6 Women Who've Changed the Face of Medicine

Anabel Weinstein

Our world has had incredibly notable advancements in medicine. But we would be nowhere near where we are today without all the incredible women who have gone unrecognized for their work in medicine. So let this be an ode to 6 (of many) women who have been trailblazers in the world of medicine: 

Mary Edwards Walker
Pushed to become an army surgeon during the Civil War after being told she could only be a nurse and saved thousands of lives

Rebecca Lee Crumpler
The first black woman in America to earn a medical degree and used it to provide medical care to impoverished communities

Virginia Apgar
Developed a global test for neonatal health after being one of nine women in her class at Columbia Medical School

Anandi Gopal Joshi
​Made it her life’s purpose to treat and improve healthcare in India and other less developed countries

Susan La Flesche Picotte
The first Native American doctor who graduated from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania as valedictorian and eventually built a hospital on her tribe’s reservation

Gerty Cori
The first woman to win the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine after researching insulin production, blood glucose concentration, and hormones.
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Clearly, these awe-inspiring women laid the foundation for medicinine in our nation. We must remember that our medicine system is so advanced because of these women and many after who have made medical breakthroughs through the centuries. So, again, thank you to every woman who has paved the path for women in medicine.