How Have Women’s Roles in the Medical Industry Changed Over Time?
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Long gone are the days when women had a very difficult time before they could go to medical school. Remember Elizabeth Blackwell? She was the first woman to have graduated from medical school. She was turned down by several schools before she was finally admitted to the Geneva Medical College in New York. She graduated top of her class in 1849. That was 160 years ago. How have women’s roles in the medical industry changed over time?
During the 19th century, there were female nurses, but they were only allowed to work as home nurses. Hospital nursing was seen as part of the male domain. At the end of this century, women’s hospitals and women medical schools were already established, but there was still much opposition to the idea of women being part of the medical industry. Even their own families were against their desire to be nurses or doctors.
The first half of the 20th century did not see much improvement in women’s roles in the medical industry, either. Women who graduated from medical school more often than not stopped practicing once they were married or had children. This could have been brought about by a number of factors – personal choice, pressure from society or demands by their husbands. When feminism rose in the 1960s however, developments started taking place. The number of female students in medical colleges started to rise.
Today, women nurses and physicians are very common in health centers and hospitals. Female students abound in medical schools. Still more are applying year after year. Many females occupy administrative positions in medical schools and hospitals. Women have become chief residents and have specialized in fields such as neurological surgery and cardiovascular surgery, which were previously considered as “masculine” medical areas. Women have strengthened themselves by forming organizations such as the American Medical Women’s Association, which seeks to empower women in medicine. More and more women are being welcomed to various medical societies. Women are willing to pursue further studies in specialized medical areas even though they may be wives and mothers at the same time, and schools accept these women. Despite this open acceptance of women practitioners in the medical industry however, there are still thorny issues being faced by females. Some sectors of society still believe that women doctors should confine themselves to specific fields of medicine, such as obstetrics or gynecology. Some also think that women give less work time than men do, because of their family duties and unavoidable maternity leaves. The best proof that gender inequalities still exist in the medical workplace is the existence of institutions which are created particularly to address these issues. The Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) Women in Medicine program is one such institution. Although it focuses on medicine in the academic sector, it shows that women still need assistance in order to be fully accepted in certain areas of the medical industry.
Despite these setbacks however, we should celebrate the fact that women’s roles in the medical industry have evolved and improved considerably over time. We can definitely look forward to more improvements in the future.
Jacquie Generra writes about empowerment and career advice for HowToDoThings.com.
