University Libraries Press Release
Contact: Melissa Cox Norris, Director of Library Communications, (513) 556-1558 or melissa.norris@uc.edu
TRAVELING EXHIBIT AT PUBLIC LIBRARY CELEBRATES WOMEN PHYSICIANS
Five physicians with ties to Cincinnati are featured in the exhibit
 |
Dr. Linda Shortliffe earned board certification in urology in 1983, when there were only 15 women urologists in the U.S. Now there are more than two hundred. |
December 4, 2006 –Women physicians – the challenges they have faced to practice medicine and the impact they have had on the profession – are the focus of a traveling exhibition co-sponsored by the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and by the University of Cincinnati’s Academic Health Center Information Technology & Libraries (AIT&L) and University Libraries. The exhibition will be on display January 5 through February 16, 2007 at the Public Library in the Main Library Atrium at 800 Vine Street.
“Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians” was developed by the Exhibition Program of the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine in collaboration with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The traveling exhibition has been made possible by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health. The American Medical Women’s Association provided additional support. The exhibit tells the extraordinary stories of American women who wanted to practice medicine and the struggles they often faced to gain access to medical education and to practice in the specialties they chose.
 |
Elizabeth Blackwell |
Since the mid-1800s when Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to earn an M.D. degree from an American medical school, woman have made enormous strides in every area of medicine and have achieved great success in work once considered “unsuitable” for women. Women physicians are now found in every branch of medicine. They are researchers on the cutting edge of new medical discoveries, educators, surgeons, family practioners, specialists, and government officials. “Changing the Face of Medicine” features the life stories of a rich diversity of women physicians from around the nation and highlights the broad range of specialties women are involved in today. The exhibit contains messages of hope, inspiration, and perseverance.
Women physicians today are benefiting from the career paths carved out by a long line of American women beginning in the mid-19th century. Some early physicians featured in the exhibition are Matilda Evans, the first African-American physician to be licensed in South Carolina, and Ann Preston, the first woman dean of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Among the many other doctors whose stories appear in the exhibition are Antonia Novello, the first woman Surgeon General of the United States, and Catherine DeAngelis, the first woman to be appointed editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Cincinnati and the University of Cincinnati are well-represented in the traveling and online exhibits by five physicians:
- Elizabeth Blackwell, who at age 11 settled near Cincinnati from England, was the first woman to receive an M.D. degree from an American medical school in 1849.
- Emily Blackwell, with her sister, Elizabeth, and fellow physician Marie Zakrzewska, founded the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, the first hospital run by women and the first in the U.S. dedicated to serving women and children.
- Marilyn Hughes Gaston, graduate of UC’s College of Medicine, was the first African-American woman to direct a public health service bureau and a pioneer in the study and treatment of sickle-cell disease.
- Jane Henney, Senior Vice President and Provost for Health Affairs at the University of Cincinnati, was the first woman to be named commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- Clarice Reid, graduate of UC’s College of Medicine, who from 1962 to 1968 was the only African-American pediatrician in private practice in Cincinnati.
The full exhibition can be viewed online at www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine. The Web site contains the inspirational profiles of over 300 women physicians, a section called “Share Your Story” that allows the public to add the names and biographies of women physicians they know, as well as lesson plans for classroom activities and educational and professional resources for anyone considering medicine as a career. In addition, another Web site accompanying the exhibition (www.nlm.nih.gov/locallegends) features outstanding women physicians from every state.
The traveling exhibition is based on a larger exhibition that was displayed at the NLM from 2003-2005. The exhibition will be presented in libraries across the country through 2010.
Programs and other events have been planned in connection with the exhibition in Cincinnati. Contact Melissa Cox Norris at (513) 556-1558 or at melissa.norris@uc.edu for more information or visit http://aitl.uc.edu/changingthefaceofmedicine.
Visiting the Exhibition:
“Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians” will be on display at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 800 Vine Street, January 5 through February 16, 2007.
Admission is free and open to the public during regular library hours:
Sunday 1pm-5pm
Mon-Wed 9am-9pm
Thurs-Sat 9am-6pm
For directions, visit www.cincinnatilibrary.org/main/howgetto.asp or call (513) 369-6900.
Exhibit Programs:
Women Physicians Sharing Their Stories: What it is Like to Study and Practice Medicine Panel Discussion and Q&A Tuesday, January 23, 2007, 3-4:30pm
The Vontz Center for Molecular Studies Rieveschl Auditorium
3235 Eden Avenue, University of Cincinnati
Women physicians will discuss topics related to their experiences practicing medicine such as their reasons and inspirations for choosing medicine as a career, the challenges they face balancing family and career, how the role of women physicians has changed, and the future of women in medicine. After the discussion, panelists will take questions from the audience.
A Woman Alone: A One-Woman Play
Written by Lynn Eckhert, MD and Performed by Linda Gray Kelley
Tuesday, February 6, 2007, two performances: 10am and 1pm
Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 800 Vine Street, Main Atrium Program Space
Ms. Kelley will give a dramatic performance about the life of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman in America to receive a M.D. degree.
Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Melissa Cox Norris at (513) 556-1558 or melissa.norris@uc.edu.
###
Return to list of press releases