When, in the mid-19th century, Elizabeth Blackwell decided she wanted to become a doctor, she applied to 29 medical schools across the country. She was turned down by all of them because she was a woman. She was finally admitted to Geneva Medical College (now Hobart College) in New York. Blackwell graduated first in her class in January 1849, becoming the first woman to graduate from medical school in the United States and the first woman doctor of medicine in the modern era.

Today, in 2009, nearly half of medical school students nationwide are female. In fact, female medical students outnumbered male students in two of the last three classes at the KU School of Medicine. This influx of women physicians into the field over the last quarter-century has changed both the face and character of medicine.

Women doctors are the focus of a national traveling exhibition at KUMC’s Dykes Library through November 11th.  “Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians” tells the moving story of how women have struggled over the past two centuries to gain access to medical education and to work in the medical specialty of their choice. 

The exhibit is a unique collaboration of the libraries of the three medical schools in the metropolitan area: Dykes Library and the Clendening History of Medicine Library, both on the campus of KU Medical Center, the University of Missouri-Kansas City Health Sciences Library, and the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences Library.

I hope you will take the time in the coming weeks to stop by the Dykes Library to view this extraordinary exhibit or to attend one of the many events being held in conjunction with the exhibit. For more information, visit the Dykes Library Web site.

In the News

Former United States Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala had high praise for KU Medical Center when she visited our campus last week. Shalala, who is currently president at the University of Miami, was particularly impressed with Johnson County’s recent passage of a sales tax to fund a new cancer research facility. Read more.

The KUMC and KU Hospital Advancement Board held a briefing for community and state leaders on Tuesday. Those in attendance heard from KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little, PhD, KU Hospital President and CEO Bob Page, and myself on the vision and economic impact of our institutions. Roy Jensen, MD, director of the University of Kansas Cancer Center, also gave an update on the drive for NCI designation. The Advancement Board is a 77-member advisory group that promotes the objectives of KUMC, The University of Kansas Hospital and University of Kansas Physicians.

The 63rd Annual Peter T. Bohan Lecture will be held on Friday, Oct. 16 from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. at the School of Nursing Auditorium. This year's lecture will be delivered by Nancy Wilson Dickey, MD. Dr. Dickey is the first woman elected president of the American Medical
Association (AMA). She currently serves as president of the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs.