As we celebrate Women's History Month, it's a perfect time to recognize the incredible contributions of women in shaping the world of health. Throughout history, women have played pivotal roles in advancing medical practices, advocating for public health, and championing humanitarian causes. In this article, we will highlight the courage, resilience, and ingenuity of extraordinary women. These women defied societal expectations, shattered glass ceilings, and forged their own paths in fields traditionally dominated by men. This Women’s History Month, we honor the enduring legacy of these remarkable women. Their stories deserve to be told, their achievements celebrated, and their impact remembered.
Florence Nightingale: Founder of Modern Nursing
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A calling to service
Florence Nightingale, born in 1820, is widely regarded as the founder of modern nursing. Her efforts during the Crimean War revolutionized nursing practices and laid the groundwork for modern healthcare standards.
Having been raised in an affluent family during Victorian England, Nightingale defied her family’s expectations of her to become a wife and mother. She had several experiences growing up that she interpreted as calls from God to devote her life to the service of others.
Mitigating the spread of wartime diseases
During the Crimean War, Nightingale was appalled by the deplorable conditions in military hospitals, where poor sanitation and inadequate medical care led to high mortality rates among wounded soldiers. Determined to make a difference, Nightingale embarked on a mission to improve conditions and provide compassionate care to the sick and injured.
Nightingale's emphasis on cleanliness, hygiene, and patient care proved revolutionary, earning her the nickname, “the Lady with the Lamp.” She implemented strict sanitation measures, such as proper handwashing and sanitation of medical equipment, which significantly reduced the spread of infectious diseases and saved countless lives. Additionally, Nightingale emphasized the importance of providing holistic care to patients, believing nurses must create healing environments for the patient’s body, mind and spirit. She also emphasized the healing power of nature, architecting the Environmental Theory which theorized that recovery needs fresh air, pure water, nutrition, efficient drainage, cleanliness, and light.
Establishing nursing as a respected profession
After the war, Nightingale continued her work as a healthcare reformer and advocate. She established the Nightingale Training School for Nurses in London, the first secular nursing school in the world, where she trained a new generation of nurses. Nightingale's emphasis on education and professional development elevated nursing from a menial task to a respected profession.
Florence Nightingale's legacy as the founder of modern nursing continues to resonate today. Her principles of compassion, professionalism, and evidence-based practice continue to inspire nurses worldwide, ensuring that her legacy lives on in the hearts and hands of caregivers everywhere.
Elizabeth Blackwell: Breaking Barriers in Medicine
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Elizabeth Blackwell, born in 1821, made history as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, breaking barriers and paving the way for women in medicine.
Accepted as a joke, a serious force to reckon
Blackwell was not originally interested in medicine. She became a schoolteacher, which was seen as a suitable occupation for women at the time. However, she soon found it to be unsuitable for her. Her interest in medicine was piqued when a friend fell ill and remarked that had she been cared for by a female doctor, she might not have suffered so much. Blackwell began applying to medical schools and immediately faced gender-based discrimination and societal expectations that discouraged women from pursuing careers in male-dominated fields. She was rejected to every school she applied to except for Geneva Medical College in New York, where the male students had voted to accept her as a joke. Despite these challenges, she remained undeterred and enrolled at Geneva Medical College.
A progressive sense of empathy in human suffering
Despite facing hostility and skepticism from her male peers and faculty, Blackwell excelled academically, graduating at the top of her class in 1849. Her thesis on typhoid fever became the first medical article published by a female student in the United States. The paper portrayed a strong sense of empathy and sensitivity to human suffering as well as advocacy for economic and social justice, an attitude that was unprecedented for her time and thus deemed by the medical community as feminine.
Upon earning her medical degree, many hospitals and medical institutions refused to hire Blackwell or admit female doctors. She persevered, eventually opening her own practice in New York City, where she provided compassionate care to patients from all walks of life.
Blackwell's pioneering achievements paved the way for future generations of women to pursue careers in medicine. Her legacy continues to inspire women around the world to defy expectations, challenge stereotypes, and strive for excellence in the medical profession.
Rebecca Lee Crumpler: Trailblazer for African American Physicians
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Rebecca Lee Crumpler, born in 1831, made history as the first African American woman to earn a medical degree in the United States.
Born in Delaware to free parents, she was raised by an aunt in Pennsylvania who cared for the sick in their town and acted as a doctor in the community. That experience proved to be incredibly influential for Crumpler as it piqued her own interest in the medical profession. Eventually, she moved to Massachusetts where she worked as a nurse before applying and being accepted into the New England Female Medical College in Boston. She was the only African American at the school.
A struggle for credibility
In 1864, Crumpler made history when she graduated. Despite her historic achievement, Crumpler faced intense racism and sexism in her career. Many male physicians did not respect her as a doctor and would not approve her prescriptions for patients, nor listen to her medical opinions. Some people even heckled that the M.D. in her title stood for “Mule Driver.” Despite it all, Crumpler continued practicing medicine, primarily serving poor women and children. After the Civil War, she worked for the Freedmen’s Bureau to provide medical care for newly freed people who were denied medical care by white physicians.
Promoting preventative care
Later in her career, Crumpler became both one of the first women and one of the first African Americans to publish a medical book. Dedicated to nurses and mothers, the book focused on maternal and pediatric care, providing practical advice for women and families. She also was ahead of her time in that she strongly promoted preventative medicine.
Crumpler's legacy as a trailblazer for African American physicians continues to inspire and empower future generations. From providing compassionate care to patients in need to advocating for improved access to healthcare for underserved populations, Crumpler’s legacy serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration for all those who aspire to break down barriers and make a difference in healthcare.
Harriette Chick: Laying the Groundwork for Nutrition and Public Health
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Harriette Chick, a British biochemist born in 1875, is celebrated for her groundbreaking research on the role of vitamins in preventing nutrient-deficiency diseases. Her work laid the foundation for our understanding of the importance of vitamin D in human health and its impact on bone development and overall well-being.
Sunlight and rickets
In World War I, Chick was tasked in developing serums for the treatment of common diseases afflicting soldiers. During this period, she became increasingly involved in research into vitamins, which had only been coined recently at the time in 1912 by Polish biochemist Casimir Funk. Working with soldiers had led her to study nutritional deficiencies in wartime diets. Chick's interest in nutrition and its effects on health eventually led her to investigate the relationship between sunlight exposure and the prevention of rickets, a debilitating skeletal disorder prevalent in children. In the early 20th century, rickets was a widespread public health concern, particularly in urban areas where sunlight exposure was limited.
From studying the role of nutrition to childhood bone disease in post-war Vienna, Chick and her collaborators discovered that fat-soluble vitamins, such as omega-3s, in cod liver oil and exposure to ultraviolet light, which stimulated the production of vitamin D in the skin, could cure and prevent rickets in children. This groundbreaking discovery revolutionized our understanding of the role of sunlight and nutrition in preventing rickets and other bone disorders.
Laying the foundation for modern nutrition
Chick's research paved the way for the fortification of foods with vitamin D such as in milk and cereals that we have today. Her work has had a profound impact on global public health, significantly reducing the prevalence of rickets and improving bone health outcomes worldwide.
Chick was a pioneer for women in science. She was often one of few women, if not the only one, in prestigious research labs and scientific societies. She also helped shape the field of nutrition, being a founding member of the Nutrition Society, where she also served as president. Her contributions improved the quality of life for millions around the world, leaving an enduring impact on public health and nutrition research. We owe it to her as a supplement brand to be able to offer the products we do today that help address nutritional gaps.
Margaret Chung: Unlikely Mother to American Heros
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Margaret “Mom” Chung was the first female Chinese American physician in the United States. Born in 1889 in Santa Barbara, California to Chinese immigrants, she had an adventurous life from dressing as a man to get through medical school, to working undercover to recruit pilots during WWII, and by leaving a legacy where her former patients affectionately remember her as “Mom Chung.”
Having grown up in a family of devout Christians, Chung was intent on becoming a medical missionary to China. She worked her way through college and medical school at the University of Southern California. Being the only woman in her class, she adopted masculine dress and called herself, “Mike.”
An outsider in both worlds
After graduating medical school, Chung applied to be a medical missionary but was rejected because of her race. Instead, she worked as a surgical nurse before moving to Chicago to complete her residency. Eventually, she moved back to California to live in San Francisco’s Chinatown where she established the first western medical clinic.
Chung didn’t quite fit in with the local Chinatown residents. Many Chinatown residents were not only wary of western medicine but also skeptical of a single, woman doctor who dressed more masculine and was suspected of being a lesbian. Chung instead sought to attract non-Chinese patients by cultivating her “Oriental” image to appeal to white visitors seeking “exotic” Chinese medical treatments. During this time, she also hosted lively dinner parties and built a widespread network of “adopted sons,” most of them being servicemen who called her mom as she was known to make them meals as part of her care.
Finding your own family
When WWII and the Sino-Japanese War broke out, Chung volunteered as a surgeon on the frontlines but was secretly asked to recruit pilots that would become a unit known as the “Flying Tigers.” She also continued her weekly dinner tradition, hosting up to 175 people at Thanksgiving and wrapping 4,000 Christmas gifts, including those for her “sons” at the front.
By the end of WWII, her surrogate family had grown to 1500 with different groups having their own nicknames from, “Mom Chung’s Fair-Haired Bastards,” to “Golden Dolphins,” to “Kiwis.” Most of Chung’s “children” were servicemen but also included Hollywood stars including John Wayne and Ronald Reagan. Famed pilot Amelia Earheart was one of Chung’s few “bastard daughters.” Chung also used her influence to champion greater inclusion of women in the military, helping to establish a reserve corp for women in the Navy: WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). While she successfully pushed for legislation to establish WAVES, she was never accepted to join the corps despite her repeated applications due to her race and rumors of her sexuality.
Chung’s life was a story of finding your own family, flipping the disadvantages she was dealt with on its head, and living an authentic life that was truly her own. She was a role model for women and minorities in medicine, breaking down barriers and inspiring future generations to pursue careers in healthcare. She leaves behind a legacy of someone who was larger than life and took anyone under her wing as her “children,” who continue to honor her today.
Inspiring the Next Generation of Women in Health
Reflecting on the stories of these trailblazing women in healthcare reminds us of the power of perseverance, courage, and innovation in advancing in their fields. As we honor their legacies during Women's History Month, let's acknowledge the countless contributions of women in health and science. Their stories emphasize the importance of collective effort, collaboration, and making a difference. By amplifying their voices, we can inspire future women leaders to thrive.