Hometown: Altavista, VA
Bio: Hi! I’m Mary Richfield. I grew up in rural south-central Virginia with the Blue Ridge Mountains in view. My journey to medicine started when my grandmother, who was a nurse, encouraged all her children to go into medicine. I resisted the medical field until I learned about the wonder of the human body’s design and the great help we can provide to the suffering. My aim in medicine is to be part of the push against the darkness of disease and despair with the hope that Jesus brings. I’m very passionate about seeking whole-person health for myself and others. I love experimenting with flavors and trying to see how much nutrition and deliciousness I can fit in each meal. I also love being outside and moving my body under the sun. I’m no Everest climber, but I do relish a day in the mountains or on the beach. For me, one of the most important aspects of health is to have peace in relationships with all the laughter and grief that come with them. Not only do these things make us healthy, but they also give meaning and purpose in our lives.
Why Memorial: When interviewing with Memorial, I was blown away that a program could have everything that I wanted in residency training. This program is truly full-spectrum, providing inpatient medicine, plenty of inpatient pediatrics, plenty of obstetrics, an abundance of procedures, and excellence in mentorship regarding practice management and public health. The work and learning are rigorous, but the faculty and administration are well-organized and work to build you up and mentor you both professionally and personally. I also have an interest in international medicine, addiction medicine, street medicine, lifestyle medicine, and integrative health. Memorial has plenty of well-established opportunities to pursue all of these. I had never been to Indiana before interviewing, but I knew this was the place for me. I so look forward to plugging into the community of South Bend for the next several years.
Clinical interests: Whole-person health, obstetrics and women’s health, lifestyle medicine, osteopathic medicine, medicine to overcome addictions, integrative health, international medicine
Hobbies: Reading and hearing stories, enjoying beautiful scenery, experimenting with foods and flavors, dabbling in learning other languages, learning new songs on the piano, knitting and crocheting, soap-making, spending time with people who call me “Auntie Mary,” going on adventures that other people plan.
Favorite quotes: “I’m going on an adventure!”- Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit, “Steady pace, now. Don’t look frightened, whatever you do. We’ve done the silliest thing in the world by coming at all: but now that we are here, we’d best put a bold face on it.”- Puddleglum, The Silver Chair, “We can’t any of us do all we would like, but we can do our best for every case that comes to us, and that helps amazingly.”- Polly Milton, Old Fashioned Girl, “Live without regrets. Life is an adventure.”- My Ohma, “Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.”- My Dad
Favorite books: The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, Crazy Love by Francis Chan, The Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers, Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, Gray Matter by David Levy, Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson, Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Favorite podcast: The World and Everything in It
