Doctors
Dr. Edith Jones in a hallway alone
Women have long been caretakers of their families, but to become a doctor seemed far reaching as many men of the time didn’t believe that women were fit to be doctors. While there is some debate over who was the first actual woman physician between Dr. Harriet Hunt and Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell it seems that Dr. Hunt while only holding an honorary degree from The Woman’s Medical Collage of Pennsylvania, is the first. Dr. Blackwell is the first to have a medical degree which is why many will say she is the first female doctor; though this is a historical double standard as many male doctors of the time did not hold actual degrees but like Dr. Hunt had undergone apprenticeships with other doctors. So if we want to go with the person that holds the first true medical degree from a “legally authorized” medical school we would be counting Dr. Lydia Folger Fowler as the first medical doctor that was a woman.
Dr. Hunt applied to Harvard in 1847 & 1850 both times being rejected. She had gone through an apprenticeship with Dr. Mott in 1833 and opened a practice with her sister, Sarah. Even after her sister Sarah married and left Dr. Hunt continued to run the practice. She believed in the principles of rest, diet, hygiene, and exercise, leading to the organization of the Ladies Physiological Society which held discussions on hygiene and health.
Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell another of our first female physicians, applied diligently to many medical schools and was turned down one after another. She was even told by one advisor that she would need to go to Paris and dress as a man to gain the knowledge she desired. Dr. Blackwell was finally accepted into Geneva Medical College in New York in 1847. Her admission was quite by accident as the heads of the school were confident that the student body would reject her if they put it to a vote. Ironically the students, thinking this request was a joke gave unanimous approval. Two weeks later she started her studies at the college. In “This Side of Doctoring” there is a quote from a classmate that spoke of Blackwell’s first day: “a lady, on his invitation, entered, whom he formally introduced as Miss Elizabeth Blackwell. She was plainly but neatly dressed in Quaker style, and carried the usual note-book of the medical student. A hush fell upon the class as if each member had been stricken with paralysis. A death-like stillness prevailed during the lecture, and only the newly arrived student took notes. She retired with the Professor, and thereafter came in with him and sat on the platform during lecture.” (Chin p2). In 1849 just two years after starting, Elizabeth Blackwell graduated first in her class. Not a surprise, many in the medical field were not happy with Elizabeth’s triumph in her schooling, but that did not stop other women including her own sister Emily from applying to attend medical school.
By the end of the 19th century there were 19 women’s medical colleges and 9 women’s hospitals but there was still a struggle for co-education and a deep-rooted prejudice about women as doctors. One of the arguments against having women in medicine was “Empathy was to be balanced with cool detachment—and the best physician knew that his role was to cure, not to soothe. The necessity for manly detachment—which women, it was argued, could not achieve—was often used as an objection to women in medicine. But the use of ether and chloroform weakened this argument and “feminized” medicine by undermining more generally the heroic image of the physician” (Abram p 60-61). Men believed that women could not detach themselves from being emotional in their care of patients and therefore would not make decent physicians. With the advent of anesthesia the doctor could no longer hear the cries of the patient therefore the issue of sensitivity was harder to push. Even with discrimination and hostility these women pushed on and by the end of the 19th century 5% of American physicians were women numbering over 7,000. the numbers dipped a bit after WWII and continued through the 1950’s. There was a resurgence of women attending medical school in the late1960’s and 1970’s with the revival of feminism. In 1974 22.4% of medical school enrollees were women, up from the 9.1% in 1969. Currently the admission rates are up, with over 46% of applicants being female.
With the many firsts of females in the medical field we have Dr. Rebecca Crumpler, who challenged the prejudices that had prevented African Americans from having careers in the medical field. She became the first African American woman in the United States to earn a M.D. degree. Dr. Crumpler was also the only African American woman to graduate from the New England Female Medical College. She graduated in 1864 prior to their closure 1873. Dr. Edith Jones was another African American who was a pioneer for over 50 years in the medical field, especially when it came to health care for those most in need. In 1952 she was the first African American to graduate from the University Of Arkansas School Of Medicine. Jones’s sister died from typhoid in the 1930’s - this became a moment that changed her life, as she felt that if her sister had received more medical care she would have had a higher chance of survival. Her sister was only scene by a doctor one time during her illness. Jones was quoted as saying “The children who were able to have medical care would live; I saw the doctor going in and out of their homes. Although it may not be true, I felt that if I had been a physician or if there had been physicians available or we had adequate money,-that a physician would have come to us.” (NLM website)
These women mentioned and many others have affected what the medical field is today. They brought on change to an area that was run by men and now at least 50% of those applying to medical school are women. While there still are areas that we need to overcome with equality between men and women we have come a long way from the time when women were only allowed to be midwives and then nurses.
During my research for this website, I surveyed female physicians and nurses at The Ohio State University Medical Center. Overall they agree that there are far more women then there used to be entering medical school. Women are taking on more roles then just being doctors for women and children, they are taking on leadership roles and entering those fields that are in some ways still considered a mans area, such as surgery. Dr. Pena stated “there is definitely more participation, especially in the subspecialists that were predominately run by men like surgery and orthopedics.” There were also statements about how the medical field has becoming more accommodating to women; there is “more flexibility with family needs (ex. Part-time doctors), breastfeeding accommodations, etc.” Dr. Bonachea. Her statement shows that we have gone from saying that women can’t be doctors because of there female “issues” to being more open and accommodating to them when they do have a family etc… While we have come a long way in the treatment of women there is still the consensus that women are still being paid lower wages then men for the same jobs.
Dr. Hunt applied to Harvard in 1847 & 1850 both times being rejected. She had gone through an apprenticeship with Dr. Mott in 1833 and opened a practice with her sister, Sarah. Even after her sister Sarah married and left Dr. Hunt continued to run the practice. She believed in the principles of rest, diet, hygiene, and exercise, leading to the organization of the Ladies Physiological Society which held discussions on hygiene and health.
Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell another of our first female physicians, applied diligently to many medical schools and was turned down one after another. She was even told by one advisor that she would need to go to Paris and dress as a man to gain the knowledge she desired. Dr. Blackwell was finally accepted into Geneva Medical College in New York in 1847. Her admission was quite by accident as the heads of the school were confident that the student body would reject her if they put it to a vote. Ironically the students, thinking this request was a joke gave unanimous approval. Two weeks later she started her studies at the college. In “This Side of Doctoring” there is a quote from a classmate that spoke of Blackwell’s first day: “a lady, on his invitation, entered, whom he formally introduced as Miss Elizabeth Blackwell. She was plainly but neatly dressed in Quaker style, and carried the usual note-book of the medical student. A hush fell upon the class as if each member had been stricken with paralysis. A death-like stillness prevailed during the lecture, and only the newly arrived student took notes. She retired with the Professor, and thereafter came in with him and sat on the platform during lecture.” (Chin p2). In 1849 just two years after starting, Elizabeth Blackwell graduated first in her class. Not a surprise, many in the medical field were not happy with Elizabeth’s triumph in her schooling, but that did not stop other women including her own sister Emily from applying to attend medical school.
By the end of the 19th century there were 19 women’s medical colleges and 9 women’s hospitals but there was still a struggle for co-education and a deep-rooted prejudice about women as doctors. One of the arguments against having women in medicine was “Empathy was to be balanced with cool detachment—and the best physician knew that his role was to cure, not to soothe. The necessity for manly detachment—which women, it was argued, could not achieve—was often used as an objection to women in medicine. But the use of ether and chloroform weakened this argument and “feminized” medicine by undermining more generally the heroic image of the physician” (Abram p 60-61). Men believed that women could not detach themselves from being emotional in their care of patients and therefore would not make decent physicians. With the advent of anesthesia the doctor could no longer hear the cries of the patient therefore the issue of sensitivity was harder to push. Even with discrimination and hostility these women pushed on and by the end of the 19th century 5% of American physicians were women numbering over 7,000. the numbers dipped a bit after WWII and continued through the 1950’s. There was a resurgence of women attending medical school in the late1960’s and 1970’s with the revival of feminism. In 1974 22.4% of medical school enrollees were women, up from the 9.1% in 1969. Currently the admission rates are up, with over 46% of applicants being female.
With the many firsts of females in the medical field we have Dr. Rebecca Crumpler, who challenged the prejudices that had prevented African Americans from having careers in the medical field. She became the first African American woman in the United States to earn a M.D. degree. Dr. Crumpler was also the only African American woman to graduate from the New England Female Medical College. She graduated in 1864 prior to their closure 1873. Dr. Edith Jones was another African American who was a pioneer for over 50 years in the medical field, especially when it came to health care for those most in need. In 1952 she was the first African American to graduate from the University Of Arkansas School Of Medicine. Jones’s sister died from typhoid in the 1930’s - this became a moment that changed her life, as she felt that if her sister had received more medical care she would have had a higher chance of survival. Her sister was only scene by a doctor one time during her illness. Jones was quoted as saying “The children who were able to have medical care would live; I saw the doctor going in and out of their homes. Although it may not be true, I felt that if I had been a physician or if there had been physicians available or we had adequate money,-that a physician would have come to us.” (NLM website)
These women mentioned and many others have affected what the medical field is today. They brought on change to an area that was run by men and now at least 50% of those applying to medical school are women. While there still are areas that we need to overcome with equality between men and women we have come a long way from the time when women were only allowed to be midwives and then nurses.
During my research for this website, I surveyed female physicians and nurses at The Ohio State University Medical Center. Overall they agree that there are far more women then there used to be entering medical school. Women are taking on more roles then just being doctors for women and children, they are taking on leadership roles and entering those fields that are in some ways still considered a mans area, such as surgery. Dr. Pena stated “there is definitely more participation, especially in the subspecialists that were predominately run by men like surgery and orthopedics.” There were also statements about how the medical field has becoming more accommodating to women; there is “more flexibility with family needs (ex. Part-time doctors), breastfeeding accommodations, etc.” Dr. Bonachea. Her statement shows that we have gone from saying that women can’t be doctors because of there female “issues” to being more open and accommodating to them when they do have a family etc… While we have come a long way in the treatment of women there is still the consensus that women are still being paid lower wages then men for the same jobs.