If you are looking for a woman who became the first female to receive a medical degree in south america, there are many to choose from. Some of the names include Vivian Pinn, Mary de Sousa and Jane Elizabeth Waterston. Each of these women is a wonderful person and is a role model for a young girl.
Dr. Crumpler
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Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler is credited as the first African American female doctor to receive a medical degree in the U.S. She also helped to create the first Black academic textbook.
A graduate of the New England Female Medical College, she was born in Christiana, Delaware, in 1831. She was raised by her aunt in Pennsylvania. After completing her studies, she practiced medicine in Boston, Massachusetts, and eventually returned to her home town.
Despite intense sexism, she continued to work in the field. Her efforts made it possible for more Black women to become doctors. In addition, she worked to make health care accessible to Black communities.
When the Civil War ended in 1865, she moved to Richmond, Virginia to practice medicine. There she met fellow Black physicians. They formed a group, which eventually merged with the Boston University School of Medicine.
Crumpler’s work was appreciated by patients in the post-war South. However, she was also subjected to sexism from her peers and the administration. Many male doctors would not approve her prescriptions and druggists balked at filling them.
Rebecca Crumpler died in 1895. During her lifetime, she had an insatiable desire to help others. As a result, she lived a long, dedicated life in service to others.
Her commitment to human rights and her tireless efforts to provide healthcare for formerly enslaved Black people made her a pioneer in the medical world. She wrote a book describing her experiences as a doctor.
The book is now held at the Countway Medical Library at Harvard University. It is regarded as a forerunner to What to Expect When You Expect.
A recent study reveals that only about 2 percent of all physicians in the United States are African Americans. Systemic racism and lack of representation continue to affect the lives of patients and doctors throughout the nation.
Dr. Durocher
Marie Josefina Mathilde Durocher was a midwife who graduated from the medical school of Rio de Janeiro in 1834. She was the first female to receive a medical degree from a university in South America.
Mme Durocher was born in Paris, France, in 1809 and grew up in Rio de Janeiro. After she completed her medical education, she was the only woman in the Academia Nacional de Medicina for fifty years.
In her lifetime, she practiced medicine for sixty years. Her writings, which are available in the digital archives at the Brazilian National Library, are a rich source for research.
Her writings provide insight into the social dynamics inside the delivery room. She described a case where the uterus congestion caused an abortion. Similarly, her text discusses the resuscitation of a newborn baby.
Throughout her career, she helped to care for more than 5,000 babies. In addition to her work as a doctor, she was also an active member of the Imperial Academy of Medicine. She was the first woman invited to become a member of the academy.
Durocher was a pioneer in the field of obstetrics. She published the most comprehensive study on childbirth assistance in the nineteenth century.
Although she was the first female physician to earn a medical degree in the Americas, there are still debates over her legacy. Some historians believe that she wasn’t qualified to be a doctor because of her sex. However, others believe that she was the first woman to qualify as a physician in Brazil.
As a result of her work, women in other areas of the world were able to seek medical care. For example, she gave post-natal care to mothers and rape victims for court cases.
Dr. Jane Elizabeth Waterston
Until Jane Elizabeth Waterston came to South Africa, there were no female doctors in the African region. But she did help to bring about an increase in female physicians in the country. Then she devoted her career to the poor communities of South Africa.
In 1867, Waterston traveled to South Africa with Dr. James Stewart, the director of a missionary institution in Lovedale. She also helped to establish the Girls’ Institution, a school for girls to become doctors.
Waterston had a clear goal in mind. She did not want to be a school teacher, but wanted to work as a physician in the interior of Africa.
When she was only 23 years old, she approached the Foreign Missions Committee of the Free Church of Scotland. She was accepted into the school and started training to become a doctor. Her goals included creating a safe and welcoming environment for women and girls. During her time at the institution, she also trained midwives.
As a young woman, Waterston was also influenced by the works of David Livingstone. He believed that women should be educated in the field of medicine, and encouraged other girls to do the same. Eventually, she would study medicine in England.
After graduation, Waterston became the first woman to receive a medical license in southern Africa. In 1925, she was named a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.
Waterston was born in Inverness, Scotland. Her parents were unemployed after the failure of the Caledonian Bank. However, she had a desire to become a missionary. She had already been inspired by David Livingstone’s work in Africa.
Waterston moved to Cape Town, where she lived and worked as a socialite. She was dissatisfied with the treatment of Africans at the mission. Eventually, she left the mission and returned to England to attend medical school.
Dr. Mary de Sousa
Mary de Sousa is a former Indian-Kenyan doctor. She is now based in Paris. Her daughter, Katerina, is suffering from a rare neurological disorder called Chiari syndrome.
The condition occurs when the brain is compressed. It can cause headaches and eye rolling. In addition, bowel and bladder problems can be aggravated by surgery. When the de Sousas sought a second opinion, they were advised by a University of Chicago neurosurgeon to get an MRI. This would reveal a tethered cord that could damage the surrounding nerves.
Before she received her medical degree, Dr. Mary de Sousa studied medicine in Kenya. Later she moved to Spain, and then to Cyprus and now Paris.
She began working as a medical superintendant at St. Helens Hospital for more than 30 years. Now she oversees educational programs, customer relations, and human resources. Also, she holds a CPA license in Maryland.
Her daughter, Katerina, was born with congenital defects. She had severe breathing difficulties and choking spells when she ate. She had a belly that seemed to swell, and she couldn’t stand loud noises. She also complained of bees in her ears.
When de Sousa’s daughter was four years old, she was taken to Children’s Hospital in Boston. Her doctors there thought that her symptoms were a sign of Chiari. They suggested that she undergo surgery. But the de Sousas couldn’t afford to pay for an elective operation in Boston.
De Sousa brought her daughter home from the hospital. While at home, she took weekly classes in pottery and drama.
The Children’s Aid Society investigated the case. Their investigators concluded that Katerina had congenital problems. That she was insatiable and needed more attention than her parents were willing to give her.
Dr. Vivian Pinn
Vivian Winona Pinn is a physician-scientist who focuses on research, health and wellness. She is a board certified pathologist and practices at Bethesda, Maryland. A lifelong advocate for women’s health, she is also a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
When she was young, Vivian Pinn knew that she wanted to become a doctor. Originally, she planned to study pediatrics. However, after completing her internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, she switched to research.
Pinn’s focus on women’s health led to the development of research agendas that encompassed all facets of women’s health. She has been instrumental in advocating for the rights of women in the medical profession and for promoting women in leadership roles.
In 2010, the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia named an advisory college in her honor. The school also instituted the Pinn Scholarship Program to support mid-level faculty who are conducting innovative research.
Pinn has received a number of awards and honors, including a fellowship in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition, she was the first African American woman to chair a department of pathology in the United States. Throughout her career, she has been a pioneer in advocating for women’s rights and has expanded the admission of Black and minority students into medical schools.
For her achievements, Pinn was honored with the Vivian W. Pinn Award for Outstanding Research in Women’s Health. She is also a recipient of the Elizabeth Blackwell Award from the American Medical Women’s Association. During her tenure as director of the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health, Pinn became the first female director of an NIH office.
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