Women Physicians Day

Women Physicians Day is February 3rd

Women Physicians Day is a day that celebrates the strides made by women in the medical community. This holiday brings out the discussion of discrepancies of wage and inequality among women physicians in the workplace versus their male counterparts, the pioneer who started it all in the U.S. medical community, and a few stories of celebrated female physicians.

Background of Women Physicians Day

On average, statistics show that there is an 18 percent wage gap annually between female and male physicians. Also, a study by the “Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)” found “female doctors were simply superior at treating patients in the studied age group than their male counterparts were, even after every practitioner or patient factor was considered, and that if male doctors could somehow take a leaf out of their female peers' medical book, upwards of 32,000 deaths could be avoided each year among Medicaid recipients alone”.

5 Reasons Female Practitioners Earn Less

• Female practitioners feel they never do enough
• Even if both female and male practitioners were paid the same, there is poor negotiation about improving their practice capability
• There is lack of support
• Underrepresented women physicians have lower patient satisfaction scores
• Female practitioners don’t negotiate for higher salaries

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council.

Fun Facts About Elizabeth Blackwell

• 1857- she opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children with her sister Dr. Emily Blackwell and colleague Dr. Marie Zakrzewska. Its mission included providing positions for women physicians. During the Civil War, the Blackwell sisters trained nurses for Union hospitals.
• 1868- Blackwell opened a medical college in New York City.
• 1875- Blackwell returned permanently to London, where she became a professor of gynecology at the new London School of Medicine for Women.
• 1895- She also helped found the National Health Society and published several books, including an autobiography, Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women.

Female Physicians that are Leading the Way

• Shayna Mancuso, DO: is an advocate for women’s health and healing from the inside out
• Stacey Pierce-Talsma, DO: a professor at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, is changing the practice of medicine one student at a time.
• Barbra Ross-Lee, DO: the first African-American woman to be named dean of a U.S. medical school.
• Amanda Hess, Kentucky DO: delayed her own birth of her child to help a patient.
• Ellen Provost, DO: uses epidemiology and biostatistics to improve public health in the Alaskan Native people.
• Hala Sabry, DO: created the Motherhood and Medicine group as an effort to ease the pressure many women face to choose between being a mom and being a doctor.

How to Celebrate Women Physicians Day

• Thank your Physician(s), let them know that they are appreciated, for all the time and care they provide.
• Post to social media about #nationalwomenphysicianday #womenphysicianday about the history and stories of female physicians.
• Advocate for better women’s rights and equality within the workplace
• Binge watch all forms of leading female physician roles that we can look up into the medical field.