attentive and present, not only listening to the patient\u2019s body but listening to their stories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stanfield, who died in 2017 at age 56 from breast cancer, worked for two decades as a primary care physician caring for underserved patients at Dorchester House Health Center (DotHouse). A much beloved teacher, advisor, mentor and clinician who won the school\u2019s and University\u2019s highest teaching awards as well as the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award for clinical excellence, Stanfield was remembered with love and admiration at this year\u2019s memorial lecture by those who knew her and worked with her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cShe was someone who loved students deeply. She listened to everyone in a way that you would want to be listened to, whether you were a patient or a friend,\u201d recalled Priya Garg, MD, associate dean of medical education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Student_StanfieldEquiptment_2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Student receiving his medical equipment\" class=\"wp-image-137588\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Student_StanfieldEquiptment_2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Student_StanfieldEquiptment_2-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Student_StanfieldEquiptment_2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Student_StanfieldEquiptment_2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Student_StanfieldEquiptment_2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Student_StanfieldEquiptment_2-540x360.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Student_StanfieldEquiptment_2-1080x720.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Student_StanfieldEquiptment_2-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Student_StanfieldEquiptment_2-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Student_StanfieldEquiptment_2-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Student_StanfieldEquiptment_2-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>First-year medical student Andrew Chang receives his stethoscope and other equipment. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Heather Miselis, MD\u201904, MPH\u201900, associate dean of alumni affairs, worked with Stanfield at DotHouse and remembered her as an outstanding educator and a compassionate person. Miselis told students that more than 80 alumni funded the 138 stethoscopes that were part of instrument kits they received following the lecture, which also included the patella hammer, tuning forks, ophthalmoscope and an otoscope. Since 2007, alumni, through the Alumni Association, have donated more than 2,500 stethoscopes to first-year students, Miselis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think the stethoscope specifically is something we\u2019ve been thinking about, some of us, since childhood,\u201d said first-year medical student Anya Sanchorawala. The daughter of two physicians, Sanchorawala dressed up as doctor for Halloween as a child, using her parents\u2019 scrubs and draping her father\u2019s stethoscope over her shoulders. When he\u2019d give her a ride to and from school, the stethoscope was always in the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been a big symbol of what it means to be a physician, and I\u2019m really grateful to now have one,\u201d said Sanchorawala. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m finally there, in the medical community, with my parents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt means a lot that I received my stethoscope from someone who was educated here at BU. Hopefully, I\u2019m in a position to do the same someday,\u201d said first-year student Ishan Oza. \u201cAs a physician, you not only have to take care of your patients but also make sure the next generation of physicians are being properly educated and have the tools they need to save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_DonorBooks_1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Seated woman handing out copies of a book\" class=\"wp-image-137590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_DonorBooks_1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_DonorBooks_1-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_DonorBooks_1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_DonorBooks_1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_DonorBooks_1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_DonorBooks_1-540x360.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_DonorBooks_1-1080x720.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_DonorBooks_1-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_DonorBooks_1-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_DonorBooks_1-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/files\/2025\/08\/Stanfield_DonorBooks_1-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Elizabeth Dooling, MD\u201965, purchased copies of Atul Gawande\u2019s book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, and handed them out to students.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Students receive alumni support in many ways. Elizabeth Dooling, MD\u201965, a retired pediatric neurologist, set up a table at the Stanfield lecture, as she has done since 2014, to distribute copies she purchased of Atul Gawande\u2019s book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, giving one to each student. That\u2019s approximately 1,800 copies of the book she\u2019s given free to students over the last dozen years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the first person in her family to go to medical school, first-year student Alison Chilcott credited their support with helping her down that difficult path but also appreciated her new \u201cfamily\u201d in the medical community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s like transferring the support of family to people who will take me even further,\u201d said Chilcott. She was touched by the memories of Stanfield shared by colleagues and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSeeing how many people were moved by her, were influenced by her, gives me a lot of hope that I will be trained by people who want to continue her legacy,\u201d said Chilcott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Denis Pegosyan, another first-year student, said he didn\u2019t expect such a big ceremony. A month into his first year, with his first exam happening later in the week, Pegosyan said it was a refreshing break from academics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s nice to take a step back and zoom out and see what this is really all about: helping other human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Befitting an event focused on the importance of the physical examination, speakers at the 8th Annual Lorraine Stanfield, MD, Memorial Doctoring Lecture, held Aug. 25 in Hiebert Lounge, kept returning to the importance of listening. Whether students were listening to a patient\u2019s heartbeat through the new stethoscopes donated by alumni, or talking with patients in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":903,"featured_media":137584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"Student Life","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[409,479,480,405],"bu-publication":[367],"medicine-article-category":[],"medicine-topic":[],"news-article-category":[455,384],"news-topic":[],"bu_edition":[390],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/137575"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/903"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137575"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/137575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142429,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/137575\/revisions\/142429"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137575"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=137575"},{"taxonomy":"medicine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/medicine-article-category?post=137575"},{"taxonomy":"medicine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/medicine-topic?post=137575"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=137575"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=137575"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=137575"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=137575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}