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PRESIDENT’S PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE MESSAGE

Women in Medicine:

Women aged 45 years or less found combining parenthood and
Accomplishments and Challenges work more of a challenge compared to those older than 45 years. ated the Blalock-Taussig-Thomas shunt to prolong the lives of chil-
dren born with tetralogy of Fallot.
Compensation, gender equity and age discrimination were more
challenging for the older group. 94% of those surveyed said they • Helen Flanders Dunbar MD, PhD (1902-1959) – considered the
By Rodolfo “Rudy” Molina, MD, MACR, FACP, 2021 BCMS President
made a personal life trade-off because of work obligations. Society’s “mother of holistic medicine” and founded the American Psycho-
view of women as caretakers is powerful and many surveyed felt they somatic Society and its journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
needed to choose a specialty that allowed for flexible hours in order
March 1st marks the beginning of a month dedicated to the history for Indigent Women and to be the primary caretaker at home. Although 71% of the women • Virginia Apgar MD (1909-1974) – Created the Apgar score, the
of women. I thought the center piece of this article should explore Children for the purpose surveyed felt very confident about taking a leadership role, more than first standardized tool to evaluate the newborn; a pioneer in the
and compare the challenges and accomplishments of the first woman of caring for those in need. half were not in a leadership role. Only one quarter of healthcare or- new field of anesthesiology.
to graduate from medical school in America, Elizabeth Blackwell, to At the outbreak of the ganizations provide classes, seminars, mentorship programs or other
our present-day female physicians. Now, more than half of the enter- American Civil War, she hoped the American military would wel- activities aimed to support and encourage women physicians as lead- • Elizabeth Kubler-Ross MD (1926-2004) – A pioneer in the study
ing medical school class is female. So, what new challenges are women come the contributions of female physicians. To her surprise, she was ers. Addressing these barriers is essential and is the first step for sys- of death, dying, and grief. Her book, On Death and Dying, pub-
in medicine facing since Dr. Blackwell received her degree 170 years relegated to be under the supervision of a head nurse with the duties tem-wide reforms for the betterment of our communities. Just an lished in 1969, became a standard text for those caring for the ter-
ago? Full disclosure, my wife is a physician and I also have two daugh- of recruiting suitable nurses to help the war effort. FYI, our Bexar County Medical Society does provide a course on minally ill and to help improve end of life care.
ters in medicine: a second-year internal medicine resident and a In 1869, Blackwell returned to London and later taught at the Lon- leadership open to all members.
fourth-year medical student. Let me begin with a brief narrative of don School of Medicine for Women, established in 1874. Due to Being a physician is challenging enough, but being a female physi- • Audrey Evans MD (1925-) - a pioneer in the treatment of child-
Elizabeth Blackwell’s story. health reasons, she moved to a country side house in 1879 where she cian comes with distinct challenges that are unique and perhaps all hood cancer, instrumental in the creation of the Ronald McDonald
In 1849, British-born Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman continued to write numerous lectures, articles and books until her too often overlooked. Despite these challenges, women physicians house (1974), a place for families of sick children with cancer to
to earn a medical degree in the United States. After being rejected death in 1910. Her obituary in the London Times stated, “She was have been contributing to medicine since the first woman received her stay while receiving their treatment.
from a multitude of medical schools, she was finally admitted to the in the fullest sense a pioneer who, like all pioneers (when discouraged) medical degree. I’ve compiled a list of women physicians who have
Geneva Medical School in New York. Originally, the dean opted to heard but did not listen.” made important contributions to medicine. • Patricia Bath MD (1942-) – Founded the discipline of community
also reject her application, however, he decided her acceptance would What about now? Societal mores, in particular those embedded ophthalmology, was the first female chair of an ophthalmology res-
be contingent upon the 100% approval of an entirely all-male student with gender biases or expectations, are deeply rooted and not easily • Ann Preston MD (1813-1872) – First female dean of a US-based idency program in the US in 1977, and co-founded the American
body. They unanimously voted yes (reportedly as a joke), but she was erased from memory or tradition. While female physicians today are medical school, who also trained the first black and Native Amer- institute for the Prevention of Blindness.
soon met with new challenges. not openly shunned like Elizbeth Blackwell, there is a level of uncon- ican female doctors and created social programs meant to educate
From the town women shunning her to the professors not treating scious bias working against female physicians in the workplace that poor women about hygiene and physiology. • Antonia Novello MD (1944-) – First woman and the first person
her as an equal to her male counterparts, Dr. Blackwell learned to not exists today. A large review of the literature covering multiple coun- of Hispanic origin to become the Surgeon General of the United
shy away from adversity. One of the professors even requested she tries regarding the female nurse-physician relationship was published • Rebecca Lee Crumpler MD (1831-1895) – First black woman to States; played an important part influencing policy aiding children
leave the classroom during a “sensitive” male reproductive lecture. She by the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in May 2020. It concluded that many earn an MD; tireless activist that practiced alongside other black and later became a special representative to the United Nations
refused and with the support of her male colleagues, she stayed. After women physicians perceived gender inequity and did not receive the doctors to treat freed slaves. Children’s Fund.
graduating, she focused her efforts on establishing her career in New same level of respect from female nurses as their male counterparts.
York, but was not allowed to practice in any hospitals. Unfortunately, This dynamic is in evolution and, as more women become medical • Mary Edwards Walker MD (1832-1919) – First female surgeon • Nancy Dickey MD (1950-) – The first female president of the
Blackwell struggled to dispel the negative basis of dealing with a fe- doctors, will likely (hopefully) change. and first female surgeon in the US Army; active during the Civil American Medical Association and, as president, proposed the pa-
male physician. Being a female physician was thought by some to be However, today women physicians still face other challenges. Here War and was captured and imprisoned. She later won the congres- tient’s bill of rights. She is an active member of the American and
code for abortionist. Because she was not allowed to practice in hos- is a summary of a 2020 survey published in Medscape 15 July 2020. sional Medal of Honor in 1865. Texas Academy of Family Physicians.
pitals, she was urged by friends to go to Paris for further training. A panel of women physicians developed the questions used in this
The French were not any different from the Americans about allow- survey which included over 3000 participants. • Susan L. Flesche Picotte MD (1865-1915) – first Native American I would keep listing more women physicians who have notably con-
ing her to continue training at one of their hospitals, but eventually she woman to receive a medical degree, pursued medicine after she wit- tributed to the field of medicine if I had more space; however, I wish
was allowed to work at a maternity hospital alongside mid-wives. Even- The Women Physicians responded to the issue of what nessed an Indian patient die because a white doctor refused to pro- to end by recognizing and congratulating all our female colleagues,
tually, through family influence, she was given a place at St. was the most challenging problem: vide care; cared for >1300 patients on her 450-square mile both present and future, who are contributing to healthcare in a very
Bartholomew, a prestigious London hospital. In 1859, Blackwell suc- • 64% - work-life balance territory; before her death, a hospital was built in her honor. positive manner and on multiple levels. Thank you for continuing to
ceeded in becoming the first woman to be included in the newly formed • 19% - gender equity inspire and save lives every day.
British Medical Register. She befriended several women along the way • 6% - age discrimination • Gerty Cori (1896-1957) – The first women to earn a Nobel Prize
who became prominent figures in the history of medicine including • 43% - compensation in Physiology and Medicine for her work identifying the enzyme Rodolfo (Rudy) Molina, MD, MACR, FACP is a Practicing Rheuma-
Florence Nightingale. Eventually they parted ways and Nightingale • 16% - career development that converts glycogen into glucose. tologist and 2021 President of the Bexar County Medical Society.
later gained notoriety for her service during the Crimean War. • 1% - sexual harassment
Dr. Blackwell returned to America and tried to establish herself in • 30% - combining parenthood with work • Helen Brooke Taussig MD (1898-1986) – first female president of
New York City. She struggled finding paying patients. In the face of • 16% - relationship with colleagues and staff the American Heart Association; helped establish the specialty of
adversity and with her tenacity, she founded the New York Infirmary pediatric cardiology. Together with Drs. Blalock and Thomas, cre-

8 SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • March 2021