Women in Medicine

Book excerpt: A photographic tribute to women doctors, nurses and other medical professionals. Women in Medicine celebrates the women who spend their lives providing treatment, giving comfort and easing the pain of patients in hospitals and clinics across North America. The book's introduction traces the tumultuous progress of women healers from ancient Egypt until the present. Centuries before medical schools formally trained women, they learned through trial and error by caring for family members. The acceptance of women's ability to heal changed with the times -- one era's angel of mercy was another era's witch. Today, women comprise over 80 percent of all medical workers and are increasing their numbers as doctors, surgeons, researchers and professors. The striking black and white photographs capture the daily working lives of women in medicine in a variety of roles including: Midwives Nurses Technicians Therapists Physicians' Assistants Researchers. Sprinkled throughout these candid, unposed images are memorable quotes from both historic and contemporary sources.