Women’s History Month: Three great women in medicine

We owe a lot to our healthcare providers and they need our prayers now, as they are putting their own health and safety on the line to help patients suffering during this COVID-19 global pandemic. We would like to join those around the world who are applauding our medical workers and dedicate this special feature on women’s history month to them, by highlighting three women who changed the face of modern medicine. 

Elizabeth Blackwell (1821 – 1910)

Elizabeth Blackwell was a pioneer in the medical field, becoming the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States in 1849. She first went into teaching, a more acceptable profession for women at the time, but made the determination to study medicine after a dying friend suggested she would have been spared her worst suffering if her physician had been a woman. There were no female doctors in the country and medical schools were not open to women, but thanks to her persistence she was finally accepted at the Geneva Medical College in New York state after the all-male student body voted to let her in as a joke, never thinking she would really do it.

After training as a midwife and working in London and Paris for a couple of years, she returned to New York City and eventually opened her own clinic in a rented room since no one would hire a female physician. In 1857, Dr. Blackwell co-founded the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, which focused on providing care to those who couldn’t afford it. The facility included its own medical institution so more and more women could get the training and experience they needed as physicians. Even after she had to give up practicing medicine due to her declining health, Dr. Blackwell continued to campaign for reform and her efforts paved the way for generations of women in medicine.

Clara Barton (1821 – 1912)

Clarissa Harlowe Barton, or Clara as she liked to be known, was working as a clerk in the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, DC when the civil war broke out in 1861. After collecting food and medical supplies for sick and wounded soldiers, she was given permission to go out on the battlefield, where the need was greatest, and risked her life to get emergency supplies delivered and offer her services as a volunteer nurse. Following the battle of Cedar Mountain in northern Virginia in August 1862, she appeared at a field hospital at midnight with a wagon-load of supplies drawn by a four-mule team. The surgeon on duty, overwhelmed by the human disaster surrounding him, wrote later, “I thought that night if heaven ever sent out a[n] . . . angel, she must be one—her assistance was so timely.” Thereafter she was known as the “Angel of the Battlefield” (read more here).  

She continued her work as a nurse after the war, traveling to Europe and volunteering for the International Red Cross. Inspired by her experiences, she worked to get the Geneva Treaty ratified back home in the United States and helped establish the American Red Cross in 1881, at the age of 59. She served as its first president for the next 23 years and provided disaster relief and other assistance to countless Americans around the nation. Her legacy lives on to this day, as countless Red Cross volunteers and employees are offering their services nationwide. If you are able to give, there is an urgent need for blood donations due to the many blood drive cancellations as a result of the pandemic.

Rebecca Lee Crumpler (1831 – 1895)

Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler was another trail-blazer in the field of medicine as she challenged racial prejudice to become the first African-American woman physician in the United States. She first worked as a nurse for a number of years, learning through on-the-job training, and was encouraged to apply for medical school. She was finally accepted to the New England Female Medical College (now Boston University) and graduated in 1864, at a time when there were still very few female physicians in the country. She eventually decided to move to Richmond, Virginia to provide care to freed slaves who did not have access to health care.

 Dr. Crumpler continued to practice medicine, despite all attempts to discredit her amidst an environment of intense racism, and later opened up her own clinic in Massachusetts. In 1883, she published A Book of Medical Discourses, which educates women on how to meet the medical needs of their families, making her one of the first African-Americans to contribute to medical literature. Sadly, there are no surviving photographs of Dr. Crumpler, but her book remains an important testament to her legacy.