Carol Warfield

Dr. Warfield graduated from Tufts University with bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and mechanical engineering. She subsequently graduated from Tufts Medical School and trained in anesthesiology and pain medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. She has been on the faculty of Harvard Medical School for over 30 years is currently the Lowenstein Distinguished Professor of Anesthesia. She is the first woman at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to hold an endowed chair at Harvard and served as Director of the Pain Management Center for 20 years and as Chairman of the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine for 7 years. Dr Warfield has published over 100 articles and several books on the topic of pain medicine, has lectured extensively both nationally and internationally and has served on the boards of many professional societies related to pain medicine.

Publications

Warfield has authored two textbooks on pain management, Principles and Practice of Pain Medicine, and the Manual of Pain Management as well as over 100 academic publications.[2]

Lawsuit

In 2008, Warfield filed a lawsuit against Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, former Beth Israel CEO Paul F. Levy, Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians, and Josef E. Fischer alleging gender-based discrimination, retaliation, and defamation in connection with Beth Israel's decision to terminate Warfield's appointment in 2007. Warfield alleged that during the preceding several years, Fischer engaged in a relentless pattern of gender-based discriminatory treatment of her, and that she repeatedly complained to Levy about Fischer's treatment, but that no or insufficient action was taken.

The parties settled out of court in February 2013. While the defendants admitted no wrongdoing, under the terms of the settlement Beth Israel Deaconess paid Warfield $7 million, named the hospital’s pain clinic in her honor, and agreed to sponsor an annual lecture series on women’s health and the academic contributions of women in surgery. The case and its settlement attracted considerable local media attention due to the large settlement amount and the fact that the settlement was made public.[3][4]